S 2014 11 27

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BY RAHEEM F. HOSSEINI Why do children with serious mental-health issues end up in juvenile hall instead of a doctor’s office?

Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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November 26, 2014 | vol. 26, issue 32

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#firstworldproblems It happens every November, this dilemma: With whose family should we spend Thanksgiving?

Last year, my husband, my mother and I trekked to Roseville to celebrate with my brother, his wife and her family. Traffic was so bad I thought we should just turn around and order a pizza instead.

This year, we’re spending the holiday with my husband’s family in Woodland. But, already, questions are flying about Christmas options: My mother’s house or his? When?

Can we squeeze in two places on one day? Ugh. I get it, poor me— #firstworldproblems.

I’m not one much for counting blessings, but I’m also not stupid. Not only do we have shelter, my husband and I are lucky. We have a home, a family and food. We have options.

A recent report from the National Center on Family Homelessness illustrates, painfully, just how many in this first-world nation don’t.

Specifically, California ranks abysmally, at No. 48, when it comes to its homeless child population—for the 2012-13 time period, there were an estimated 526,708 kids without permanent shelter. According to the study, there are 2.5 million homeless children across the nation—one child in every 30 is homeless.

In Sacramento County, there are nearly 12,000 homeless children without permanent housing (roughly 5 percent of enrolled students), according to an SN&R review of data (see “School of homeless knocks”

by Raheem F. Hosseini, SN&R News, September 11).

How to help? Locally, Loaves & Fishes and Sacramento Step Forwards’ Winter Sanctuary Program both help provide meals, shelter, etc. for homeless individuals and families.

For more information visit www.sacloaves.org or www.sacramentostepsforward.org.

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Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designers Melissa Bernard, Brad Coates, Kyle Shine Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Steven Chea, Wes Davis, Taras Garcia, Bobby Mull, Shoka, Darin Smith

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.

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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, Cody Drabble, Deena Drewis, Joey Garcia, Blake Gillespie, Becky Grunewald, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Jim Lane, Garrett McCord, Kel Munger, Kate Paloy, Jessica

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“If I said Eat Pray Love is the reason I want to go, would you judge me?”

Asked at the MARRS Building:

Where do you most want to travel?

Urban Rebelo

Eloisa Kinder

Scott Anderson

grocery clerk

drafter

North Africa. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia, and I’d like to go back.

When I was there in the early ’80s, the weather and food were great. I learned the language after the first year. I liked the people.

I would go for six months.

I would go to Tunis, Tozeur, Gabès.

Sean Broderick

graphic designer

I want to go to New Zealand and trace some family history. My grandfather lived there for a time. I’ve been everywhere else. I would check out some Lord of the Rings sites too. It’s an expensive plane trip. I’m mostly outdoorsy. I would go for two weeks.

Abby Mulvihill

attorney

I want to go to Finland. I’ve wanted to see the Nordic countries. I’ve traveled through southern Europe, so now I want to see northern Europe. I’m interested in the Nordic countries and peoples. I think they have a lot of art, and I’m interested in seeing what they do.

India Powell

student

I would take classes at the Sorbonne in Paris again.

I spent a summer there between college and law school. It was a French language and history course. I would love to take classes that are a little more advanced and immersive.

I just love the city so much.

student

I want to go to Italy.

I’m not Italian, I’m Irish, but I’ve been all around Italy—but not in Italy. It’s so romantic. I want to go and get drunk and fall in love. I would go to Rome, Venice obviously, and somewhere off the beaten path. I need to do some research first.

I want to go to Bali. It looks like one of the most beautiful places. It’s expensive to get there, but it’s cheap once you’re there. Getting there is very expensive. If I said Eat Pray Love is the reason I want to go, would you judge me? They’ve got everything. Good food, beautiful scenery, the ocean.

It’s romantic.

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SN&R | 11.26.14

Email your letters to sactoletters@newsreview.com.

We still don’t care about homelessness Re “Development forces West Sacramento to clear out longtime homeless camp” by Brooke Purves (SN&R News, November 20): Thank you, Brooke, for a good overview of this latest attempt by the city to pretend to care about the homeless.

You covered most of the bases, and fairly mentioned some of the goodies being passed out to make the project appear to be sensitive and useful. But at the end of the day, it is a load of letteR of crap, and most of us the week know that. This city doesn’t care a whit about the homeless.

Its policies and enforcements are little more than move-along sticks meant to rid us of noxious litter. Because that is all the homeless are to those in control.

The only time we even get a charade about caring is when Oprah shines a flashlight on us. Mark Merin provided well-run safe haven on his private property and within a few days the police showed up (the usual “we had a complaint” excuse) and rousted the homeless.

Goo-goos and ethics reform

This time, we have a developer deal in the wings that is thinly disguised as some humane “relocation” program—with clean underwear to prove it! Hogwash. It’s the same old story: the collision of real values with market values. And in this town, real values don’t even sit at the table where decisions are made and policy is formed and implemented.

At best, beyond cutting a few more paychecks for (well-intentioned) social workers and a couple of homeless photoops, there’s not much left under it all but our contempt for those that have nothing.

Certainly, there is nothing in it that values them for who they are, or considers the contributions they can make, beyond getting upgraded to the lowest rung on the mainstream ladder—as interchangeable, expendable units of fuel for the engines of commerce, like the rest of us. Some say we should pray for the homeless.

I say the homeless should pray for us.

For what community, what society could be so degenerate and deranged as to deny its own kind a place to stand, sit or even lay on the earth? Like we said, it’s a load of crap. Unfortunately, changing anything is going to take some very big shovels, which we haven’t got. Not now, at any rate.

oNliNe buzz

On whether r Street will becOme the mOSt happening SpOt in the city:

Re “Underdogs and overlords” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Bites, November 13): Mayor Kevin Johnson has spent almost six years trying to get himself more mayoral authority and power.

Do you really think “Team K.J.” will approve any reforms that actually limit what authority and power he does have?

Sacramento’s goo-goos (good-government types) like Common Cause, League of Women Voters, Organize Sacramento, Eye on Sacramento and neighborhood associations should come together to draft ordinances that will enact the ethics and accountability reforms promised in Measure L. These draft ordinances should then be presented to the city council with the promise that if they are not adopted or are adopted in watered-down versions, then they will be presented directly to the voters for approval at the November 2016 election, like they did in Tallahassee this month.

Jan Bergeron Sacramento

Kinda already is.

Josh Amolsch

v ia Fa c e b o o k

Isn’t it already a happening spot? @MagpieCafeSacto @R15atPRG @shadyladybar @foxandgoosepub @Shannin_Rae

On amazOn being way, way wOrSe than wal-mart: I read that on my kindle fire.

Aaron Dubin

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

v ia Fa c e b o o k Sorry, but I’m still buying CDs from/ through them.

Brian Huck

v ia Fa c e b o o k

Red Slider

@SacNewsReview

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

e d i t o r, t h e S a c ra m e nt o z

@SacNewsReview

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Water-meter changes See BEATS

See BITES

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We are thankful for ...

See EDITORIAL

11

More than one way If some of Sacramento’s older commuter routes become two-way streets, will quality of city life improve?

For decades, the central city’s one-way streets have served as rapid fast-tracks to the freeway. by But Sacramento is changing, and advocates Alastair Bland for smart urban planning say the city should no longer operate by archaic, 1960s principles of traffic engineering.

They want to see the city consider entirely converting fast-moving, one-way streets—including I, J, Q, Fifth, Ninth and 10th—into two-lane avenues meant less to serve suburban commuters and more to serve the community.

Supporters of the idea say these so-called two-way conversions would benefit businesses and increase pedestrian and cyclist safety by slowing traffic.

“Decisions to run freeways through the city were epic mistakes that, unless we reverse, will prevent Sacramento from attaining its full potential as an attractive, prosperous city,” says Chris Morfas, a Sacramento-based policy advocate for urban transit and air quality. “Busy oneway streets aren’t compatible with the idea of turning the city into a 24-hour hub.”

During the middle of the 20th century, numerous central-city streets were converted into rapid one-way arteries, linking the grid to the mighty new freeways at the west edge of town. Fifty years later, the picture of suburbanites zipping into the city to work and fleeing again at rush hour has become an outdated cliché and increasingly less reflective of Sacramento urban life.

William Burg, president of the P Sacramento Old City Association, feels the old-school vision of a properly functioning metropolis, with freeways and massive boulevards conducting streams of busy traffic, has expired. People today want to live in the city, he says, or stay after hours before leaving for home.

“But it’s just not livable in a lot of places because of high-speed traffic,” he said.

This could change, though. Burg points to K Street as a prime model for what a city street should look—and sound—like.

The streets are layered with brick, making fast driving unpleasant. The lanes are also narrow—another traffic-calming feature.

“There are broad sidewalks and very limited parking,” Burg said.

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Transit experts and business leaders say it’s time to rethink the central city’s one-way streets.

Street makeovers are on the surface about cars and traffic, but pedestrians and cyclists experience immediate benefits, too.

“There’s the debate about whether people should be riding bikes on the sidewalk, but we haven’t given these people safe alternatives,” said Jim Brown, executive director with the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. He says dividing three-lane one-ways into streets with a lane in each direction would leave ample room for a bike lane on either side, and would coax cyclists who habitually use the sidewalks into newly retrofitted streets.

J Street could become “a walkable urban village.”

Safety, too, would increase. That’s because anytime two adjacent lanes of traffic move in the same direction, pedestrians and cyclists using a crosswalk are in danger of being waved through by a motorist in the first lane while motorists in the next lane fail to yield. Such sketchy traffic dynamics can be eliminated with two-way conversions, advocates say.

Some local two-way conversions have been completed already. Parts of N, Third, 19th and 21st streets, among others, have been converted from two ways to one.

Now, activists have more suggestions for what streets to convert next, including Fifth, Ninth, 10th, I, J, P and Q streets.

At University Art, manager Dave Saalsaa says he’s “open to the idea” of converting J Street from one way to two.

His main doubts are hinged on concerns about how such a project might affect traffic in the surrounding area.

“For our type of business, this would slow down traffic and give us exposure from both directions,” Saalsaa said. “It would help bring people into the city core, not just help them get out.”

Installing traffic lights down J Street could slow the traffic, if dividing the road winds up not being a suitable option. “The only thing is, people tend to gun it on the yellow light,” Saalsaa said. The speed of traffic, and accidents, are a concern for Saalsaa, and for good reason: Three times in his years as manager of the store, a vehicle has careened off of J Street and crashed into the front of the shop.

The Midtown Business Association’s executive director, Emily Baime Michaels, likens crossing J Street to crossing a freeway. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic would increase if J Street was slowed and divided, she says, and businesses that rely on pedestrian traffic would directly benefit.

“We find that the pedestrian experience on J Street is not as desirable as it could be if traffic moved slower on that street,” Michaels said. “J Street’s primary focus seems to be on moving people through Midtown rather than to our destinations in Midtown.”

J Street could become “a walkable urban village,” Michaels says, if it is properly retrofitted.

Converting a street from one way to two can be as simple as putting paint on the asphalt but is usually more complicated and expensive, requiring alteration of existing traffic signals and other infrastructure, according to the Department of Trasportation’s senior planner Sparky Harris.

He says the city will consider turning one-way streets into two-ways but is currently uncertain whether such measures will provide a net benefit to Sacramentans. A downtown transportation study, to be completed late next year, will analyze what specific changes to the existing street design might best facilitate the patterns of locals. Harris acknowledges that locals are spending more time in the city core than they were in the era when the region’s freeways—and oneway street connections—were first built.

“The trend of people moving outside the city is reversing, and it makes sense to see if the grid is working for people who live, work and play in the downtown,” he said. “One-way streets are typically designed to move traffic faster over long distances. Now, we’ve got a whole different take on moving people through and into the city.” Ω

ILLUUSTRATION BY BRIAN BRENEMAN

9

Uber, the scab cab

Are you a good immigrant, or an evil immigrant?

BEATS

Water meter about-face?

Scott Jones’ immigration reform message a veiled call for more deportations Proving that he’s down with the kids, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones last week embraced one of the by youth generation’s most basic tenets: Raheem F. Hosseini If you’re going to embarrass yourself, do so on the Internet. ra heemh@ For those who didn’t watch, in newsre view.c om an 8-minute YouTube video posted November 18, Jones scolded President Barack Obama for single-handedly blowing it on immigration. More than that, Jones even offered to fly to Washington, D.C.—Superman IV-style—to fix this issue himself.

“No matter what eventual pathway to immigration reform is chosen, there can be no conceivable resolution that does not involve securing our borders,” he said. Then, invoking Ronald Reagan’s biggest hit, he added, “I’m asking you to build up that wall.”

As for why a municipal lawman was directing policy advice at the White House, this one was personal: An undocumented Mexican national with multiple deportations under his belt allegedly killed two sheriff’s PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

in particular are at their lowest levels in at least a decade, according to FBI data. And, despite last summer’s influx of unaccompanied minors from gang-plagued Central America, the Pew Research Center estimates that unauthorized immigration, which plunged sharply during the recession, will remain flat for the foreseeable future.

If there’s an immigration crisis, it’s not the one Jones is selling.

“Before I get too far afield, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not anti-immigration. Quite the contrary.

I’m very pro-immigrant,” he said.

“The problem I have is I can’t tell which ones are good and which ones are evil. … Don’t you think there should be some way of knowing? Or at least some way to track?”

Maybe we should inject undocumented immigrants with GPS-tracking microchips?

“If, for whatever reason, you are unable or unwilling to affect the kind of change that is necessary to keep America safe, simply reach out to me,” Jones said. “I will get on a plane tomorrow and travel to Washington and help you in whatever way I possibly can.”

You know, right after he settles that mess in the Middle East and teaches Chuck Norris some new karate moves.

Two days later, Obama announced executive actions that could protect as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants—mostly permanent residents who have lived stateside five years or longer and parents of U.S. citizens—from deportation.

While Jones’ plea remained vague until the end of his video—he initially said he didn’t care which reform the president pursued, so long as he picked one—the conservative politician, who recently stumped for Doug Ose, finally did arrive at his real point:

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones wants the president to do more about immigration—even though critics say his department has yet to fully comply with California’s TRUST Act.

Read more news analysis by Raheem F. Hosseini and others at our online blog, Page Burner, www.newsreview. com/pageburner.

BEFORE

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deputies—one of whom worked for Jones’ department—during a chaotic manhunt last month.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Jones promised his late deputy’s wife that he would press the border-security cause, but the way in which he did revealed a shallow understanding of how the law works.

After all, presidents need Congress to enact true reforms. Obama didn’t pass the Affordable Care Act all by his lonesome, and former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both failed to shove their immigration reform boulders up Capitol Hill.

Besides, labeling the deporter-inchief as soft on border security is like saying Guy Fieri hasn’t done enough to popularize gut-busting diner grub. It just doesn’t fly.

Let us count the ways in which it doesn’t: Deportations and convictions for unlawful re-entry have both risen under Obama’s watch. Violent crime in general and officer deaths

F E AT U R E

STORY

Did you get that? Jones wants a way to track every undocumented immigrant. So he can tell which ones are good and which ones are evil.

Perhaps this shouldn’t be so surprising. After all, this is the same man whose office has struggled to comply with California’s TRUST Act, which says that local authorities can’t detain undocumented immigrants for simply lacking proper documentation.

So, now what? Maybe we should inject undocumented immigrants with GPS-tracking microchips?

“This is not about racism,” Jones continued. “It is about an increasingly violent and uncertain world in which we are inadequately protected.”

The sheriff obviously has a personal connection to this issue, and emotion can sometimes overpower our better natures. A debate coach would ding him for using the tragic deaths of two peace officers to advance a logical fallacy. Here in Straight Talk Town, we’ll call it what it was: manipulative. Ω

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

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AFTER

SN&R’s cover story questioning the city’s water-meter plan has, a week later, impacted change at City Hall.

Writer Joe Rubin’s investigation into the city’s hundred-million-dollar water-meter plan explored whether Sacramento was spending too much money, and taking too long, installing meters in sidewalks instead of front lawns. He also pointed out that the city was spending hundreds-of-millions of dollars to abandon old backyard water mains and put new ones in the streets. Oh, and he exposed that construction on the project risked explosions because of broken gas lines.

This past Friday, City Manager John Shirey, in a private email to executive city staff, announced that the city would be reviewing the install plan. The city will be leaving some backyard mains in place. It will also be prioritizing low-cost installation of meters. Shirey also wrote that the city is reconsidering placing meters in front lawns instead of sidewalks, and that the city will be working more closely with PG&E to better locate gas lines during construction.

SN&R will continue its water-meter install coverage in next week’s issue. In the meantime, read Rubin’s story here: http://tinyurl.com/NRWaterMeter. (Nick Miller)

Pot deadlines It’s a running joke in the cannabis community that stoners are never on time. To that end, perhaps it’s no surprise that the city of Sacramento plans to extend a deadline for local dispensaries to obtain a permit.

Originally, dispensaries operating in the city needed permits by the end of this year. But the clock is ticking, and city council is poised to extend the deadline until May 31, 2015.

According to a city staff report, 31 marijuana clubs applied for a “phase 2” dispensary permit with the Revenue Division this year. Now, 25 have completed the Sacramento’s marijuana tax brought in more than conditional permit process, and $1.8 million last year. five more are waiting for a hearing on December 11. In case you’re bad at math, that means there likely will be 30 medical-marijuana dispensaries operating in the city limits. City code does not allow new dispensaries to open.

Sacramento collects a 4-percent tax from cannabis dispensaries, and last fiscal year the city brought in more than $1.8 million from this tax, plus a $12,600 fee from each club to pay for permitting and enforcement. (N.M.)

Prison ranch A mothballed juvenile-detention facility gathering weeds in the county’s rustic south could be Sacramento’s entry into the private prison business.

County officials are entertaining an offer from GEO Community Services LLC, an arm of GEO Group Inc., which manages or owns 114 correctional facilities around the world.

GEO wants to lease a 140-acre site in Sloughhouse and turn the property into a residential re-entry center for federal inmates serving out the final year of their sentences. The contract could be worth as much as $15 million.

Before budget cuts forced its closure in 2010, the county operated the Boys Ranch at that site for delinquent youth.

The county rejected a similar lease attempt three years ago because it still held hopes of reopening the site as a juveniledetention facility. That’s no longer believed feasible, says a county staff report.

According to the report, Sacramento is “the only large metropolis” in the country without a re-entry facility. (Raheem F. Hosseini)

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Bogus innovation and false outrage Uber, K.J. and the Kings unite— and a phony controversy persists in Oak Park

“The whole world is your own.”

– Sri Sarada Devi (1853–1920) www.sacvrg.org

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Can companies be creepy, vindictive douchebags?

Apparently they can when they are Uber. In the last couple of weeks, there has been a flood of criticism against the company for abusing its customers’ privacy, for assaults on customers and for Uber executives threatening to “dig up dirt” on the personal lives of journalists who write critically about the company. arvin G At least the Uber backlash seems to be o SM Co by helping to clear up some of the misunderc os m og @new srev i ew. c o m standing about what Uber actually is. It is a taxi service. It gives people rides in cars for money. Aside from tinkering with pricing and dispatch methods, Uber’s big “innovation” is to avoid being regulated like a taxi service.

Bites is not against deregulation or competition or “disruption” in the taxi industry. But let’s not pretend the rules are being applied equally.

Uber gets to make money in the taxi market but doesn’t have to pay for the licensing fees, high levels of insurance and various other regulatory expenses that are the cost of doing business for traditional cab companies. Some call that disruption. Some call it an unfair business practice.

Being a taxi company that avoids being regulated like a taxi company is an increasingly difficult trick to pull off. It helps that Uber has bros in high places.

Amid Uber’s bad press last week was a piece in the November issue of The Progressive magazine, looking into the company’s aggressive influence-peddling among U.S. mayors. Sacramento’s own mayor, Kevin Johnson, is featured prominently in writer Rebecca Kemble’s piece.

Kemble writes that at the U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Dallas last June, Madison, Wis., Mayor Paul Soglin proposed a resolution acknowledging that cities have the right to regulate taxi and rideshare companies “to protect the public and provide equitable, competitive service.”

Kemble reports the resolution was unanimously adopted in committee, but Johnson, the current president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, called for a vote to indefinitely postpone Soglin’s resolution.

“The vote passed and Soglin’s resolution effectively died,” Kemble reported, then adding, “After the conference, Mayor Johnson filed a reporting form with the city of Sacramento revealing that Uber had donated $50,000 to Johnson’s newly formed nonprofit organization, the African American Mayors Association.”

Regular Bites readers know Uber’s donations to Johnson’s nonprofits also coincided with his penning a pro-Uber editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle this summer. Most of the column is comprised of the words “Cities 3.0” and “next economy,” repeated over and over again and strung together with a few transition

sentences. Then there’s a small paragraph near the end condemning new insurance requirements for Uber.

The big donation also came right before Uber was named the official scab-cab of the Sacramento Kings.

The Progressive piece just shines a bit more light on how Uber is “disrupting” the old ways of bribing politicians, including our own worldclass mayor. Call it Quid Pro Quo 3.0.

The phoniest Sacramento political controversy ever continues to roll on its phony way. The city council is now fast-tracking an ordinance to redo part of the city’s 2011 redistricting plan so that council member Jay Schenirer can have the UC Davis Med Center in his district. Schenirer and his ally Johnson are pushing to make sure they get the change done while there is no one on the city council to represent District 6, which now includes the Med Center. The D6 seat will be vacant for a few months after Kevin McCarty leaves for the state Assembly.

All the fake outrage is not fooling anyone.

The 2011 decision to draw the current city council boundaries—grouping the Med Center with the Elmhurst and Tahoe Park neighborhoods most affected by hospital traffic—has been described as a “travesty” and a “wound” to Oak Park.

Which is weird, since Oak Park leaders had no idea they were outraged until Schenirer and Mayor Johnson told them.

The fact is that at the time, three out of the four maps recommended by the Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee— whose advice the council supposedly ignored, Johnson and Schenirer now complain—took UC Davis Med Center out of Schenirer’s district.

In fact, Schenirer’s own appointee to the citizens redistricting committee—a guy named Steve Hansen, later elected to city council— submitted a map putting Oak Park and the Med Center in different districts.

Not only that, but the Oak Park Neighborhood Association also submitted its own redistricting map recommending that the Med Center and Oak Park be put in different council districts—in the exact same manner that the OPNA would, with considerable prompting from Schenirer and Johnson, later rail against.

So all the fake outrage is not fooling anyone.

Well, OK, it’s fooling a lot of people, including the all-too-credulous Sacramento Bee editorial board. But it’s still bullshit. Ω

yummy BrunCh • BlOOdy mAryS • $8 BOttOmleSS mimOSAS • 14 BeerS On tAp • FOOtBAll On tv

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that the Kings are fun to watch, again. for the American River Bike Trail and the park rangers who keep it clean and safe. that R Street’s Warehouse Artists Lofts will be an affordable (and awesome) home for Midtown and downtown creatives. that council members Jay Schenirer and Allen Warren are talking about raising the minimum wage. for the recent rainfall. More, please. that the McKinley Village and Strong Mayor debates are over. that you stopped making videos of someone pouring a bucket of ice water on your head. that even as many music venues struggle or close, there are still some good places to catch great performers. that the city is modernizing its bike rules and, hopefully, its cycling infrastructure, too. for TBD Fest, the legit music festival we so badly needed. for the moved-and-improved Midtown farmers market—and our many farmers markets, for that matter. that new leaders on the county board of supervisors aim to bring back health care for undocumented Sacramentans. for all the craft beer and local coffee. So much. that this town’s vegetarian love continues to grow. for our pets! for Sacramento Republic FC’s championship season, its diehard fans and live-streaming the games in your living room when Bonney Field sells out.

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for the Sacramento Public Library: the only way we can afford our reading habits. for zoo babies! Three lion cubs (and a yellow-backed duiker) were born at the Sacramento Zoo this fall. for the almond joy cakes at Pushkin’s Bakery.

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for Chando’s Tacos and Asian Cafe, the two best places to eat near SN&R’s headquarters. for you, our readers!

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B E F O R E | N E W S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R |

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Why do children with serious mental-health issues end up in juvenile hall instead of a doctor’s office?

BY RAHEEM F. HOSSEINI

RAHEEMH@NEWSREVIEW.COM

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Ashley Drake is trying to be something other than a cautionary tale.

In a north Sacramento law enforcement office, the 22-year-old waits on a probation officer, the same one she’s had since childhood. It’s time again to reach for the straight and narrow.

She’s never had much help in that department.

Afflicted with bipolar disorder, clinical depression and avoidant personality disorder symptoms, Drake’s childhood is a blur of family discord, 10 juvenile hall detentions and 13 separate group home placements. Therapy, counseling and treatment? They never happened.

Instead, she began self-medicating with hard drugs as an adolescent, and has since graduated to adult jails.

“A lot of my issues were having to do with me being split from my family,” she says. “Just throwing us inside of a room doesn’t really help.”

But that’s increasingly the only option for society’s most plagued youth—deeply troubled boys and girls, warehoused in the absence of decent alternatives.

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‘PiPeline to Prison’ Removed from a home of drug-addled turmoil when she was 4, Ashley Drake and her siblings scattered to divergent fortunes. Adopted by a family in El Dorado Hills, two younger brothers rebounded into stable homes.

Drake and her big brother weren’t so lucky. The brother took his first bust at age 8, graduated to juvenile detention at the state level when he was 12 and is in jail today. The system concocted a similar destiny for Drake, first locked up when she was 12 for shoplifting a bag of beef jerky.

“From there, it just got worse,” she tells SN&R. Arrested last year for felony assault after going off her meds and fighting with her ex, Drake was jailed two additional times for violating the terms of her probation. During the last bust, five months ago, she caught a drug possession charge after being out of jail for only 24 hours.

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The names of minors have been changed to protect their privacy and identities.

This story was produced with support from the California Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

Juvenile halls originally conceived as way stations for delinquents have transformed into long-term commitment facilities for the mentally unwell and emotionally troubled.

Research suggests that local policies play roles. Kern and Riverside are both conservative counties with more traditional—i.e. punitive—approaches to crime and punishment, while the counties of Santa Clara and San Francisco, which also boasts a smaller percentage of medicated juveniles, have adopted more progressive policies.

There are commonalities statewide, however. One is that children without family support fare the worst.

Drake’s frequent attempts to escape foster placement and reunite with her mother branded her a ward of the court at the age of 13. Instead of a social worker, she was assigned a full-time probation officer. Instead of foster placement, she was banished to group homes for other problem children, where her difficulties intensified.

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sicker kids, fewer oPtions Four-foot-nothing with choppy, black hair and an elfin face, Arturro hardly looks the part of a predator. Seated at a bolted-down table with checkers and backgammon boards stenciled atop its surface, the 13-year-old slaps down playing cards during a frantic game of Speed. He giggles as he palms his last card, victorious. “I win, I win,” he needles his opponent, a smiling probation assistant. “You owe me 10 bucks.”

It’s closing in on a year since a sexual assault rap catapulted the minor 200 miles north of his central coast community to Sacramento. Early this fall, he was ordered to a local group home for youthful sex

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transformed into long-term commitment facilities for the mentally unwell and emotionally troubled.

Efforts to reverse this tide have been scattered and makeshift. In Sacramento, probation officials are searching for community partners outside of the hall to intercept their mentally ill, but options vanish for the toughest cases. Kids like Arturro.

The victim of horrific abuse, Arturro lashed out in a like manner and ended up in juvie. Courts from Sacramento to the central coast have tossed him back and forth like a jurisdictional hot potato. No one wants to confront his increasingly complex needs. For the time being, he’s Sacramento’s problem.

“Once the foster care system cut me off, that kind of cut my ties to seeing my brothers,” she says. “From then on, I felt like there was nothing else to work for.”

A spiral of suicide attempts, doped-up psych admissions, escape attempts and detention followed. By 15, she was hooked on crack and heroin.

“It was easier for me to do that than deal with what was really going on,” she says.

Drake is not unique, say advocates.

California is the only state where children are cut off from foster system resources and programs once they’re declared wards of the delinquency court, says law professor Robert C. Fellmeth, director of the University of San Diego’s Children’s Advocacy Institute. “It is quite crazy,” he writes in an email. Tailored mental health programs for transition-age foster youth— disproportionate victims of trauma, drug abuse and juvenile incarceration—have also been slow to develop, the institute said in a report released this year.

Drake’s first real brush with therapy didn’t come until she was almost an adult, during a six-month exile at an Arizona camp for at-risk girls, where she earned her GED certificate.

Recounting her past, Drake doesn’t sound bitter. She reflects on her mom, an addict who still blames herself for losing custody of her kids. She talks of becoming a pastry chef. She’s been clean and sober for five months.

“Me and my older brother may not have had the best of life, but my two younger brothers at least had a better chance,” she says.

Two weeks later, Drake is re-arrested and booked into jail after missing a court date.

“KIDS, NOT CRIMINALS”

According to a comprehensive analysis completed in September for the Sacramento County Criminal Justice Cabinet, nearly 43 percent of the average daily juvenile hall population received mental health services this year, a 19-percent increase over 2000. Of the 84 children who were served, 52 received psychotropic drugs. The representation of medicated juveniles at the hall rose by 16 percent in comparison to 2004, when the population was larger and the number of medicated kids smaller—around 32—an examination of state and local data shows.

“About half of our juvenile hall is a mental health facility. And we don’t have adequate services to keep up with that,” says Arthur L. Bowie, supervising assistant public defender of the county’s juvenile division. “We’re making criminals out of them, instead of what they are.”

What they are, says Bowie and others, are victims of abusive homes and failed institutions. Institutionalized at a young age and too often deprived of proper psychiatric care, they’re groomed for lives on perpetual lockdown.

“Half these kids don’t belong in detention,” says deputy probation officer Gabo Ly, who supervises the special needs unit, where juvenile hall’s most emotionally and psychologically unstable are segregated.

“But this is all we have.”

It’s a crisis in quiet, sapped of any grand political campaign or national outcry. Mental health resources evaporated so gradually that few outside the criminal justice system took notice of the mass migration. And the kids in this jackpot don’t have stable families or powerful lobbyists who fuss when they’re confined.

As a result, halls originally conceived as way stations for delinquents have

Some might call that bad luck. Others name it fate.

“They’re on that pipeline to prison and causing harm along the way,” Bowie says of troubled minors who get sucked into the system. “The conversation about treatment comes after the juvenile justice system.”

This transformation of the state’s juvenile halls into psychiatric facilities of last resort charted a largely unheralded path for at least 15 years. An accumulating number of reports, audits, white papers and lawsuits casts the blame far and wide: The drastic downsizing of youth correctional institutions at the state level, expulsionprone schools, budget-busted county mental health programs, recession-bled community resources, judges and lawyers who don’t understand the intricacies of child psychology.

“This is how juvenile halls become de facto mental hospitals,” says Toni Gardner, a retired field representative with the Board of State and Community Corrections, which oversees local jails and juvenile halls.

As a result, the new California geography looks something like this: The 11th-most populated county in the state, Kern, has the biggest mental health population in its juvenile hall, where nearly 82 percent of the kids are medicated, according to an analysis of BSCC data from the first nine months of 2013, the most recent figures available. Riverside County notches second with nearly 65 percent. Santa Clara County claims the smallest percentage of medicated juveniles in detention among the 11 most populated counties, with just over 9 percent.

Sacramento County falls fifth in this line, with almost 33 percent of its juvenile hall wards reported to be on psychotropic drugs in 2013.

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offenders, where he allegedly fondled one of the residents. That pinballed him to the special needs unit, where the hall’s most vulnerable are isolated from a general population that’s ever more colored by mental illness.

In many cases, the kids here have borne the worst the adult world can inflict— physical violence, sexual abuse, abandonment. Mistreated by those who were meant to protect them, they repeat the behavior modeled for them.

“We have kids that commit sex acts,” Bowie says. “The problem is not that they’re child molesters. The problem is that they’re not appropriately socialized.”

Take 14-year-old Chan, a lumbering growth spurt with hooded eyes. Two years ago, he made inappropriate sexual remarks to some little kids at a Sacramento schoolyard. He’s been in and out of detention ever since, returning each time for conduct violations.

“Those kids stay in juvenile hall for a long time because, now, there isn’t a community-based option for mental health care for those kids,” says assistant probation chief Michael Shores, a 23-year veteran of the department. “So if every group home in the state of California and every group home in the United States of America says that kid is not one we want to take, we’re stuck with that kid right here in juvenile hall.”

It’s ironic, in some ways. Though fewer children are being arrested and detained, those who do are younger, sicker and are jailed longer.

Between 2003 and the first three quarters of 2013, the share of detained youth who are 14 or younger climbed 21.5 percent, according to BSCC records. The average length of detention rose by more than a week to 29.4 days last year. For those awaiting outside placement, that interval grew by almost nine days, to a median 57 days.

Yet even these figures are misleading, as they don’t account for the boomerang youths, like Arturro and Chan, whose lengthy detentions are briefly interrupted by outside placements and jurisdictional beefs.

Meanwhile, the hall’s average daily population has declined 35.5 percent since 2002—to 198 this year—BSCC and Justice Cabinet tallies reveal. The population in alternative detention programs also dropped, but that’s largely because those alternatives vanished during the recession.

One of the more popular options was the Neighborhood Alternative Center, a crisis intervention and referral option for children between the ages of 8 and 17. For cops responding to combustible family situations, it was an alternative to arresting kids or booking them into the hall. For minors

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on the verge of erupting, it was a place to cool off and access counseling.

Shores is seeking community partners to host a scaled-down version of the center, which closed in 2008. Earlier negotiations with Wind Youth Services to do so ended when the homeless youth provider closed its drop-in center in May. “The biggest challenge for us is just to make all our resources spread to all these good ideas and best intentions,” Shores says.

When the center opened in 1970, it tended mostly to communication problems between parents and their kids. By the time it folded, staff was confronting escalating mental health issues, physical abuse, sexual molestation and dysfunctional home lives, the Justice Cabinet report states.

That’s Arturro’s story. Molested by a parent and removed from his home, the only friendly faces he knows belong to staff, who acknowledge this isn’t the place for him. All of this has manifested in several ways. He hears voices.

Sometimes he sees things that aren’t there. And he doesn’t respond well to raised voices.

“He was physically abused in ways I don’t think I can imagine,” says deputy probation officer Ron Parker, who headed up the special needs unit until August.

“Pretty much every kid in here has some sort of PTSD.”

Probation’s culture shift Aided by a five-year expansion that nearly doubled juvenile hall’s capacity and carved out space for the special needs unit, suicide attempts and assaults on staff have plummeted sharply since 1999, when 105 youths tried to kill themselves and staff reported 55 assaults.

“We were overcrowded,” Shores says.

“Everyone knows that when you’re overcrowded, other things start to happen. It’s sort of a snowball effect.”

That snowball rolled into a citizen-filed lawsuit alleging that guards were too rough, and wards were being denied mandatory instruction time due to a lack of space and an abundance of detainees. Five years ago, a signed consent decree promising reform settled the matter. A halting culture shift was already underway before then, says Shores, with probation officers who envision high-octane fieldwork pressed into the harder toil of junior psychology.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the special needs unit, a secluded dormitory with its own shower and classroom facilities.

The staff members here don’t possess psychology degrees—some never graduated college—and admit they’re not the best equipped to care for children in acute psychological distress. But they do the

First detained at the age of 12 for stealing beef jerky, Ashley Drake, now 22, is struggling to escape the juvenile hall-to-prison pipeline that inordinately impacts psychologically troubled youth.

She’s getting help from Turning Point Community Solutions, a local mental health provider that got her into subsidized housing.

best they can with the instruments at their disposal.

When the hallucinations got bad for a schizophrenic girl in the unit, for instance, Parker would enter her cell and shoo away the apparitions. “Get out of here, ghosts!

Go away!” he’d say, waving his arms toward the door. “OK, I chased them to Unit 6.”

The young father admits borrowing tricks from home. “To yell at a ghost in a girl’s room, you about have to role-play a little bit,” he says.

And course-correct.

Officers once commanded Arturro to back away from a youth he appeared to be threatening. Arturro retreated to his bunk, balled up his hands and pummeled his face until it bled.

To an abused child, it may have seemed a sensible response. But the behavior made him the toughest charge in a unit that specializes in hard cases.

After Arturro’s outburst, any time the boy appeared on edge, Parker handed him a racquetball and isolated him in a room that looks like a chapel sealed in Plexiglas. The feelings he can’t articulate, the memories that don’t make sense, Arturro puts them into that blue rubber wad and slams it against the wall.

The scheme worked. Arturro went two weeks without a write-up. For maybe the first time, adults were proud of him. He liked that, and has become one of the better behaved kids in the unit. “He’s an ‘honor,’ currently,” Parker boasts.

This isn’t the normal way of doing things, Shores notes. “These kids fall outside our ability to force them into some rules.”

Shores and juvenile hall commander Jim Sanders say that learning curve really

began straightening about seven years ago.

Intake officers got better at noticing mental illness cues during the booking process, and redirecting youths to programs instead of detention. Officials are also learning that a get-out-of-juvie card and simple recommendation to seek help aren’t effective means of diversion.

“Some of these people are dirt poor.

They don’t know how to navigate the system,” Bowie contends.

Recognizing the need for more intensive services, the county created the Juvenile Justice Diversion and Treatment Program in 2010 using surplus money from the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act, which taxes million-dollar earners for community wellness programs. The River Oak Center for Children is the main source of JJDTP services, but the program also funds probation supervision and behavioral health oversight, so that eligible families are helped one overwhelming step at a time.

“It’s the only one of its kind that I’m aware of,” Shores says.

There is a catch, however. The criteria for participating is that there is an intact family to reunite with the juvenile. For those unwanted or abused minors, as well as any whose offenses flag them as public safety risks, the answer remains detention in a correctional setting or placement in group homes, which aren’t always equipped to deal with a child’s needs, say those who work and reside in them.

“Then you really start to see a loss of options, because the state no longer provides any psychiatric hospitalization or care for adolescents,” Shores says. “We’re doing everything we can do to avoid those outcomes.”

For real change, there needs to be action at every level.

INSIDE SACRAMENTO’S JUVIE SN&R breaks down data collected by the Board of State Community Corrections on average daily population (ADP), suicide attempts and assaults on staff.

ADP

SUICIDE ATTEMPTS

ASSAULTS ON STAFF *THROUGH SEPTEMBER

Three state senators, including two leading voices on mental health issues, declined to comment for this story.

Recognizing that the current landscape won’t shift anytime soon, the Justice Cabinet report recommends hiring a fulltime therapist to staff the special needs wing, as well as two additional mental health liaisons to work the rest of the facility. It also repeats a recommendation from 2005 for additional community resources.

Shores describes early talks to repurpose a closed youth center as a group home specializing in intensive family-reunification, residential substance abuse treatment and gender-specific services for sexually exploited girls, but cautions that there are “a lot of political issues to resolve.”

In the interim, the patchworks will have to suffice. Impromptu costume-making sessions. Hooking up the Xbox to coax the kids, lethargic from their meds, into physical activity.

“We try different things in this unit,” Parker says.

As he speaks, a girl’s spooked voice resonates around the corner. Then, a thrumming, soft at first, but unmistakable.

It’s the sound of Arturro’s rubber ball returning to square one.

nest in the courtyard and offering to put himself in harm’s way to protect his fellow inmates.

Today, during a flag football scrimmage, it’s all of them.

Ben, getting down on himself for dropping passes. In and out of juvie in his home county of Nevada, the glassy-eyed boy was picked up in Sacramento seven days ago on a warrant. He loves dirt bikes and insists that his mother will arrive to pick him up soon.

Edgar, looking lost as he wades into center court, unsure where to move.

A lanky kid with low-level autism, he threatened a classmate and has been here a few weeks.

“ About half of our juvenile hall is a mental health facility. And we don’t have adequate services to keep up with that. We’re making criminals out of them.” supervising assistant public defender, Sacramento County Probation Department

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The special needs unit in Sacramento County’s Youth Detention Facility is where juvenile hall’s most vulnerable wards are segregated from the general population.

PHOTO BY STEVEN CHEA

As the boys exit the ward, they automatically hew to the right wall and file toward the gymnasium in a straight, shuffling line. They’re outfitted identically in baggy white T-shirts, dark gray sweatpants and navy, slip-on shoes.

They all need haircuts.

A stout probation officer is waiting in the balmy gym when the small procession enters. He runs the facility’s Leadership, Education and Athletic Program—a kind of P.E. for kids in detention. Despite some early grumbles, the boys are soon sprinting across the hardwood. One of the boys squeezes out a fart mid-run, crippling the others with laughter. “It smells like eggs over here,” Ben says, wafting the air.

The inhabitants of this gritty institutional setting have a way of reminding you of their age.

Three months ago, it was the schizophrenic girl, terrified of ghosts.

Last summer, it was a cognitively disabled boy who toted an imaginary lightsaber made of cardboard. In his mind, he was a hero, fretting over a hornet’s

who wants the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office to drop its petition and steer Arturro into treatment. “We all got to come to the realization that we can’t use our juvenile halls as mental health institutions.”

In the meantime, the victories will come where they can.

It’s the final quarter of the football scrimmage and the score remains knotted.

Arturro, a natural athlete, has racked up the touchdowns but his teammate Ben keeps carrying his receptions the wrong way.

Every. Single. Time.

As the clock ticks down, the probation officer sails the pigskin toward the rafters.

Ben backpedals into enemy territory and unwraps his palms. He lurches when the ball first punches his gut, then gathers it close like something precious.

On the sidelines, an audience of officers, assistants and volunteers point in unison, screaming at Ben where to go.

They’re caught up in the symbolic magnitude of the moment: Just once, dear Lord, can the poor kid grab a win?

Ben juts out a leg. It’s a false step. But then he twists and steps true.

The crowd goes wild. Ω

Arthur L. Bowie

Big challenges, small victories

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Arturro, celebrating a touchdown with a silly dance. During a break in the action, he retreats to the sidelines so he can stand next to a matronly volunteer he calls “Grandma.”

Despite having every reason not to, the boy with the brutal past is dropping his guard. Who knows if it will last?

Local prosecutors opened up a fresh criminal petition for the group home molestation, a felony allegation that could brand him for life. It’s already put him in the middle of a jurisdictional battle. In midSeptember, a judge ordered Arturro to the county where his original offense occurred; the court there volleyed him right back.

“This is the problem: No one wants to deal with these high-end kids,” says Bowie,

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KEEP KEE K EEE ON ON DRIVIN DRIVI DRIVIN’ D DR R IV RIVIN RIVI IIVI IVIN VVII N N’’

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BY AARON CARNES

PA R k t h E C A R A N d R E l A x : O u t d O O R t h E At E R S S u C h A S t h E W E S t W i N d S A C R A m E N t O 6 A R E At t R A C t i N g f i l m fA N S l O O k i N g f O R B l O C k B u S t E R f u N

n any given Friday or Saturday night— or maybe even a Tuesday evening— drivers crossing over Highway 50 via the Bradshaw Road exit are likely to see lines of cars, all bound for the West Wind Sacramento 6 drive-in theater—the last drive-in in the Sacramento area.

It may seem like an old-fashioned anomaly but the Sacramento 6 is actually pretty modern. And business is doing great. The theater, open year-round, was built in 1973 and originally had five screens. Its last-standing competitor, the Sunrise in Fair Oaks, closed a decade ago.

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Back then, drive-ins increasingly appeared to be a thing of the past, a dying piece of American culture.

Today, filmgoers can choose from copious entertainment options—via Netflix, the Internet, multiplex theaters, etc.—something that would seemingly seal the fate of the drive-in more than ever. Locally, rumors of the Sacramento 6’s demise have run rampant for years. In reality, outdoor theaters are not only surviving—in some cases they’re actually thriving.

There’s talk of a new national outdoor chain, for example. And around here, there are no plans to sell, close or demolish the West Wind Sacramento 6, says Tony Maniscalco, vice president of marketing for Syufy Enterprises, the company that owns it.

“That drive-in is one of our better performing drive-in theaters,” Maniscalco says.

Most might find that surprising given all the “death of the drive-in” articles that show up every few years or so.

“What’s funny is that ‘this is our last year’ is something that we’ve never said. It’s one of those things that the media puts out there.”

And that’s OK, he adds.

“It’s good for our business because [now] everyone wants to go out to the drive-in,” Maniscalco says.

Outside is in The renewed popularity of theaters such as the Sacramento 6 isn’t unusual. Drive-ins all over the country have experienced a resurgence of sorts. Syufy owns seven drive-ins (making them the largest drive-in chain globally) and Maniscalco says they are seeing increased attendance at all of those theaters. In fact, two

of the seven were recently re-opened: the West Wind in Concord, which opened in 2007, and one in Santa Barbara, which opened in 2010.

The new interest, Maniscalco says, isn’t surprising.

“I think what’s happened is drive-in operators started paying closer attention to their properties, they’ve cleaned them up, brought in new equipment. It’s not just us, but everybody in the business,” he says.

The West Wind chain is actually an anomaly, as it’s corporate owned. Of the 350-plus drive-ins currently open in the states, most are independently owned and operated and typically located in small, rural towns.

Many of those small-town indies are also enjoying better attendance.

Take the 99W for example, a drive-in in Newberg, Ore., owned and operated by Brian Francis, whose grandfather built the theater

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in 1953. He says he noticed fresh interest in the theater in the early 2000s.

“All the urban legends had gone through everyone’s head that there weren’t any drive-ins anymore, [but] through word-of-mouth and the Internet, it became known to people that there was still a drive-in around here,” Francis says.

People flocked to the 99W for a chance to try the car theater experience firsthand, he says.

“We’re able to attract business from the larger cities. There’s no drive-in in the Portland area. There’s no drive-in in Vancouver, Washington. You have to go up about 200 miles to find a drive-in in the state of Washington,” he says.

The biggest customer base, Francis adds, comprises out-of-towners who visit annually to get their drive-in fix—and they’re people of all ages.

Sacramento’s scene is similar, even though technically it’s more centralized, located at the border of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, and it gets business from people who live downtown or in surrounding areas.

Over the years, drive-ins have been an important part of Sacramento’s entertainment culture. And why not: This is a big, sprawling city with excellent weather.

The area’s drive-in culture is storied: There was once an X-rated outdoor theater, Davis’ Westlane Drive-In, that closed in 1986.

Local filmmaker Jason Rudy made a campy short about local drive-in culture called A Tale of Two Drive-Ins. The film also spotlights an old Elk Grove drive-in church.

Drive-in culture, Rudy says, had a big influence on his art. His film company, Desperate Visions, which makes

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Mean boys and girls See ASK JOEY

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“It’s really not about the movie, it’s about the experience of being at the drive-in.”

Matías Bombal former Crest Theatre manager and film enthusiast

exploitation-influenced films, uses the tag line “Drive-in films for the digital audience,” for example, and also sports a drive-in marqueethemed logo.

The retro imagery and style that Rudy references evolved over time starting in the late ’60s and into the late ’70s. By then, drive-ins had become the home to many low budget B-movies and exploitation films depicting sex and violence. Then, drive-ins didn’t have a lot of access to first-run big-budget Hollywood films, mostly because of the relationship that the studios had with the indoor theaters.

“The bigger blockbuster films generally played in hard-top theaters, but the indies and regional films played in the drive-in,” Rudy explains.

They still held an appeal to certain audiences, however, he adds. “[They attracted] a lot of teenage kids that wanted a place to go that was outside of home, and they could go to their drive-in if they had their license. They can make out with their girlfriends and they could have their own little thing,” Rudy says. “You can drink beer and do drugs and stuff you can’t do at a regular theater.”

Such debauchery wasn’t initially the convention, however. When the first drive-ins opened in the early ’30s, they were considered a novelty, and attracted mostly families. In the ’50s, as Americans became car obsessed, the outdoor theaters became more geared toward teenage audiences, showing horror and serial films. In 1952, drive-ins sales were more substantial than sit-down theaters. By 1958, there were roughly 5,000 drive-ins in the country. By the ’60s and ’70s, however, B-movies had become more graphic, which changed drive-ins’ image.

It was the ’80s that almost killed the drivein. The advent of VHS and cable TV created a more lucrative market for B-movies and that, combined with a rise in property values and multiplexes, meant that many outdoor theaters were forced to shut down. The ones that lasted found other streams of revenue by hosting flea markets and swap meets.

As such, those drive-ins that remained were forced to upgrade to digital projectors as a means of survival—it’s the only way to have access to first-run films.

Not that everyone cares about catching that latest blockbuster outdoors. For many—whether

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Relax, the West Wind Sacramento drive-in is open year-round and, according to it’s owners, not shutting down anytime soon.

those discovering the drive-in for the first time, or those revisiting an old favorite—the reason to choose that option over an indoor movie house (not to mention all those other film-watching options) is entirely different.

“It’s really not about the movie, it’s about the experience of being at the drive-in,” says former Crest Theatre manager and film enthusiast Matías Bombal. “With the drive-in, you can truly have your own environment in your car, and participate communally. In the [indoor] theater you have some social requirements, which are not necessarily [required] if you’re in the front seat of your car.”

And there are other signs, too, that drive-ins are suddenly trendy. The Johnny Rockets hamburger chain has announced plans to team with USA Drive-Ins to open 200 brand new theaters by 2018.

As strongly as this indicates the resurgence of drive-ins, this popularity could be its downfall too, because for a lot of drive-in fanatics, the appeal exists in their uniqueness of character.

Even in the case of a corporately owned place such as the West Wind, there’s still a big difference between being one in seven than being part of a 200-chain mold.

Christy Savage, who produces film fests and helps run the Trash Film Orgy production company, says she loves outdoor theaters both for the nostalgia—she remembers going as a kid—and because they create an experience that just can’t be replicated by their sterile indoor counterparts.

“I can go with a large group of friends,” she says. “Bring snacks, sneak in booze, joke during the movie and not even bother the people nearby.”

B E F O R E | F R O N T L I N E S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R |

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For the week of November 26 ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN BRENEMAN

ollow this simple advice to avoid getting beat up, trampled or shot while buying an XBox One or PlayStation 4 on Black Friday: Avoid stores like the plague. Yes, it’s possible to go out the day or weekend after Thanksgiving, avoid the mall, avoid big box stores, and still get all your holiday shopping done—and have some fun while doing it.

For starters, the State Indian Museum State Historic Park (2618 K Street) is hosting the Indian Arts & Crafts Fair on Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29.

Happening from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, it’s free with museum admission ($3 for adults, $2 for kids ages 6-17, free for kids younger than that), and features stuff like jewelry, pottery, basketry and other handmade items. For more information, call (916) 324-0971 or visit www.parks.ca.gov/ indianmuseum.

String that together with a visit to the Scottish Rite Center (6151 H Street), where the Crocker Art Museum and the Creative Arts League of Sacramento are teaming up to throw an event called the Crocker Holiday Artisan Market 2014. It offers 100 artists showing off original works, a Victorian Santa (whatever that means) and food from Ambrosia Cafe. Admission is $6 ($3 for students and seniors) and happens at various times from Friday, November 28,

through Sunday, November 30. To apply to sell your art, or for more information, visit www.creativeartsleague.com/ crocker-holiday-artisan-market.

In a similar vein, Nevada City has its own 2014 Artisans Festival (http://miners foundry.org/artisans-festival-3) on Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29, at the Miner’s Foundry (325 Spring Street).

It happens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and features installation art, performance art, wine and children’s activities.

Admission costs $3 (free for children age 12 and under).

If you still feel like you have some shopping to do, at least buy stuff from shops selling local goods and wares. New Helvetia Brewing Company (1730 Broadway, http://newhelvetiabrew.com), the East Sac Mercantile (3257 Folsom Boulevard, http://eastsacmercantile.com) and Little Relics Boutique & Galleria (908 21st Street, www.littlerelics.com) will all have Black Friday specials, for example. New Helvetia even has a party—featuring special brews, a food truck and music by Guero—starting at noon.

—Jonathan Mendick

wEEkLY PICkS

Free Admission Day: Canned Food Drive

An Irish Christmas

Small Train Holiday

Friday, November 28, through SuNday, November 30

Friday, November 28, through Saturday, November 29

Returning to Folsom Lake College’s gorgeous Harris Center for the Arts, this jolly celebration of rich and colorful Irish culture and traditions—modern and classic—is performed by the nationally renowned Kerry Dance Troupe. It will include dexterous dancHOLIDAY ing, delightful storytelling and music driven by fiddles and flutes, pipes and accordions. $20-$49, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Harris Center for the Arts, 10 College Parkway in Folsom; www.harriscenter.net.

The California State Railroad Museum is setting up hundreds of feet of track and a whole bunch of toy trains for kids TRAINS (and adults) to play with. Just tell everyone you’re going for your kids. You can wear a train conductor’s hat while you play with all your favorite trains and go on a scavenger hunt. $5-$10; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the California State Railroad Museum, 125 I Street; www.csrmf.org.

Friday, November 28 There’s probably no better time to assess your excess-food stockpiles than the day after Thanksgiving, and Fairytale Town is offering free FOOD DRIVE admission to visitors that bring in those leftover canned goods for donation to Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. Burn off that extra slice of pie with Mother Goose, arts and crafts and a puppet show. Free, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fairytale Town, 3901 Land Park Drive; www.fairytaletown.org.

—Deena Drewis

—Alan Sheckter

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—Aaron Carnes

Stand Up Sacramento thurSday, december 4 A diverse group of local wisecrackers—including headliner Ellis Rodriguez along with Cheryl “the Soccer Mom” Anderson, Diego Curiel, JR De Guzman, Ruben Mora and Randi Knott—is donating time to advocate to the world that individuals with mental illnesses don’t deserve to be stigmatized and should not live in COMEDY shame. The show, presented by TLCS, Inc., a United Way-funded psychiatric rehabilitation agency, also includes gift shopping along with food and beverages. $20-$100, 7:30 p.m. at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street; www.tlcssac. org/events.

—Alan Sheckter

The Provoke Era through February 1 Following World War II, a new style of photography emerged within the next generation of Japanese photographers. They were taking haunting portraits that were blurry, out of focus and off-kilter. The aftermath PHOTOGRAPHY of the war was a time of unrest and turmoil for the people in Japan. This movement of photography captures these feelings. $5-$10, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday through Sunday (and to 9 p.m. on Thursday), at the Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; www.crockerartmuseum.org.

—Aaron Carnes

Thai Food Cooked in Rice Bran Oil HAPPY HOUR 4:30-6PM &

That Eastern swagger

LATE NIGHT SPECIALS 8-9PM

Izakaya Daikoku 1901 S Street, (916) 662-7337, http://izakayadaikoku.com “Finding good Japanese food—like, real Japanese food—is impossible in Sacramento. I gave up years ago.” So says a friend of mine by Garrett who travels to Japan frequently and spent McCord a few years living there. I decided that she would be the perfect person to take with me to Izakaya Daikoku, the newest Japanese eatery to spring up locally.

Izakayas are to Japan what pubs are to England: a place to grab a cheap drink and some easy grub. The purveyors behind I.D. hope to bring this Eastern swagger to Rating: Sacramento.

HHH Upon sitting down and getting our menus we found ourselves drowning in options Dinner for one: from okonomiyaki to sunomono to sushi. $15 - $20 For those not familiar with Japanese food, be prepared to ask a lot of questions as you explore Izakaya cuisine.

“Overall,” explained my companion, “understand that Japanese food is simply prepared, possesses clean and uncomplicated flavors and should always be paired with beer and sake.”

Sunomono (Japanese pickled cucumbers) H topped with fresh octopus proved to be a flaweD lovely starter. This is a dish that messes HH with your head and for a moment you haS MoMeNtS might think you’re at a Shirahama beach HHH in summer. The crispy vegetables and the appealINg chew of the seafood make for a fascinating HHHH contrast. authoRItatIve A selection of yakitori (skewered and HHHHH grilled foods) was rather hit and miss. The epIc ebi (shrimp) was delivered overcooked and under-seasoned. Yet, the grilled chicken livers tasted pleasantly sauced and the chicken hearts hid a fervently gamey flavor.

Agedashi tofu was the true hit of the night: deep-fried cubes of delicately soft Still hungry? tofu served with a soy dashi broth. Squishy Search SN&R’s pillows of flavor.

“Dining Directory” Our culinary expert then insisted the rest to find local of us try the hamachi collar served with restaurants by name or by type of food. lemon and ponzu. It’s a boastful dish that Sushi, Mexican, Indian, exemplifies simplicity, though heavy grillItalian—discover it ing mars the otherwise intimate experience. all in the “Dining” The soba noodles seemed staid if nothing section at www.news else. It’s the crisp and hauntingly savory review.com. broth that lifts you up and floats you away.

We sampled two soba bowl specimens: one with a snotty mess of Japanese yam that isn’t as unappealing as it sounds, but not exactly seductive in flavor or texture either.

The other arrived with a side of vegetable and shrimp tempura that was tender in crunchy armor.

The okonomiyaki is I.D.’s big pull— a traditional Japanese pizza made of cabbage and savory pancake batter. Each is buried under mayo, katsu sauce and bonito

BUY 7 ENTREES GET 1 FREE WITH THE COCONUT CLUB

flakes resulting in a rich, greasy mess that leaves you feeling heavy but guarantees you’ll sober up quickly.

Of course, that may well be the point, as the sake menu is staggering. Prepare to explore and get your drink on.

A sushi menu reminiscent of Kru and Mikuni is also available. None of it is bad, but if you want sushi then go to a sushi joint.

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Agedashi tofu was the true hit of the night: deep-fried cubes of delicately soft tofu served with a soy dashi broth. Squishy pillows of flavor.

Buy any dinner entree at regular price, get the second for 1/2 OFF! Must present coupon, cannot combine with other discounts.

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Lighting and sound are issues. At one visit we all broke out the flashlights on our cell phones in order to read the dark menus encased in frosted plastic covers. Noise levels are epic in the cavernous space, so expect to shout over the din.

Still, we would call the night a success.

And our Japanese cuisine expert?

“It reminds me of Japan.” Ω

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1315 21st Street, Sacramento 916.441.7100

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Vintage, M o d e r n

& D ELIC IO US - A n n M artin R olk e, SN &R Food Critic

‘Man candy’ is creepy

He wiggles his eyebrows upward, looks straight ahead with a possessed stare and breathlessly calls pig flesh “man candy.” It’s even more disturbing when it’s done 2 feet from one’s face, though.

Trust me. He might fit into the bacon-fetish crowd who would disdain any type of fake bacon, like Sweet Earth Natural Foods’ Benevolent Bacon. Too bad, because the hickory-and-smoked-flavored seitan sizzled and smelled like the real dead deal, and the taste was close, but it lacked that biting-into-an-animal’s-pure-fat quality.

But consider the tradeoff: No highly intelligent animal had to have a lifetime of sad factory farmness for your one meal, and the California-made product really does taste good, and kindness tastes even better. Find it at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op (1900 Alhambra Boulevard).

H appy Hou r M-F, 4-6 | Op en 11a m f or Lu nch

9 0 8 5 Elk Gro ve Blvd., Elk Gro ve • 916-685-LO LA

lunch special

Paninis

part of our $5 lunch specials mon-fri 10am to 2pm

—Shoka

i a s o n 2667

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Downtown Blackbird Kitchen & Beer Gallery

Where to eat?

Here are a few recent reviews and regional recommendations by Janelle Bitker, Ann Martin Rolke, Garrett McCord, Jonathan Mendick and Shoka updated regularly.

Check out www.newsreview.com for more dining advice.

Blackbird is back with chefowner Carina Lampkin again at the helm. It’s located in its original space with a similar aesthetic, though with more focus on beer and bar food to better complement the seafood-inspired dinner menu.

A burger served with house pickles, seven-day housecured bacon, cheddar and sweet ’n’ chivey “awesome sauce” make for one of the city’s best burgers, no question. Chowder fries, however, are nifty in theory—fries covered in bay shrimp, bacon and parsley, then doused with chowder. It’s a play on poutine, but a lack of acid and serious sogginess issues mar it from being a landmark dish.

Better yet? Fish tacos featuring fried pollock served with pickled cabbage and chipotle crema. These and a beer will remedy any bad day you’re having. American. 1015 Ninth St., (916) 498-9224. Dinner for one: $10-$30. HHH1/2 G.M.

Midtown Block Butcher Bar This place serves the holy trinity of European cuisine: meat, cheese and alcoholic beverages. Most of its boards and plates are balanced using three basic tastes: salty (meats and cheeses), sweet (honey and jam) and sour (pickles and vinegar). The charcuterie boards impress visually and on the tongue.

A recent selection included shaved almonds, neat piles of meat, mustard, pickled cauliflower and beets, served with small slices of bread.

The ’nduja sandwich is startlingly spicy and salty, with rich melted cheese and ground meat spread between pressed slices of bread. Or try the pressed serrano ham, manchego cheese, arugula and salsa sandwich—it’s like a cross between a cubano, a breakfast panini and a torta. Elsewhere on the menu there are fine cocktails, an intimidating whiskey list, and a small but diverse selection of beer and wine, both regional and international.

European. 1050 20th St., (916) 476-6306. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH J.M.

Capital Dime Restaurant With a new chef and menu, this Midtown eatery has transformed into a farm-to-forkthemed place for smart bar bites and appealing sandwiches and salads. Try the bacon lollipops, perhaps the tastiest little creations ever put on a stick. Here, salty rib bacon is slathered with melted brown sugar and whispers of cayenne and cinnamon more hushed than the juiciest of rumors.

Sweet-potato pierogis are tasty, puffy packets of potato drizzled with sour cream and shredded-duck confit. A duck burger with fig jam and plenty of crispy onions makes for a gamy change of pace, but the rib bacon whiskey burger—with crunchy lumps of house-made pickle, cheddar and a landslide of crispy fried onions—just

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might be the best burger in town. American. 1801 L St., Suite 50; (916) 443-1010. Dinner for one: $15-$25. HHHH G.M.

Goldfield Trading Post This new eatery rustles up much nicer chow than your usual cowboy fare with a menu that features dishes with names like Grandma’s Meat Loaf.

Grandma knows how to make some meat loaf, that’s for sure: slabs of beef ground with bacon are glazed with a sweet sauce, served atop the cheesiest mashed potatoes this side of Wisconsin. The Gold Panner’s Pork Chop was flat-out fantastic, oozing juicy flavor from its fire-kissed crust. Housemade cinnamon applesauce for dunking was a perfect accompaniment. Any good country bar worth its salt pork has chili on the menu, and Goldfield is no exception.

It’s made with chunks of tender chicken rather than ground beef, with plenty of nuggets of gold corn and black beans to boot. American.

1630 J St., (916) 476-5076.

Dinner for one: $5-$10.

HHH1/2 AMR

East Sacramento Fahrenheit 250 BBQ This barbecue joint ups the ante with attentive table service and high-end ingredients.

Chef Jacob Carriker serves Southern staples such as pulled pork, brisket and ribs, plus the very California

addition of smoked tri-tip.

There’s also chicken and trout—all smoked in a 7-foot hand-forged steel behemoth.

The pulled-pork sandwich is moist, smoky and falling apart with tenderness. The half-chicken is a bit dry, but benefits from a shot of sauce.

The tri-tip is well-smoked, but not as good as the brisket, although it still makes for a very nice addition to the Market salad, with baby greens, grilled zucchini and onions, and cornbread croutons. Barbecue. 7042 Folsom Blvd., (916) 476-4508. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH AMR

Land Park/ Curtis Park Boba Cafe For starters, try the scallion pancake; it’s salty, crunchy on the outside and chewy inside. Or, order the pan-fried beef bun, which with its doughy, crunchy wrapping strangely resembled the texture of a Taco Bell Crunchwrap, only smaller, with a much richer flavor.

Also worth sampling: pork dumplings served as a firm dough wrapping filled with a rich pork broth and a small ball of meat. The “Taiwan Style Stewed Pork Over Rice,” a red-braised pork, is a tender, deep-red colored pork marinated in earthy aromatic spices and copious amounts of soy sauce. Paired with an egg and a heaping pile of rice, it’s one of the most comforting rice plates in Sacramento.

Chinese. 5131 Freeport Blvd.,

(916) 455-1687. Dinner for one: $5-$15. HHHH J.M

Pangaea Bier Cafe Just as European wines are made to be enjoyed with food rather than sipped alone, the current tsunami of Europeanstyle microbreweries feature drinks often best quaffed alongside a well-crafted meal.

Pangaea Bier Cafe recently stepped up its food game to satisfy that need with a revamped menu that includes an ever-changing rotation of seasonal, slightly upscale pub food. Try the Buffalo wings: They’re deeply flavorful fried morsels with a thick glaze.

The mac ’n’ cheese is creamy, with a bit of beer in the sauce and a crunchy topping of herb-flecked breadcrumbs.

The sliders are gorgeous little mouthfuls with Tillamook cheddar and house-made pickles. The main-course cheeseburger, one of the best we’ve had in ages, is made from a custom blend of brisket and chuck. This is a juicy patty that holds together, yet bursts with flavor. The locally made brioche bun bears up well, and the house pickles and cheddar simply gild the lily. American. 2743 Franklin Blvd., (916) 454-4942. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH1/2 AMR

South Sac Bodhi Bowl This Vietnamese eatery’s menu is all vegetarian and mostly vegan, with plenty of high notes. The Heavenly Noodle is a can’t-go-wrong

salad comprising snow-white vermicelli noodles with cooling mint, cucumber slices, houseroasted peanuts and jagged pieces of faux beef. The “beef” actually is slightly sweet, plenty umami and pleasantly inoffensive, as far as fake meat goes.

Nearly everything here has a faux-meat product or tofu element. So, sorry diners with soy allergies—it can’t even be escaped in the papaya salad.

Not an issue? Soldier on with the Hot & Sour soup, a not-too spicy sunset-orange broth that teems with a tomatoey and citrus flavor, chunks of pineapple, semicircles of trumpet mushrooms, cubes of fried tofu and slices of faux crab. Or, try the stir-fried Eight Fold Path.

It features al dente celery, red bell pepper and triangles of the most savory, salty, dense tofu perhaps ever. Vietnamese.

6511 Savings Place, Ste. 100; (916) 428-4160. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH S.

Kansai Ramen & Sushi House This place serves its own take on ramen and sushi, with varying degrees of success. The kakuni ramen, which features three thick slices of braised pork belly in lieu of the house ramen’s thin slices of chashu, boasts a nice, sweet marinade; tender consistency; and copious flavor. The sushi rolls here are Western style—aka loaded with toppings. Try the Mufasa roll. With crab and avocado on the inside and salmon and sauce outside, it’s particularly tasty, seasoned in sesame oil and baked— a somewhat unusual

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Green Thumb Deli 322 3rd Street West Sacramento (916) 604-4558

Green Thumb Pizza 9663 Folsom Blvd Sacramento (916) 382-4091

DELIVERY AVAILABLE

www.greenthumbdeli.com

Natomas Chicago’s Pizza This pizzeria mashes up traditional deepdish pies with Indian food. Try ordering a custom pizza with toppings such as Tandoori chicken and tikka masala. The latter’s spicy tomato-andyogurt-based sauce contrasts nicely with the thick, buttery crust. There are also more conventional offerings including a vegetarian pizza and one with pepperoni. Or, skip the pizza altogether and order samosas. Here, crunchy pastry shells filled with potatoes, onions, peas, beans and spices are served with a side of delicious, bright green coriander chutney. Although this place misses a great opportunity to incorporate a tasty Indian bread such as roti or naan as a pizza crust, it’s still a good spot to try something new.

Pizza. 4391 Gateway Park Blvd., Suite 600; (916) 928-6300.

Dinner for one: $12-$20.

HHH J.M.

The Waffle Experience A whole menu of waffles—sounds heavenly, no? But hold your forks—these aren’t your mom’s buttermilk beauties full of syrup. They’re traditional Belgian liège waffles, which are closer to bread than pastry. Open for breakfast and lunch, the menu offers choices that include breakfast

creations and dishes labeled “Two Hands Required”—i.e., waffle sandwiches. All are packed with flavor. The “Eggcellent” consists of applewood bacon, fontina, egg, arugula, and sun-dried tomato aioli sandwiched between fennel seed waffles.

It’s messy, but worth the extra napkins. “Cheeses Gone Wild” is a grilled cheese for grown-ups, with four kinds of cheese, bacon, kale, fennel confit and caramelized leek waffles. The rich cheeses are well balanced by the greens and slightly acidic confit.

American. 4391 Gateway Park Blvd., Suite 650 in Natomas; (916) 285-0562. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH AMR

Dad’s Kitchen The cooking at this Guy Fieri-approved joint is consistent and at times technically terrific. Try the Dad’s Burger (lettuce, red onion, tomato, Aleppo chili aioli, and a beef patty encrusted with blue cheese and bacon). With a firm and chewy bun and a sauce with kick, it’s one of Sac’s best burgers. Or get the Hot Blonde. It’s like a subtle, healthier version of a club sandwich, with organic chicken, avocado, spinach, cucumber, roasted onion and Swiss cheese—all set between sourdough bread and grilled on a panini press. It boasts a crunchy texture from all the veggies, a light boost of piquant flavor from a “pepper

most amazing slider. American.

1310 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-1045.

Dinner for one: $15-$25.

HHHH G.M.

plant sauce,” and won’t leave you feeling overly stuffed after eating it. American.

8928 Sunset Ave. in Fair Oaks, (916) 241-9365. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH J.M.

Elk Grove

Danielle’s Crêperie This eatery, which specializes in French and American, serves a ton of breakfast and lunch options (pancakes, waffles, omelets, quiches, crepes, sandwiches) and diners can order them at any time of day. A chocolate crepe is huge and could make for an entire (sugary) meal itself. A Nutella filling option would also be nice.

Savory crepes are a good option; try the Crab and Spinach Crêpe.

With crab meat, spinach, garlic and a cheesy French Mornay sauce, this is rich haute cuisine at a bargain price. French and American. 3535 Fair Oaks Blvd., (916) 972-1911. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH1⁄2. J.M.

Arden/ Carmichael

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

technique for sushi. Japanese.

2992 65th St., Ste. 288; (916) 455-0288. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH J.M.

Field House American Sports Pub Launched by the same team that raised Shady Lady Saloon, this spot brings a bit more culinary hope to an often forgotten part of Sacramento. The whiskey burger is a mighty sammich of perfection with smoked Gouda cheese and bacon that serve as excellent counterpoints to the achingly sweet maple-bourbon glazed red onions. Fries-slashchips arrived pencil-thin and fiercely crispy. If you visit for brunch, don’t miss the signature bloody mary: a 32-ounce bloody mary that doesn’t skimp on the horseradish. It’s served with skewers of beet-pickled egg, sausage and bacon, tiger prawn, pickled veggies, and the

Lola’s Lounge The dishes here bring together Latin American favorites with modern presentations. There are Spanish tapas, for example, including bacalao, a buttery mash of potatoes and salt cod served in a mortar with toast and Spanish olive oil.

Argentineanstyled empanadas are exquisitely flaky and crisp, encasing juicy shredded beef and chopped hard-boiled egg. A garnish of cilantro puree adds the perfect balance of fresh herb. Lola’s Plato de Quesos makes for one of the most interesting cheese plates in the area. It includes Catalan mató, a fresh cheese similar to ricotta, served with honey and a crisp cracker. Blue cabrales and aged castellano sheep’s cheese garnished with spicy mustard, green olives and sweet apple complete the line-up. Elsewhere on the menu, a generous portion of cubed raw tuna is gorgeously presented with fried rice crackers dusted with chile and Szechuan pepper.

Eaten with a smear of aioli and a sprinkle of “caviar” from finger limes, it’s a menu standout. Latin American. 9085 Elk Grove Blvd. in Elk Grove; (916) 685-5652.

Dinner for one: $10-$15.

HHH1⁄2 AMR

Turkey-day trots

It’s Thanksgiving morning, and you wake up early, probably too excited to sleep. You could get a jump on putting the stuffing in the turkey, but really, it’s a better idea to start off the day with a group run. This year, there are two good runs with same-day registration options: the Run to Feed the Hungry in Sacramento (www.runtofeedthehungry.com) and the Elk Grove Turkey Trot in Elk Grove (www.courageworldwide.org/ couragerun/elk-grove-turkey-trot). Run to Feed the Hungry, supporting the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, starts on J Street near the corner of Carlson Drive, and heads through the streets of East Sacramento. The Elk Grove Turkey Trot, benefiting both Courage House and the Runnin’ for Rhett Foundation, happens at Cosumnes Oaks High School, 8350 Lotz Parkway in Elk Grove. That numbness in your hands and freezing cold face? Don’t worry: That’s the feeling of more calories being burned in preparation to eat a huge meal later in the day. Head to each run’s website for more details.

—Jonathan Mendick

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Welcome Home!

My boyfriend and I are in 10th grade. For five months everything was amazing between us. I didn’t want to have sex, and he was totally cool about it. But after five months, he started hanging around another girl. I didn’t want to make a big deal of it so I didn’t say anything even though it made me uncomfortable. Then, without any warning, my boyfriend stopped talking to me.

He never said he wanted to

by Joey ga rcia break up or anything. He literally just stopped talking to me a s k j o e y @ne w s re v i e w . c o m and has not responded to any of my texts or phone calls. It’s Joey’s been really painful, but I got the poem “After 9/11” message. Today at school I found out was nominated for a that he had sex with this other girl Pushcart Prize! and they are together now. Everyone knows and some people think he’s a douche, but other people think I should have put out. Would that really have made a difference?

No. If you gave in to your boyfriend’s wishes and had sex with him, he probably would have stayed with you until he became distracted by someone or something else. Yes, that means you made the right choice.

If you need to know why he stopped talking to you, here’s the reason: He’s a jerk.

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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.

If your mind wanders into fear and tells you that you failed to make the smart decision, remind yourself that he did not cherish you. He did not love you and he does not deserve you. How do I know? If he loved, cherished or cared for you, he would never have given you the silent treatment. If he loved you but knew the relationship was not what he wanted, he would have ended it by telling you it was over, either faceto-face or by phone. But the young man you describe lacks respect for himself or for you. He doesn’t have the backbone to be honest. That may have nothing to do with whether you are available for sex. And it has everything to do with his deficiency

of integrity. If he’s so afraid of conversation that he pulls a disappearing act, he isn’t worth your time or energy. Stop texting and calling him. If you need to know why he stopped talking to you, here’s the reason: He’s a jerk.

A high school is essentially a small village. Everyone may not know your name but they do know your tribe (geek, jock, stoner, etc.) and reputation. Although the opinion of your peers may seem important, I encourage you to lengthen your perspective. Consider your next incarnation as a college student.

What positive choices could you make now that would support the person you want to be in college?

Let yourself dream into life after college, too. What choices can you make now that would make your life as a young professional easy, focused and fun? Try to adopt a long-range view of your life.

Remember, too, that most romantic relationships have unhappy endings.

Once you accept this, it’s easier to bounce back after a breakup.

I thought I was totally in love with this girl, ready to move in, get married, the whole thing. But lately, we’ve been spending more time together and actually, she gets on my nerves. She sugars everything and it’s annoying listening to her go on and on about nothing. I’ve dated women who are down on everything, totally pessimistic, could never see the good side of anything. But in some ways, this is worse because it seems like she thinks she’s acting in a completely perfect way. Is there any way to bring this up to her so she stops?

If your girlfriend is an idealist, it’s unlikely that she will suddenly shift emotional gears into a rational, grounded personality. If you can’t stomach her saccharine high, it’s best to let her know that the relationship is not working out. Ω

Meditation of the Week “Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I’m grateful that thorns have roses,” said the French writer Alphonse Karr. What are you grateful for?

PhoTo By B. ISrAeL PhoTogrAPhy

Run through the jungle The Jungle Book When Big Idea Theatre approached Davis-raised playwright Briandaniel Oglesby about adapting Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, the first thing by Jeff Hudson Oglesby did was ditch his memories of the animated Disney film.

Instead, Oglesby returned to the source, playing down the British Colonial aspects of Kipling’s text, mixing in masks and puppets, and adding contemporary elements—like a visit to a modern city, where everyone is talking on a smartphone while urgently in transit. Oglesby focuses on Mowgli (the wolf boy) as a perpetual outsider, in the jungle or in town.

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4A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a man with a soul more given to cash transactions than warm fuzzies who finds his life transformed by ghostly apparitions gets a fairly traditional adaptation in City Theatre’s production, from a new script

by Luther Hanson. Hanson, who also directs, wisely sticks close to the text, relying on theatrical conventions—including a very smart use of a Christmas choir as a sort of Greek chorus to narrate—to give the show its “ummph.” Or perhaps we should say, its “Bah, humbug!”

After getting the necessary fact of Jacob Marley’s death well established, we follow Scrooge (the excellent Lew Rooker) through a Christmas Eve sojourn in the supernatural that creates a heart worthy of a reformed Grinch.

Rooker’s Scrooge is a towering presence with such a thundering “Bah, humbug!” that we understand why poor Bob Cratchit cowers before him. Yet he aptly conveys such gentleness later on that we are willing to believe his conversion is a genuine one.

Rooker is supported by some powerfully good Christmas ghosts (James Roberts, Sean Thomas Oliveras and Chad Andre), as well as suitably mournful and enchained Jacob Marley. As Bob Cratchit, Vernon Lewis is less the doormat and more the gentle spirit in Dickens’ original.

Throughout, the ensemble takes on multiple roles and provides tuneful interpretations of Christmas hymns and carols.

The set, designed by Shawn Weinsheink, includes a Victorian street scene and a number of sets that roll in and out or drop from above, but never feel weighty or slow down the production.

There’s also a great deal of theatrical smoke— well, it is foggy London, and there are boatloads of ghosts—and costumes in the traditional style of capes, vests, petticoats and fine hats.

In short, it’s a holiday spectacle with a serious dose of social responsibility, and a fine bit of tradition to add to any family celebration.

The Jungle Book, 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $6-$20. Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Boulevard; (916) 960-3036; www. bigideatheatre.com.

Through December 6.

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Janis Stevens stars as the title character in Sacramento Theatre Company’s production of Kate: The Unexamined Life of Katharine Hepburn.

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Kate: The Unexamined Life of Katharine Hepburn

Playwright Rick Foster and actress Janis Stevens team up for this remarkable character study of Katharine Hepburn, the woman the American Film Institute called “the greatest female star in Hollywood history.” There’s not an ounce of artifice in Stevens’ portrayal of the iconic actress.

gooD

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Stevens’ expression lightens and darkens in rambling recollections according to Hepburn’s like, dislike or mistrust of the subject. She seems to truly be reveling in the remembrance. W, Th 6:30pm; F 8pm;

WeLL-DoNe

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Sa, 2pm & 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 12/14. $15-$38. Pollack Stage at

SuBLIMe–DoN’T MISS

Sacramento Theatre Company, 1419 H St.; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. J.C.

Short review by Jim Carnes.

Eat your heart out, Nigel Lythgoe.

A diversification of dance Like mosaics created from bits and pieces of glass or stone or other colorful materials, Mosaic Dance Company, Folsom Lake College’s dance company, combines various dances—ballet, hip-hop, jazz and tap, to name a few—into a presentation that is a collage in motion. For this performance, titled Evening of Dance, the company’s 41 dances (each 2 minutes and 20 seconds) include traditional techniques and choreography yet challenge the idea of what dance is. Students from all backgrounds are the primary dancers and choreographers of this biannual program led by professor Debi Worth, who has taught and danced in New York, London and Japan. Special guests for this family-friendly evening of dance include members of the El Dorado Dance Academy, Hawkins School of Performing Arts and the Academy of Kings hiphop dance crew. Mosaic Dance Company, 6 p.m. Thursday, December 4; $8-$15. Harris Center for the Arts, 10 College Parkway in Folsom; www.harriscenter.net.

—Kel Munger

A Christmas Carol, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (and Saturday, December 13); $10-$18. City Theatre in the Performing Arts Center at Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Boulevard; www.citytheatre.net.

Through December 14.

STORY

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PhoTo CourTeSy oF MoSAIC DANCe CoMPANy

Oglesby also brought a lot of wit and insight to the project. For instance, Baloo the Bear awakens from a dream and announces, “Exit, pursued by … Me!”— a one-liner that anyone who’s studied Shakespeare will recognize as a paraphrase of the famous stage direction from The Winter’s Tale.

Rachel Malin’s colorful puppets and masks are constructed with repurposed and recycled materials. Jungle plants are made of plastic water bottles, painted green. A buzzard puppet utilizes a black umbrella and red clay flowerpots. A huge python is made from a long, flexible plastic air duct. And on and on.

There’s quite a bit of action, including a climactic battle between Mowgli (played

by Kane Chai) and the scheming tiger Shere Khan (Ryan Snyder). But we didn’t see any youngsters leaving the theater in distress during the scary parts.

All told, Big Idea has crafted a thoughtful-yet-active and entertaining all-ages family show, with enough cleverly inserted jokes to keep the grownups on board. Ω

FouL

FAIr

PhoTo CourTeSy oF BIg IDeA TheATre

The actors and their eco-friendly animal puppets.

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—Trina L. Drotar

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Pardon this turkey

p r e s e n t s

Santa’S

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Reviewing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is a bit like reviewing a preview trailer. The movie is a cheat. In fact, it’s not really a movie at all; it’s a by Jim Lane two-hour lead-in to the real movie, which won’t be rolling into theaters for another year. It’s like that old riddle: How do you keep a turkey in suspense? I’ll tell you next November.

Mockingjay Part 1 is based on the first half— actually, more like the first quarter—of the last volume of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy. Our heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) was rescued at the end of Catching

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Fire and spirited away to the secret depths of District 13, which was supposedly wiped out in the previous rebellion but has merely been forced underground. There, under the leadership of President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), District 13 plots to continue and expand the rebellion that they never considered lost.

President Coin and her underling, the former Hunger Games chief Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), try to induce Katniss to become the face of their revolution against the Capital and the malevolent President Snow (Donald Sutherland) by making a series of propaganda videos, or “propos.” At first she refuses, but when she sees how her friend and supposed lover Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), left behind in the Capital, has been persuaded (or tortured) into making propos of his own against her, she changes her mind.

This brings us to the best scene in this stunted little blockbuster, as Katniss is stage-managed in her first propo, outfitted for war in front of a phony backdrop and given a rousing speech to stir up the spirit of revolt. She’s terrible, as fake as the computer-generated scene behind her.

Plutarch carefully coaches her, she tries again— and is even worse.

Then later, on an outing with a camera crew to another district, Katniss witnesses the atrocities committed by Snow’s stormtroopers.

Moved to defiant rage, Katniss speaks— shouts—from her heart, giving Coin and Plutarch exactly the kind of propo they were

looking for. (Here, too, we get the full measure of Jennifer Lawrence’s brilliance: She’s such a great actress that she can play somebody who can’t act, who can only be real.)

As with the first picture in the series, Jennifer Lawrence saves Mockingjay Part 1, but for a different reason. The Hunger Games was poorly written and directed even more poorly by the appalling Gary Ross; Lawrence alone made it worth watching. Here she has a much better director—Francis Lawrence (no relation), who took over the reins with 2013’s Catching Fire—but an even weaker script

by Peter Craig and Danny Strong (Suzanne Collins is credited with the “adaptation,” but that seems to have been simply a matter of deciding where to put the break for next year’s Mockingjay Part 2). Craig and Strong can’t really be blamed; once the decision was made to expand Mockingjay into two movies—a lamentable trend pioneered by the Harry Potter movies—there wasn’t much they could do. Part 1 is too sluggish and uneventful to sustain even its fairly modest two hours; it’s just a lot of scenes of people in drab clothes sitting around tables talking, punctuated by a couple of well-staged but too-brief action scenes. Most of the action and character development—not to mention, of course, the story’s final, haunted resolution— won’t hit the screen until next year.

Here we get the full measure of Jennifer Lawrence’s brilliance: She’s such a great actress that she can play somebody who can’t act, who can only be real.

And why is that? Because Mockingjay the novel is so complex that it called for extended treatment? Not at all; the book might well have made a riveting three-hour movie. Collins’ (and Lawrence’s) fans are being made to wait simply so that the gang at Lionsgate and Color Force can squeeze another $600 million out of the franchise—and, not incidentally, another picture out of Jennifer Lawrence at the bargain price they paid when they first signed her, before she won an Oscar and showed the depth, range and value of her talent.

The fans probably won’t mind. But they wouldn’t miss much if they saved their money and waited a year for Part 2. In Mockingjay Part 1, the ones who are being mocked are the audience. Ω

by daniel barnes & JiM lane

3

Beyond the Lights

•

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A rising young pop star (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), stressed out by the pressure from her driven mother (Minnie Driver), flirts with jumping from her hotel balcony and is coaxed back from the edge by a cop on security duty (Nate Parker). The incident is passed off as an accident and the cop wins his 15 minutes of fame—plus the heart of the grateful star. Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood stretches her tissuethin story to the very limits of its appealing young stars and the acting prowess of Minnie Driver and Danny Glover (as Parker’s solemn, dignified father). Is this a satire on the shallow glitz of showbiz, or are we supposed to believe that this moderately talented singer really is superstar material? It’s hard to tell in this glossy, flashy movie about the gloss and flash of the pop-music world. J.L.

3

Big Hero 6

A Marvel comic book reconfigured to look and sound like an animated McDonald’s commercial, Big Hero 6 is still the most tolerable film to be released under the Marvel banner in years, even if the superhero origin story stuff is the least interesting piece.

The film takes place in the futuristic, East-West hybrid city of San Fransokyo, and the story follows a 13 year-old computer prodigy named Hiro Hamada, who forms a bond with an inflatable robot after his brother’s death. Despite a chaotic narrative that bloats the running time to nearly two hours, Big Hero 6 is colorful and fast-paced entertainment, easily watchable and easily forgotten, like a shiny new toy that isn’t much fun to play with. It is preceded by the 6-minute Feast, an enchanting Disney short that offers all of the warmth and soul that Big Hero 6 lacks. D.B.

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Dumb and Dumber To

Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) are back, 20 years older and as stupid as ever—though alas, not quite as funny. Yes, of course it’s crass and tasteless, even disgusting—but what do you expect from Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Masterpiece Theatre? Some of the jokes land—law of averages, you know—but it’s a bit depressing to think that the Brothers F. had to enlist the help of Sean Anders, Mike Cerrone, John Morris and Bennett Yellin to write the kind of crude, any-raunchy-thing-for-a-laugh script that they used to pump out all by themselves. It’s also just a tad dispiriting to see how … ahem … ungracefully some of the cast members have aged. Naming no names on that score, of course, but while we’re on the subject, the cast includes Rob Riggle, Laurie Holden, Rachel Melvin and Steve Tom. J.L.

4

CITIZENFOUR STARTS FRI., 11/28

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BiRDMAN “A TRIUMPH.” - Peter Debruge, VARIETY

"Do you need your biopic crutches?”

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The Good Lie

Fleeing the Sudanese Civil War in 1987, a group of children walk 700 miles to a Kenyan refugee camp; 13 years later, now grown into young adults (Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Kuoth Wiel), they are allowed to emigrate to the U.S., where a Kansas City employment agent (Reese Witherspoon) tries to find them work while they try to adjust to their new lives. Written by Margaret Nagle and directed

by Philippe Falardeau, the movie suffers some narrative awkwardness in the early scenes, but rights itself in time and goes on to build quiet power through artful understatement.

Witherspoon is top-billed (and probably helped get the picture green-lighted), but the real stars are Oceng, Duany and Jal, who portray with poignant clarity the hope, frustration and confusion of immigrants in a strange new land. J.L.

BEFORE

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NEWS

I Am Eleven

The Michael Apted Up films, a long-running series of documentaries that check in with a group of ordinary British children from various backgrounds every seven years, have always positioned themselves as grand social experiments, taking their cue from the Ignatius Loyola quote, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will give you the man.” There is no such pretense of experimentation or profundity from Genevieve Bailey’s thoroughly ingratiating I Am Eleven, and no intention of glorifying “ordinary” 11-year-old behavior. Bailey interviews 11-year-old children from around the globe about their worldviews, seeing the age as the last rest stop between the innocent wonder of childhood and the hormonal catastrophe of adolescence. She finds some amazing kids, including volunteers at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, and their personalities were enough to make me hope for future Up-esque check-ins down the line. D.B.

3

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan has earned enough trust and respect to make the dark, thematically ambitious and potentially difficult films that studios usually avoid like the plague, and on the scale of his choice. Based as much on the success of his rabbit-hole actioner Inception as his money-in-the-bank Batman movies, he even got Paramount to back his moony and assaultive three-hour space epic Interstellar. Rather than liberating Nolan, however, the ability to make big-budget movies that aim to do more than sell souvenir soda cups has weighed on him like a divine task, and each film has become more dreadfully self-important than the last. Interstellar is a nonstop barrage of teachable moments, simultaneously bloated and rushed, and crammed with more topical detritus than a Lee Daniels film. There is no shortage of visual spectacle here, but Interstellar flirts with big ideas and weighty themes only to avoid probing beneath their surfaces. D.B.

3

Nightcrawler

A former petty thief (Jake Gyllenhaal) launches himself on a career as a freelance video “journalist,” stalking street crimes and accidents and selling what he shoots to the desperate news director of a low-rated L.A. TV station (Rene Russo). Gyllenhaal and writer-director Dan Gilroy create a compelling portrait of a slick hustler straight out of What Makes Sammy Run?, prowling the garish neon mean streets instead of the studios of Hollywood, willing to stoop to anything, even

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THEORY of EVERYTHING the

WED/THUR: 11:00AM, 12:00, 1:40, 2:40, 4:20, 5:20, 7:00, 8:00, 9:30, 10:15PM

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The Theory of Everything

Jake Kasdan’s 2007 genre parody Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story so effectively skewered the hoary tropes of movie biopics, any film employing them with a straight face risks looking ridiculous. Cliches are not mandatory for the genre—films as diverse as Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There and Mike Leigh’s upcoming Mr. Turner have tossed aside biopic crutches while still landing emotional and intellectual impacts. But James Marsh’s straight-faced biopic The Theory of Everything is engineered for maximum awards season appeal, and so it crams in as many those conventions as it possibly can. The film might be unwatchable if not for the excellent performances from Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne as Jane and Stephen Hawking. Redmayne especially does bravura work—he becomes Stephen Hawking, body and soul—but The Theory of Everything doesn’t have the imagination or ambition to be anything more than his showpiece. D.B.

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“A GRIPPING DRAMA.” - Joe McGovern, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

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Birdman

A washed-up movie star (Michael Keaton), hoping to scramble out from the shadow of the Birdman superhero blockbusters he made 20 years ago, tries to mount his own Broadway adaptation of a story by Raymond Carver, but everything seems to go wrong—starting with the fact that Birdman has infected his own unstable personality.

Director and co-writer Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu’s movie invites comparison with the ultimate has-been-nut-cast-movie-star picture, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd.—and amazingly, it holds up under the comparison, thanks to Iñárritu’s brilliantly surrealistic technique, the can’t-look-away messy state of the protagonist’s head, Keaton’s tautly pugnacious performance, and an equally strong supporting cast (Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, etc.). J.L.

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“FASCINATING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING.” - Todd McCarthy, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

F E AT U R E

STORY

Veterans Assistance is our #1 Priority

murder. Fascinating to see how far journalism has fallen since the heyday of Watergate and All the President’s Men—or even 1987’s Broadcast News. This world is populated mainly by bottom-feeding sociopaths and the moral idiots who enable them, with only feeble protests of integrity from the sidelines, easily quashed and ignored. J.L.

3

“On the batterfield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a Nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no Veteran behind.”

– Dan Lipinski

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Rosewater

Comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show makes his directorial debut with the true-life drama Rosewater, starring Gael Garcia Bernal as Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari. While covering the 2009 elections in Tehran, Bahari was jailed and tortured for several weeks, and his appearance on The Daily Show was used by Iranian officials to prove that he was working as a spy. Jason Jones plays himself in the scene recreating the taped interview, and to his and Stewart’s credit, they don’t shy away from implicating their own sarcastic dismissiveness in Bahari’s fate. Rosewater reaches for those same levels of sensitivity and evenhandedness throughout, often to its own detriment and nearly to the point of flavorlessness.

Stewart, who also adapted the Bahari memoir Then They Came for Me, overfills his plate with agenda items when he should have focused on the characters, and the result is strangely impersonal. D.B.

4

Whiplash

In the propulsive and persistent Whiplash, writer-director Damien Chazelle takes a trope familiar to sports movies and boot camp films—the imperious coach/drill sergeant who horsewhips a raw but promising athlete/soldier into shape— and drops it into an East Coast music conservatory. Miles Teller gives another strong performance as Andrew, a hyperdriven jazz drummer languishing in second chair. Andrew catches the eye of Fletcher, the martinet conductor of the school’s most prestigious band, a black-clad, fire-breathing demon played by J.K. Simmons. Fletcher torments his student musicians with a level of vile emasculation unseen since R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket (“weepy willow shitstack” is one of Fletcher’s least offensive invectives), and Andrew endures the abuse in order to pursue greatness. Teller and Simmons don’t cut corners, even when the script does, and while Chazelle frequently seems to be fetishizing sadism, the lightningfast tempo forgives a few off-key notes. D.B.

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1001 East Bidwell Street, Ste 102 Folsom, CA 95630 | 916.800.7616 |

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No gimmicks, just rock ’n’ roll

Positively twee and free kitten advice

Former Jackpot member Lee Bob Watson is back with a full band and a new purpose Lee Bob Watson disappeared for a while.

He moved to Asia and taught English. He went to Africa and sound engineered parts of by Janelle Bitker a documentary. He traveled to Europe, just because. j a n e lleb@ Now the musician—perhaps best known newsreview.c om locally for his years in the Sacramento rock band Jackpot—has finally settled down in Berkeley, and he’s got a new band and a new sound.

PhOTO cOuRTeSy OF KAITLyN MILLeR

No politics, no statements, just music.

Lee Bob & The Truth perform at 9 p.m. on Friday, November 28, at Old Ironsides, 1901 10th Street.

Tickets are $6. Kevin and Allyson Seconds and Brian Rogers are also on the bill. For more, visit www.lee bobandthetruth.com.

Lee Bob & the Truth makes its Sacramento debut on Friday, November 28, at Old Ironsides, the same venue that functioned as a home base for Jackpot back in its heyday.

Watson remembers the club fondly, as well as the freedom and flexibility in Sacramento’s music scene as a whole.

“There was such a broad network for musicians; different scenes overlapped,” he says.

“You had a real supportive community.”

That isn’t to say the Bay Area’s scene holds no sense of community. Rather, Watson’s just been off doing his own thing, often solo and on the road. Things may eventually change with the band, which is made up of Watson, Josh Lippi and Steve Wyreman—three accomplished artists with their own overlapping histories.

Lippi, born and raised in Sacramento, founded the Sammies Hall of Fame soul band Bucho. These days in San Francisco, he plays bass with The Park, a backing band for the likes of British soul singer Alice Russell and the electro-pop act Wallpaper.

Wyreman sometimes plays with The Park.

He’s also a member of the hip-hop collective Cocaine 80s.

26 | SN&R | 11.26.14

Then there’s Watson, who grew up in Sacramento by way of Los Angeles. Over the years he’s created a slew of unique, now-defunct projects—look up Western Family Orchestra and Santa Cruz Gospel Choir—and spent a few years as an Americana solo artist with Nevada City’s Grassroots Records. One short-lived, Sacramento-based project was the jazz-tinged funk band Happy Mayfield. It featured Lippi on bass—the pair met at Sacramento High School, while Watson was a substitute teacher and Lippi still a student.

Then, about a year ago, Watson felt ready to record another album. But he wanted a rock band—one with no tricks, no gimmicks and an organic approach to the studio process. He linked up with Lippi again and built his first real band.

“It’s a full collaboration but it also kind of feels like what I wanted to do as a solo artist,” Watson says. “This is my soul, my channel of energy.”

The debut record The Truth will be independently released sometime in early 2015. Watson describes it as “snapshots of the times” in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The first single “Mission Breakdown” is currently streaming online. It’s a tight, fast and upbeat track with Watson’s bluesy, slightly twangy voice describing the ideals and realities of San Francisco’s Mission District. Google Glass, Twitter and the start-up engine earn prominent shout-outs. “‘Mission Breakdown’ is a play on words, but there are actually a lot of heated arguments all the time. That’s real, and I don’t want to downplay that,” Watson says. “But every city or endeavor has a trajectory, a sense of purpose.

And sometimes you start to see that sense of purpose break down.”

“It’s a full collaboration but it also kind of feels like what I wanted to do as a solo artist. This is my soul, my channel of energy.”

Lee Bob Watson singer-songwriter, Lee Bob & the Truth The Truth isn’t a political album, though.

Folks are being priced out of neighborhoods— just about every San Francisco neighborhood— and Watson’s response is to reflect in some honest rock ’n’ roll.

“I have no big statement to make,” he says.

“It’s more about people—what does this mean in people’s lives?” Ω

Portland dreams: Singer Elisabeth Ellison could easily pull off a career in jazz, soul, electro-pop or experimental rock. Instead, she does them all in striking juxtaposition.

These juxtapositions make Portland’s Radiation City captivating for days on end. On the quintet’s three albums, you can hear both modern and old-school, stateside and foreign influences: bossa nova giants, ’70s disco, the Beach Boys, the Flaming Lips. Yet live, some of the group’s three-part vocal harmonies run the way of the Dirty Projectors. At times it’s organ-driven and moody; other times ethereal pop. Always intriguing.

Radiation City played at Witch Room last week—one of two excellent Portland bands on the bill that drew out a big crowd for a Tuesday night. But Radiation City’s set was missing a little extra something. Its members mostly stood lackluster, and Ellison didn’t take the lead on any audience engagement.

That was not the case with headliner Wild Ones, the younger of the two groups with just one album out so far.

Danielle Sullivan is not just the lead vocalist, she’s a dazzling frontwoman with the uncanny ability to make you feel extraordinarily special—like she’s singing directly to you, like a song exists just for you.

I’m not sure what her secret is.

Perhaps she strategically directs those big doe eyes to one point in the room at a time, for an almost uncomfortably lengthy period.

On Wild Ones’ debut Keep It Safe, Sullivan’s voice is soft yet piercing.

Sometimes it’s positively twee. At Witch Room, I found it distinctive, maybe even perfect. And the fivepiece’s dreamy indie-pop feels a little less straightforward, a little less synthdriven, live than on the record as well.

It was clear that Wild Ones had already built a local following—the band has played Witch Room and Sophia’s Thai Kitchen in Davis within the past few months.

Hopefully Sacramento continues to be a regular stop.

Hood life: Seminal Sacramento hardcore band Hoods is going on 20 years of rocking out and not giving a shit. But its last album was Pit Beast in 2009. What the hell has Mike Hood been doing since?

Opening his Midtown barber shop, True Blue Barber and Shave Parlour; touring a lot in Europe, Japan and Mexico; and taking his sweet time writing with zero label pressure.

Kids stateside wondered if the band broke up. To that, Hood laughs. Never.

Hoods’ new record Gato Negro dropped Tuesday, November 25, on Artery Records—that’s Ace of Spades owner Eric Rushing’s label. Hood says it’s his best yet, and his longest period ever between albums.

“I had to get my life in order,” he says by email. “Being an older touring musician isn’t easy. I’ve easily done over 2,000 shows with Hoods; 2015 will be our 20-year mark—20 more!”

On Gato Negro, Hoods plays loud, fast and tight per usual, but with more of a street punk edge. Thematically, Hood says he dedicated two songs to two friends who died recently, while another focuses on Israel. “We’re sitting here doing nothing,” he says.

“It’s genocide.”

Recent nights have been challenging, with a certain little friend stepping on my throat and pouncing at my feet.

The whole album is basically “us against them,” hence the album name.

“The black cat has always been most hated,” Hood says. “I feel as a band we have always been against the grain. Bands were scared to tour with us so we had to book our own for years. It’s a struggle that I believe we won.”

The cover depicts a menacing feline, with a spiked collar, sword, piercings and some formidable spit.

Hood’s pets probably don’t look quite like that, but the album is for his three cats, Chum Chum, Bella and Friendly.

I had to ask Hood if he had any advice for a new kitten owner. My recent nights have been challenging, with a certain little friend stepping on my throat and pouncing at my feet.

“No, you will never sleep until kitty is content,” he says. “Lots of pets and love and kitty will chill. Get a laser pointer, turn on some Hoods, cat mosh!”

Brilliant. Find a regular human mosh pit at Hoods’ album release party at the Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, on Sunday, November 30.

—Janelle Bitker

ja ne lle b @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

JAMES CAVERN & THE COUNCIL ICONOCLAST ROBOT WED NOV 26 @ 7PM DLRN, THE GOOD SAMARITANS

Kreayshawn + Kehlani FRI NOV 28 @ 7PM DJ EDDIE Z

THE HOLDUP SAT NOV 29 @ 7PM 1000 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 FOR TICKETS TO ALL SHOWS VISIT

AssemblyMusicHall.com For Rentals or Private Parties please contact AssemblyMusicHall@gmail.com

ACE OF SPADES FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28

1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95814 www.aceofspadessac.com

ALL AGES WELCOME!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11

ATILLA

ROYAL BLOOD LIFE IN 24 FRAMES - STAND OUT STATE

CROWN THE EMPIRE - LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES - SWORN IN

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3

THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12

JOHNNY MARR

NEW YEARS DAY - THE RED PAINTINGS AWOKEN SHADOWS - SNOW WHITE SMILE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13

JEEZY

FMLYBND & THE WILD WILD

CHRISTIAN RASHAWN - CALI BEAR GANG - BLACK SKY - GATLIN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5

DANCE GAVIN DANCE

SECRETS - ALIVE LIKE ME DEFEAT THE LOW - WOLF & BEAR

PRESENTS

EASTON CORBIN

TYLER RICH

COMING

SOON

12/18 12/19 12/20 01/02 01/18 01/20 01/21 01/23 01/27 01/28 02/11 02/13 02/14 02/17 02/19 02/27 02/28

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16

BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

DOWN

ORANGE GOBLIN - BL’AST

WHITNEY PEYTON - SWEET ASCENT - INTERNET FRIENDS - LONELY AVENUE

03/17 04/09 04/13 04/15

The Grouch & Eligh E-40 Latin Christmas Show English Beat Waka Flocka Saving Abel HedPe/Powerman 5000 G-Love & Special Sauce The Expendables Silverstein Hozier Stick To Your Guns Motion City Soundtrack Zion I August Burns Red Black Veil Brides & MMF Spice 1, B-Legit, Richie Rich, Celly Cell, San Quinn & RBL Posse Walk The Moon Apocalyptica Milky Chance Reverend Horton Heat

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ALL DIMPLE RECORDS LOCATIONS AND ARMADILLO RECORDS, OR PURCHASE BY PHONE @ 916.443.9202 BEFORE

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28FRI

28FRI

29SAT

29SAT

Kreayshawn

The Purple Ones

Stevie Nader

Mary Youngblood

Assembly Music Hall, 7 p.m., $20

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 9:30 p.m., $15

Whatever you do, don’t call Kreayshawn a “basic bitch.” Because how terribly rude, but also Kreayshawn basically popularized HIP-HOP the term with her viral 2011 music video “Gucci Gucci.” It’s a flashy, silly thing, at once annoying and maybe brilliant. The hook: “Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada. Basic bitches wear that shit so I don’t even bother.” In seriousness, it’s about observing materialistic Los Angeles as an Oakland native, as she’s explained on NPR. After Columbia Records snatched up Kreayshawn, she became one of the most talked-about white female rappers in recent memory—not just because of her affinity for public feuds and the Spice Girls.

1000 K Street, www.kreayshawn.com.

Billed as a Post Thanksgiving Purple Party, this show features Bay Area Prince tribute band the Purple Ones. The 10-piece formed in 2012 to play Prince classics and B-sides such as “Purple Rain,” “When Doves Cry” and more. Prince himself may not seem relevant to youngsters because of his dislike of YouTube and iTunes, but trust us on this one, kids: His music combines funk, rock and sex appeal better than any new indie band around. Not convinced? Grab a ticket to this show and find out what it was like to party R&B/FUNK like it’s 1999. Note: To attend, you need to have at least been born before November 28, 1993.

2708 J Street, www.purpleones.com.

—Jonathan Mendick

Witch Room, 6:30 p.m., $7 A Sacramento man with a silky smooth R&B-style voice, Stevie Nader’s vocals are often heard while backing local hip-hop group DLRN, but this time around Nader is singin’ his original songs solo. Nader’s music is like a soundscape layered with his sexy vocal stylings that seem to loop with infinite control. He combines soothing melodies, rhythmic electronic beats and a unique soulful delivery into a single package for listeners. Visit Nader’s website to hear all his music for free, including the seven-song R&B EP Grit and the song “Swimmer” where Nader’s vocals superbly dance alongside a catchy electronic beat. Babe and Epsilona will also perform at this show.

1815 19th Street, www.stevienader.com.

—Janelle Bitker

COMING SOON

LIL DEBBIE

- November 30 -

KAREN LOVELY

CASKEY

5:30PM • $15

6PM • $18 • ALL AGES

12/6 Andy McKee 12/6 Disco Revolution 12/7 California Honeydrops 12/8 SZA

- November 28 -

- December 01 -

JACKIE GAGE

THE PURPLE ONES

A 10 PIECE TRIBUTE TO PRINCE

6PM • $10 ADV

9:30PM • $15

- November 29 -

MARY YOUNGBLOOD 5:30PM • $17 ADV

CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHEROOD

12/11 Black Uhuru 12/12 Hot Buttered Rum 12/13 Dilated People 12/18 Close To You (Carpenters Tribute) 12/19 Haas Kowert Tice 12/28 Anuhea 12/31 Lovefool

7PM • $25 ADV

1/17 Whitey Morgan

- November 29 -

9:45PM • $12 ADV

12/11 Jim “Kimo” West

12/16 Charlie Hunter

- December 02 -

THE CHEESEBALLS

Native American flute music isn’t exactly a crowded genre in mainstream music outlets.

Even so, Mary Youngblood is a star—or at least anyone who knows anything about this type of music knows about her. The Fair Oaks resident was the first woman to WORLD ever professionally record the Native American flute (which, to the unfamiliar, sounds a little like a pan flute), plus she was the first person to win a Grammy for Best Native American Music Album—in 2002 for her record Beneath the Raven Moon. She’s thus far released six albums. She writes gorgeous, spiritual flutedriven music than honors the traditions of the music of the Native American people.

2708 J Street, www.maryyoungblood.com.

—Steph Rodriguez

2708 J Street Sacramento, CA 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com - November 28 -

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 7 p.m., $17-$20

- December 05 -

GOAPELE

9PM • $20 ADV

1/22 Portland Cello Project 1/24 The Ting Tings 1/28 The New Mastersounds 1/29 Sage Francis

RESTAURANT •• BAR BAR CLUB •• RESTAURANT COMEDY COMEDY CLUB

VOTED BEST COMEDY CLUB BY THE SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW!

book your

holiday party at stoney’s!

amazing food. great priceS. friendly Service.

thurSday, nov 27 cloSed for thankSgiving

thurSday, dec 4 live Band: georgia rain

Saturday, dec 6

11.26.14

FRIDAY 11/28 - SUNDAY 11/30 FROM MIND OF MENCIA AND JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!

BRAD WILLIAMS SPECIAL GUEST ADAM RAY!

WEDNESDAY 12/3

SACRAMENTO COMEDY SHOWCASE FRIDAY 12/5 - SUNDAY 12/7 FROM E!’S CHELSEA LATELY AND COMEDY CENTRAL!

JO KOY

THURSDAY 12/11 - SATURDAY 12/13 FROM LAST COMIC STANDING AND EXCUSED!

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SAL CALANNI, JOHNNY TAYLOR THURSDAY 12/18 - SUNDAY 12/21 FROM CHELSEA LATELY AND TRUTV’S BARMAGEDDON!

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Stoneyinn.com | 916.927.6023

28 | SN&R |

—Aaron Carnes

CALL CLUB FOR SHOWTIMES: (916) 925-5500

2100 ARDEN WAY • IN THE HOWE ‘BOUT ARDEN SHOPPING CENTER

2 DRINK MINIMUM. 18 & OVER. I.D. REQUIRED.

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE CLUB BOX OFFICE WITH NO SERVICE CHARGE.

29SAT

30SUN

04THURS

04THURS

Mumbo Gumbo

Celestial Shore

Jeezy

Brad Mehldau Trio

Palms Playhouse, 8 p.m., $20

Witch Room, 8 p.m., $6

Like a good holiday meal, Mumbo Gumbo brings a little of everything to the table: zydeco, country, rock, soul and genres not yet categorizable. A Sacto staple that never grows old, this septet’s sound is always fresh thanks to the songwriting of Chris Webster and Tracy Walton who, besides having solo projects, front this band’s incredible rhythm section. New to Mumbo Gumbo? You’ll find DANCE more than just a dance band.

The songwriting is based in the storytelling tradition and backed with a mix of instruments. Work off some of the Thanksgiving feast and take a shopping break and head to this dance party. 13 Main Street in Winters, www.mumbogumbo.com.

—Trina L. Drotar

Ace of Spades, $39.95, 7 p.m.

On tour in support of its second album Enter Ghost, Celestial Shore is a good fit for anyone wondering what it’d sound like ROCK if Belle & Sebastian, the Beach Boys and the Kings of Convenience spent a night drinking together: sunshiney, bittersweet, a little rough-hewn. It reaches generously back to the rock-pop of the sixties, with modern guitar effects layered on like frosting. If the music seems to be a little high-handed—“It starts and stops with both intention and abandon,” says the band—that’s because it is, but not to the detriment of enjoying a Sunday night sipping a beer, staring at one’s shoes, listening to a Brooklyn rock trio. 1815 19th Street, http://celestialshore.bandcamp.com.

Mondavi Center, 8 p.m., $37-$60

Jeezy dropped the Young from his moniker in the run-up to his latest album, Seen It All: The Autobiography. That’s the only concession the 37-year old Atlanta rapper makes to age a decade into his career. Otherwise it’s more true-crime tales from an unapologetic trap star. Jeezy’s now an anomaly peering in on the mainstream from his increasingly marginalized genre. He tries guitars and bites on other trends, but Jeezy isn’t about HIP-HOP to suddenly turn into Drake, or even Jay-Z. However The Autobiography does suggest he retains enough sly, slinky idiosyncrasy and steely determination to still compete for the diminishing gangsta-rap dollar. 1407 R Street, www.defjam.com/artists/jeezy.

—Deena Drewis

—Chris Parker

If you’re looking to stay current in the jazz world, you’d best reserve a seat to pianist Brad Mehldau’s performance. Mehldau has played as a sideman for many people in the music industry: Charlie Haden, Wayne JAZZ Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Allen Toussaint, John Scofield, Joshua Redman. After the release of his brilliant Places record on Warner Brothers in 2000, his name was catapulted to star status seemingly overnight. While Mehldau can interpret and play nearly any body of work with great effect, he has proven himself a tour-de-force with his trio writing his own compositions. His latest album, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon was released earlier this year on Nonesuch Records. 9399 Old Davis Road in Davis, www.bradmehldau.com.

—Eddie Jorgensen

Gift certificates to local merchants for up to 50% off

w w w. n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

LIVE MUSIC

Nov 27+28 CLOSED FOR THE

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

NOV 29 ANDREW CASTRO & XOCHITL Dec 5 FUNKY 16 CORNERS Dec 6 FORESOCKS (TRIBUTE TO THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS)

ABBY NORMAL

(TRIBUTE TO GREEN DAY)

Dec 12 SIMPLE CREATION Dec 19 HEARTBREAK TIME MACHINE Dec 20 ISLAND OF BLACK & WHITE

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TRIVIA MONDAYS @ 6:30PM TACO TUESDAYS $1 TACOS, $2 CORONAS OPEN MIC WEDNESDAYS SIGN-UPS @ 7:30PM KARAOKE THURSDAYS @ 7:30PM 101 MAIN STREET, ROSEVILLE 916-774-0505 · LUNCH/DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK FRI & SAT 9:30PM - CLOSE 21+ FACEBOOK.COM/BAR101ROSEVILLE

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NIGHTBEAT

THURSDAY 11/27

ASSEMBLY MUSIC HALL 1000 K St., (916) 341-0176

BADLANDS

2003 K St., (916) 448-8790

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

BAR 101

Karaoke, 7:30pm, no cover

101 Main St., Roseville; (916) 774-0505

BLUE LAMP

FRIDAY 11/28

SATURDAY 11/29

KREAYSHAWN, KEHLANI; 7pm, $20

THE HOLDUP, 7pm, $15

Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Saturday Boom, 9pm, call for cover

Reggae w/ DJ Wokstar and guest deejays, 10pm, $3

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

SUNDAY 11/30

Sin Sunday, 8pm, call for cover

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

ALPHA COMPLEX, DR. LUNA, FURLOUGH GET SHOT, HOODS, THE WEST LORDS; FRIDAYS, RIOTMAKER; 7:30pm, $10 7pm, $6

Open mic, 8pm M; THE CLUTTER FAMILY SINGERS, LONGHUT, COVVER; 8pm W, $5 COURAGE MY LOVE, STANDING IN SILENCE, SIERRA SKYLINE; 7:30pm W, $10-$12

9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384

THE COZMIC CAFÉ

594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481

Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover

DISTRICT 30

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770

DIVE BAR

Deuling Pianos, 9pm, no cover

FACES

Kamikaze Karaoke, 9pm-2am, no cover

1022 K St., (916) 737-5999

THE FOLLOWERS OF SUNSHINE, STRINGTOWN AMBASSADORS; 9pm, $5

G STREET WUNDERBAR

HOLLOW POINT STUMBLERS, MILLION DOLLAR GIVEAWAY; 8pm, call for cover DJ Crook One, 10pm, call for cover

DJ Whores, 10pm, no cover

1603 J St., (916) 476-5076

CRIPPLE CREEK, STEPHAN HOGAN; 9pm, no cover

SWEET REVENGE, 9pm, no cover

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL

INNERSOUL, 9pm-midnight, $5

SET IN STONE, 9pm-midnight, $5

THE PURPLE ONES, 9:30pm, $15; LIL’ DEBBIE, CASKEY; 7pm, $18

MARY YOUNGBLOOD, 7pm, $17-$20; THE CHEESEBALLS, 10:15pm, $12-$15

2326 K St., (916) 441-2252

DJ Shaun Slaughter, 10pm, call for cover

GOLDFIELD TRADING POST 5681 Lonetree Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 626-6366

HARLOW’S

2708 J St., (916) 441-4693

LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR

Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm, $2

MIDTOWN BARFLY

Panik: deejay dancing w/ Angels of Kaos, 9pm-2am, $5

1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931 1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779

A Regional Dance Sampler, 7:30pm W, $13-$23

PATRICK WALSH, 9pm, no cover

ROSS HAMMOND TRIO, 9pm Tu, no cover; IDEATEAM, 9pm W, no cover

Dragalicious,9pm, $5

Kamikaze Karaoke, 9pm M; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5; DJ Alazzawi, 9pm W, $3 Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub Quiz, 7pm Tu; Northern Soul and Cornhole, 8pm W

Industry Night, 9pm, call for cover

Trivia night, W, call for cover

Trivia night, 7:30-9pm Tu, no cover KAREN LOVELY, 7pm, $15

DAVID HOUSTON & STRING THEORY, ANTON BARBEAU; 8pm, $6

JACKIE GAGE, 7pm M, $12; CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD, 8pm Tu, $25-$28 Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm M; Openmic comedy, Tu; Comedy night, 8pm W

Goth, darkwave, industrial, electronic deejay dancing,9pm-3am, call for cover

Swing lessons $6, 7:30pm Tu; Salsa lessons w/ Nicole Lazo, 7:30pm-W, $5

COLE THOMPSON, HANNAH KILE, VANESSA O’CONNELL; 8:30pm, $5

PRIME D, OL’ FASHION, TAO JIRIKI; 8:30pm, $5

Jazz session, 8pm M, no cover

OLD IRONSIDES

LEE BOB WATSON, KEVIN AND ALLYSON SECONDS, BRIAN ROGERS; 9pm, $6

FACE 4 RADIO, 9pm, $5

HEATH WILLIAMSON, 5pm M; Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 9pm W, no cover

1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504

ON THE Y

670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

THE PALMS PLAYHOUSE

THE PARK ULTRA LOUNGE 1116 15th St., (916) 442-7222

PARLARE EURO LOUNGE 1009 10th St., (916) 448-8960

ALTERBEAST, THE KENNEDY VEIL, DISMAL LAPSE; 8pm, $6

Top 40, 9pm, no cover

DJ Eddie Edul, 9pm-2am, $15

DJ Louie Giovanni, 9pm, call for cover

Top 40, Mashups, 9pm, no cover

DJ Club mixes, 10pm, no cover

PINE COVE TAVERN

Battle of the Musicians, 9:30pm Tu; Open-mic, 10pm Tu; Trivia, 8pm W

502 29th St., (916) 446-3624

PISTOL PETE’S

140 Harrison Ave., Auburn; (530) 885-5093

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

POWERHOUSE PUB

614 Sutter St., Folsom; (916) 355-8586

THE PRESS CLUB

Music Box w/ Missy Mark, 9pm, call for cover

SHADY LADY SALOON 1409 R St., (916) 231-9121

SHENANIGANS

705 J St., (916) 442-1268

Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover

MUMBO GUMBO, 8pm, $20

13 Main St., Winters; (530) 795-1825

2030 P St., (916) 444-7914

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.

BROKEDOWN IN BAKERSFIELD, 8pm, $22-$25

NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN 1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

Hey local bands!

DJ Nate Davit, 10pm, call for cover

RED UNION BLUE, JENN ROGAR; 9pm, $5

THE GOLDEN BEAR

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.

DJ Oasis, 9pm, call for cover

FOX & GOOSE

228 G St., Davis; (530) 756-9227

List your event!

THEM TRAVELIN BIRDS, BOOTY AND THE BEAST; 8pm, $5

’80s deejay mixes, 2-7pm; Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

1001 R St., (916) 443-8825

Them Travelin’ Birds with Booty and the Beast 8pm Saturday, $5.

The Cozmic Café Americana and folk

SELF.SAME, THE CEMETERIANS, BEAUTIFUL DUDES; 8pm, $5-$10

Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

2000 K St., (916) 448-7798

Mad Mondays, 9pm M, call for cover

ANDREW CASTRO, XOCHITL; 9:30pm, no cover

THE BOARDWALK

Lil Debbie with Caskey 7pm Friday, $18.

Harlow’s Hip-hop

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 12/1-12/3

Karaoke, 9pm Tu, W, no cover WONDERBREAD 5, 10pm, call for cover

MIDNIGHT PLAYERS, 10pm, call for cover

MAXX CABELLO JR., 3pm, call for cover

Top 40 w/ DJ Rue, 9pm, $5

Top 40 w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9pm, $5

Sunday Night Soul Party, 9pm, $5

THE COSMONAUTS, MOUNT WHATEVEREST, PETS; 8pm M, $7

JACAM MANRICK, 9pm, call for cover

JULIE AND THE JUKES, 9pm, no cover

ROSS HAMMOND, 9pm, no cover

HARLEY WHITE, JR., 9pm W, no cover

Comedy Night and DJ Selekta Lou, 9pm, $5

SOL COLLECTIVE

2574 21st St., (916) 832-0916

HUMBLE THE POET, 8:30pm, call for cover

STARLITE LOUNGE

BILL MYLAR, 5:30pm, no cover

DREAM IN RED, COLOR THE SOUND, CALLING TEMPO; 8pm, call for cover

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

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

Country dance party, 8pm, no cover

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

PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30pm, no cover; MIGHTY MIKE SCHERMER, 9pm, $10

MERCY ME, 9pm, $12

Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; WARREN BISHOP, 8pm, $5

Acoustic open-mic, 5:30pm W, no cover; THE LOWER 48, HONYOCK; 9pm W, $5

BABE, STEVIE NADER, EPSILONA; 6:30pm, $7

CELESTIAL SHORE, 8pm, $6

1517 21st St., (916) 706-0052

STONEY INN/ROCKIN’ RODEO 1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023

TORCH CLUB

904 15th St., (916) 443-2797

X TRIO, 5pm, no cover

WITCH ROOM

1815 19th St., www.witchroomsac.com

All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES

1417 R St., (916) 448-3300

SHINE

1400 E St., (916) 551-1400

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ATTILA, CROWN THE EMPIRE, LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES, SWORN IN; 6pm, $20

THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE, NEW YEAR’S DAY; 6:30pm W, $16 Open jazz jam w/ Jason Galbraith, 8pm Tu, no cover; Open-mic, 7:30pm W

Heat Up Your Night On RedHot TRY

Print ads start at $6/wk. www.newsreview.com or (916) 498-1234 ext. 5 Online Phone hours: M-F 9am-5pm.

All ads post online same day.

Deadlines for print: Line ad deadline: Monday 4pm Adult line ad deadline: Monday 4pm Display ad deadline: Friday 2pm

ads are

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You can avoid becoming a victim by recognizing how the scam works and understanding your responsiblity for the checks that you deposit in your account.

If someone you don’t know wants to pay you by check but wants you to wire some of the money back, beware! It is a scam that could cost you thousands of dollars. For more information, go to www.fraud.org/scams.

This reminder is a public service of the N&R

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*Nominal fee for adult entertainment.

All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. Further, the News & Review specifically reserves the right to edit, decline or properly classify any ad. Errors will be rectified by re-publication upon notification. The N&R is not responsible for error after the first publication. The N&R assumes no financial liability for errors or omission of copy. In any event, liability shall not exceed the cost of the space occupied by such an error or omission. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

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A R T S & C U L TU R E

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Full Service reStaurant

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MASSAGE THERAPISTS

Your Downtown Service Shop

SMOG OIL $60 CHANGE CHECK All massage advertisers are required to provide News & Review aEMISSIONS current valid

We offer complete automotive service & repairs

business license or $ somatic establishment permit issued99 by eitherDIAGNOSTIC the city or county Brake Special 75 $ w/repairs at time of service.

Lube, Oil & Filter

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481-1192 OPEN MON-SAT 8-6 • SUN 9-4

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smart phone QR reader for more specials

MASSAGE THERAPISTS All massage advertisers are required to provide News & Review a current valid business license or somatic establishment permit issued by either the city or county in which they are operating in in order to run a printed advertisement.

Massage Therapy Combination Massage Open Daily 10am - 10:30pm Walk-Ins & Couples Welcome

GREEN JADE MASSAGE THERAPY

$5

OFF

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Flamingo Massage 2264 Fair Oaks Blvd #102 Sacramento 95825 (916) 646-1888

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S p e c i a l

1355 Florinin Rd,which Ste.13 county Sacramento, CA 95822

at Land are required to provide NewsPark & Review a current valid

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3401 FREEPORT BLVD #5 operating in in orderSACRAMENTO to run aCAprinted 95818 This is a model 916-326-5600

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Massage Kea

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WHAT’S INSIDE: The 420 35 Capital Cannabis Map 45

5 GRAMS

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4 GRAM 1/8THS STARTING AT $20 8 GRAM 1/4S STARTING AT $40 WIDE VARIETY OF CLONES 5 JOINTS FOR $20 14 NEW KINDS OF WAX

HORIZON COLLECTIVE

3600 Power Inn Rd Ste 1A | Sac, CA 95826 | 916.455.1931 November 26, 2014

Open 10am - 7pm 7 days a week

Find dispensary listings online at newsreview.com/sacramento

DOCTOR’S ORDERS

CO-OP

• Best Quality • Best Service • Best Prices • • Top of the Line Concentrates •

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Join & get a gift, discounts & more. Text Doctors to 71441 1704 MAIN AVE | SACRAMENTO, CA | 916.564.2112

For complete menu & more specials visit

DOCTORSORDERSRX.COM MON-SAT 10AM

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TO

9PM | SUN 10AM

TO

6PM

@DOCTORSORDERSRX

RALEY

VIP Text Club MAIN

BELL

Giving thanks for dank

Bring in any competitor’s coupon* and we’ll beat it by $5 * That is CA Medical Board Standards Compliant.

Must present competitor’s ad. Some restrictions apply.

Happy Danksgiving! What are you thankful for?

—Topher Key I am glad you asked! There are so many things to be thankful for this year. The most obvious are the marijuana legalization initiatives that passed in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. Dude. I am so happy for them. This legalization thing is becoming a pretty big deal. And keep in mind, cannabis BEALUM

by NGAIO law reform isn’t just about the right to possess or grow pot. These new laws keep people out of jail and make it harder for law-enforcement officers to profile and harass ordinary citizens. Now, thanks to a s k420 @ ne wsreview.c om the good people that actually took the time to vote, we get to carry weed and we get prison law reform.

Give thanks. The jobs and the money generated by the new legal cannabis industry will be nice, too.

I am thankful for this year’s harvest, which seems to be one of the best ones in recent memory. Up and down the West Coast, the outdoor farmers are producing amazing, mind blowing, quality cannabis. I was just at the Humboldt Hemp Fest, and I tell you that the only thing better than trying all the fantastic strains is listening to growers chat and argue about growing techniques. You get to hear things like “I don’t grow plants. I grow dirt,” and “The only thing two growers can agree on is that Have a great the third grower doesn’t know what the hell he’s Danksgiving. talking about.” I am thankful that I can walk into a medical cannabis dispensary and find umpteen different high-quality, reasonably priced cannabis products on the shelf.

I would like to thank the politicians that are supporting marijuana law reform. Folks like Congressmen Earl Blumenauer from Oregon and Dana Rohrabacher from Orange County. Not only do they support marijuana legalization, they talk to their colleagues about it.

According to recent reports, they were at a meeting of House members to talk about changing marijuana law at the federal level and it went like this: Blumenauer: “There were many close elections Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento across America last week, but there was one clear comedian, activist winner—ending our failed prohibition of marijuana, and marijuana expert. and instead legalizing, regulating and taxing adult use.

Email him questions It’s not more dangerous than methamphetamines or at ask420@ newsreview.com. cocaine.”

Rohrbacher: “Or tequila.”

I thank them not only for being on the right side of cannabis law reform, but also being a pretty good comedy team.

I would like to thank all the good folks at the Sacramento News & Review. I have been banging out this column pretty much once a week for almost three years, and it has been a great honor and joy to be a part of this fine institution. Here’s a shout to Nick, Rachel, Anthony, Raheem, Jonathan and everyone at SN&R. Thanks.

And thank you for reading my column and asking good questions. And for talking to your friends about cannabis. And for voting. Have a great Danksgiving. Ω BEFORE

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VOTED 3RD BEST 420 PHYSICIAN IN SAC! ’14

420 MD

MEDICAL MARIJUANA EVALUATIONS

FALL COMPASSION SPECIAL

39 49

$

$

RENEWALS

NEW PATIENTS

Must bring ad. Limit one per patient.

Some restrictions apply.

Must bring ad. Limit one per patient.

Some restrictions apply.

916.480.9000 2 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU

2100 Watt Ave, Unit 190 | Sacramento, CA 95825 | Mon–Sat: 10am - 6pm 2633 Telegraph Ave. 109 | Oakland, CA 94612 | 510-832-5000 Mon–Sat: 10am - 6pm | Sun: 12am - 6pm

RECOMMENDATIONS ARE VALID FOR 1 YEAR FOR QUALIFYING PATIENTS WALK-INS WELCOME ALL DAY EVERYDAY 420 MD OPERATING IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

YOUR INFORMATION IS 100% PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT ONLINE 24/7 AT

www.420MD.org | A R T S & C U L T U R E

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free gram with donation of $35 or more

*free gram is house choice.

offer not valid with any other offers or discounts exp 12.31.14

top-shelf outdoor: $ 35 per 1/8th

loneblse c now availa

limited time only:

grams @ $5 - $10 1/8 th @ $25

2416 17th street 916.231.9934 | deltahealthwellness@gmail.com sacramento, ca 95818 | 9am-9pm daily

35

Has Medical Marijuana iMproved Your life?

Capital Cannabis Guide is looking for stories of people whose lives have been positively impacted by the use of medical marijuana.

Contact editor Michelle Carl at michellec@newsreview.com to share your story.

$

4G 1/8THS starting at $20!

TOP SHELF 1/8THS 10 TOP SHELF GRAMS

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GOLDEN HEALTH & WELLNESS 1030 Joellis Way, Sac

Arden Way

Blu me nfe

ld D

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Arden Mall

Joellis Way 160

80

916.646.6340

Monday–Saturday 10am–8pm Sunday 10am–6pm

Ask how to join our Mobile VIP Group. Join & get REWARDED! 36

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SN&R | 11.26.14

The New Standard

“I could not be any happier with this dispensary. Having been to countless dispensaries up and down the coast, I had accepted the general “feel” that these businesses have. After one visit here, it is clear that the bar has been raised. A Therapeutic Alternative is by far the nicest dispensary in terms of service, quality, and care for the patient. I would expect to have to pay quite a premium for this type of service, however, pricing is competitive with even the cheapest dispensaries in the area. Do yourself a favor and visit this dispensary, this is the type of place needed to make progress in changing the social stigma of cannabis and its culture. I would actually take my parents here to show them what cannabis was all about, and I have never been able to say that about any other dispensary I have visited. A+++”

3015 H Street Sacramento, CA 916.822.4717

HOURS: 9am–9pm everyday

*Doctor’s recommendation & CA I.D. required

Safe, Professional, Compassionate.

’14

The next step in medicinal cannabis

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

Now that you have received your physician’s recommendation for medicinal cannabis, what’s the next step? The specialists at Abatin Wellness encourage you to come by and see for yourself.

We provide ample parking and safe access to our clean and secure, state-of-the-art facility. Our staff delivers professional and compassionate patient care in a secure environment. We screen all of our medicine to ensure it is free of pesticides, molds and bacteria. We also test our medicine for its cannabinoid potency levels and always carry CBD rich varieties. We offer a wide variety of strains that fit into every patients’ medicinal criteria and budget. We take great pride in knowing that our minimally-processed, minimally-handled medicine is right for you.

Abatin Wellness, the next step in medicinal cannabis.

2100 29TH STREET 916.822.5699 WWW.ABATINSACRAMENTO.COM

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OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 10 A.M. TO 7P.M.

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SIMPLY THE BEST Winner 4 years in a row! ’13

’13

’13

Best Medical Marijuana clinic - Sacramento News and Review Readers’ Poll ’13

’13

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NEW PATIENT SPECIALS & GIFTS! 1404 28th Street | 916.469.9182 Corner of 28th & N, Midtown Sac Open 10am-9pm 7 days a week www.GreenSolutionsSac.com

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- Cultivators Welcome dS var Har

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★

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me

Arde

(1 Min From Arden Mall) | 916.564.1100

I-80

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OPEN Mon-Sat 10am to 9pm | Sun 10am to 6pm

Blu

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nfe

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BEFORE

★ WE OFFER DISCOUNTS FOR VETERANS ★

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ONLY AT

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): What exactly do you believe in, Aries? What’s your philosophy of life? Do you think that most people are basically good and that you can make a meaningful life for yourself if you just work hard and act kind? Do you believe that evil, shapeshifting, kitteneating extraterrestrials have taken on human form and are impersonating political leaders who control our society?

Are you like the character Crash Davis in the film Bull Durham, who believed in “high fiber, good scotch ... the sweet spot … long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days”? Now would be an excellent time for you to get very clear about the fundamental principles that guide your behavior. Recommit yourself to your root beliefs—and jettison the beliefs that no longer work for you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I have

two encyclopedias of dreams, and they disagree on the symbolic meaning of mud.

One book says that when you dream of mud, you may be facing a murky moral dilemma in your waking life, or are perhaps dealing with a messy temptation that threatens to compromise your integrity. The other encyclopedia suggests that when you dream of mud, it means you have received an untidy but fertile opportunity that will incite growth and creativity. I suspect that you have been dreaming of mud lately, Taurus, and that both meanings apply to you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Are there

certain influences you would love to bring into your life, but you can’t figure out how? Do you fantasize about getting access to new resources that would make everything better for you, but they seem to be forever out of reach? If you answered “yes,” it’s time to stop moping.

I’m happy to report that you have more power than usual to reel in those desirable influences and resources. To fully capitalize on this power, be confident that you can attract what you need.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Should you

cut back and retrench? Definitely. Should you lop off and bastardize? Definitely not. Do I recommend that you spend time editing and purifying? Yes, please. Does this mean you should censor and repress?

No, thank you. Here’s my third pair of questions: Will you be wise enough to shed some of your defense mechanisms and strip away one of your lame excuses? I hope so. Should you therefore dispense with all of your psychic protections and leave yourself vulnerable to being abused?

I hope not.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I know you’re

beautiful and you know you’re beautiful.

But I think you could be even more beautiful than you already are. What do you think? Have you reached the limits of how beautiful you can be? Or will you consider the possibility that there is even more beauty lying dormant within you, ready to be groomed and expressed? I encourage you to ruminate on these questions: 1. Are you hiding a complicated part of your beauty because it would be hard work to liberate it? 2. Are you afraid of some aspect of your beauty because revealing it would force you to acknowledge truths about yourself that are at odds with your self-image? 3. Are you worried that expressing your full beauty would intimidate other people?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Helsinki,

Finland is growing downwards. By cutting out space in the bedrock below the city’s surface, farseeing leaders have made room to build shops, a data center, a hockey rink, a church and a swimming pool. There are also projects underway to construct 200 other underground structures. I’d like to see you start working along those lines, Virgo—at least metaphorically. Now would be an excellent time to renovate your foundations so as to accommodate your future growth.

bRezsny

You’ll misunderstand situations that you try to simplify, and you’ll be brilliant if you assume there’s always more nuance and complexity to uncover. Don’t just grudgingly tolerate ambiguity, Libra. Appreciate it. Learn from it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I am

not necessarily predicting that you will acquire a shiny new asset in time for the solstice. Nor am I glibly optimistic that you will get a raise in pay or an unexpected bonus. And I can offer only a 65 percent certainty that you will snag a new perk or catch a financial break or stumble upon a treasure. In general, though, I am pretty confident that your net worth will rise in the next four weeks. Your luck will be unusually practical. To take maximum advantage of the cosmic tendencies, focus your efforts on the one or two most promising prospects.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and mathematician who is sometimes called “the father of modern science.” He expressed his innovative ideas so vigorously that he offended the Catholic Church, which convicted him of heresy. For us today, he symbolizes the magnificence of rational thought. And yet Galileo also had a weird streak. For example, he gave lectures on the “Shape, Location, and Size of Dante’s Inferno,” analyzing the poet’s depiction of hell. In the course of these meticulous discourses, Galileo concluded that Satan was more than four-fifths of a mile tall. In this spirit, Sagittarius, and in accordance with current astrological omens, you are temporarily authorized to de-emphasize the constraints of reason and logic so that you may gleefully and unapologetically pursue your quirky proclivities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

While in his early twenties, actor Robert Downey Jr. appeared in the films Less Than Zero and Weird Science. That got him semi-typecast as a member of Hollywood’s Brat Pack, a group of popular young actors and actresses who starred in coming-of-age films in the 1980s. Eager to be free of that pigeonhole, Downey performed a ritual in 1991: He dug a hole in his backyard and buried the clothes he had worn in Less Than Zero. I recommend that you carry out a comparable ceremony to help you graduate from the parts of your past that are holding you back.

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

her book Revolution from Within, Gloria Steinem offers a challenge: “Think of the times you have said: ‘I can’t write,’ ‘I can’t paint,’ ‘I can’t run,’ ‘I can’t shout,’ ‘I can’t dance,’ ‘I can’t sing.’” That’s your first assignment, Aquarius: Think of those times. Your second assignment is to write down other “I can’t” statements you have made over the years. Assignment three is to objectively evaluate whether any of these “I can’t” statements are literally true. If you find that some of them are not literally true, your fourth assignment is to actually do them. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to transform “I can’t” into “I can.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Dogs don’t know where they begin and end,” writes Ursula K. Le Guin in her book The Wave in the Mind. They “don’t notice when they put their paws in the quiche.” Cats are different, LeGuin continues. They “know exactly where they begin and end. When they walk slowly out the door that you are holding open for them, and pause, leaving their tail just an inch or two inside the door, they know it. They know you have to keep holding the door open. ... It’s a cat’s way of maintaining relationship.” Whether you are more of a dog person or a cat person, Pisces, it is very important that you be more like a cat than a dog in the coming weeks. You must keep uppermost in your mind exactly where you begin and where you end.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The Pantone

Color Matching System presents a structured approach to identifying colors.

It’s used as a standard in the printing industry. According to its system of classification, there are 104 various shades of grey. I suspect you will benefit from being equally discerning in the coming weeks.

It just won’t be possible to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys.

BEFORE

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NEWS

PHOTO BY lukE fiTz

by ROb

For the week of November 26, 2014

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

STORY

To the finish Despite the rise in gluten-free trends, seven-day juice cleanses and other popular diets, for many, weight and body perception remain a constant struggle. And, too often, the thought of stepping into a gym filled with fit men and women decked out in neon-colored attire is intimidating enough to keep the pounds hidden and excuses active. For Wendy Welsher, her tipping point appeared in the form of a 300-pound reality check. In 2010, she asked for and received a Wii Fit console for Christmas from her parents. In turn she lost 15 pounds and gained the confidence to finally step into Urijah Faber’s Ultimate Fitness center. It was there, through the help of a mentor and trainer, that Welsher started her transformation. Now the athlete, who once measured in at 51 percent body fat, registers 27 percent body fat and is down to a size 14 from her previous size-22 britches. She’s also got a new gig—as a personal trainer at HIIT Fitness. Welsher says she aims to break the body image stereotypes of athletes and trainers alike by continuing to improve the health of others, not just through classes, but also by example as she trains for marathons and triathlons.

Does size really matter in the fitness world?

People stereotype you into doing the [smaller] of the events at marathons I think because of size. Some women would go up and check in and staff members would assume they’d be doing the 5K when they were really doing the half marathon because they’re big. I still get that. For example, I do feel there is still a stereotype with me being a personal trainer now because I’m still a big girl. I’m fit and healthy and I can keep up.

Ideal body?

The perfect body is any body. It’s not just what Victoria’s Secret tells us what it is. It’s you, it’s me, it’s her [and] it’s him. We’re all |

A RT S & C U LT U R E

the perfect body because we’re all ourselves.

Athletes come in all shapes and sizes.

What can someone expect from your classes?

My class will teach proper technique because that’s still going to give you a workout and you need to learn how a basic squat is done before getting thrown into any of the progressions. It’s building strength and how to properly do the form. If you do these exercises wrong, you risk injury. There aren’t classes out there that are available that actually teach you how to do something and people just go work out. When you’re scared and you don’t have any resources, you stick to the same routine, which is when people see plateaus and get discouraged.

How has social media kept you physically active?

To hold myself more accountable, I started posting my workouts on Facebook and Instagram three to five days a week. I got flack for it like, ‘I don’t care about your workouts.’ Well, hide me. If you don’t want to support what I’m doing, that’s fine. Positively, with this new venture, my friends want to work out with me, or people just come up to me and say they’ve been following my progress on Instagram and say ‘You’re really inspirational.’ That’s all I want to do is help people like me and who don’t have the confidence to step into a gym. I want to give back.

The scale—love it or hate it?

It’s not all about the scale; it’s about how you feel. Looking back and seeing how far you’ve come is huge. Just even being active is a huge accomplishment, changing your lifestyle is a huge accomplishment, or having something fit differently. You are making yourself better.

Do you still experience days of struggle?

go-to. Come here. Come see me because I’ll be sweatin’ right next to ya. [Laughs.] I’m going through the same thing they’re going through. I can relate with them. It’s hard.

It’s not an easy road. If it was easy, we’d all be skinny.

Go-to healthy snacks?

My favorite snack is vanilla yogurt with strawberries and granola, or peanut butter and celery, or dried mangoes with chili.

What are some steps outside of the gym that continue to support your progress?

Meal prep has definitely helped me. My friend ... is a chef for an after-school program for kids [that] … [teaches] how to eat and cook healthy. She comes over and helps me plan meals. It’s more fun when you’re doing it with somebody. Food is definitely a challenge for me. We made a Moroccan chicken, which was really good, with brown rice and a bunch of fresh vegetables—that was one of my favorites.

Besides weight loss, what are some of your accomplishments?

I’ve completed the Giant Race in San Francisco; Bay to Breakers, which is a 12K; Eppie’s Great Race here in Sacramento, which is a triathlon. I’ve done that twice.

I’m an iron woman where you do all three events: running 5.82 miles, biking 12.5 and kayaking 6.43 miles. I beat my time by 12-and-a-half minutes this last year.

Future goals?

I’m running my longest distance ever in January at the Hot Chocolate [15K] in San Francisco at 9.3 miles and I’m not a runner. But, I’m taking two days a week to walk and run. I did my quickest mile recently; it was 12 minutes and 43 seconds. I just want to finish. Ω

I’m still a work in progress. For people who don’t know where to go, I want to be that |

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