6 minute read
Animals & Their Allies
Rescue Reset
WILDLIFE CARE ASSOCIATION REGROUPS AND REBOOTS
The downy-feathered bird was almost lifeless, alone in the grass with no mom in sight. A small nest rested in the branches of a crepe myrtle a few feet away.
He was younger than a fl edging, who would have hopped and fl uttered in an attempt to fl y. With no protection, the chick would not survive a roaming cat or the afternoon heat.
I returned the youngster to his nest. After an hour of waiting and watching, no mom or dad returning to the scene, I placed the chick in a box and drove to Sacramento’s Wildlife Care Association.
The nonprofi t volunteer-based organization is housed in an old radar dome—the shape and color of a giant golf ball—at the former McClellan Airforce Base. The wildlife association traded a donated parcel of land for its
CR CR
By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies
current property, which came with the building, and moved to the site in 2008 with a 99-year lease for $1 a year.
Two fl oors make up approximately 4,000 square feet for triage and care, including an avian nursery, offi ce, laundry and dishwashing space. Another 2,000 at the top of the dome is used for storage.
Founded 47 years ago by prominent naturalists, including Effi e Yeaw and William B. Pond, the organization operates on approximately $300,000 a year, mostly funded by grants and donations.
“Since 1975, we’ve helped over 300,000 animals in the greater Sacramento area,” says association President Theresa Bielawski. Songbirds, raptors, bats, squirrels, opossums, rabbits and raccoons are a sampling of the ill, orphaned and injured wildlife that receive rehab. Animals that recover, or mature and learn to hunt, are released back into the wild.
But that work nearly came to a halt when several employees simultaneously resigned earlier this year, prompting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to temporarily close the facility due to lack of staff to care for the wildlife that arrive daily, Bielawski explains.
Resident birds and mammals were transferred to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in Auburn. New arrivals were stabilized at McClellan and transported to Gold Country.
Not to be daunted, the group turned the closure into an opportunity. “We were the phoenix rising from the ashes,” Bielawski says.
Over the years, the facility had become cluttered, disorganized and unkept. “We hadn’t done any renovations since we moved in,” she adds. “But we couldn’t do anything A young Eastern Fox Squirrel receives nutrition at Wildlife Care Association.
with animals there. When they shut us down, we said, ‘Let’s do it now.’”
Years of clutter was discarded. Walls were stripped and painted. Old carpeting was swapped out for new vinyl plank fl oors that are easy to sanitize.
Medical supplies and equipment were reorganized. Worn-out animal crates were replaced with larger, sturdier enclosures. Cumbersome playpens gave way to size-adjustable, more durable “reptariums.”
Most importantly, qualifi ed staff, including a new animal care manager and facility manager, were hired. “Having the right people to care for the animals is at the top of our list,” Bielawski says.
“We did a complete reset to our facility,” says Dina Fiala, the group’s new volunteer coordinator. “We are
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working hard to rethink the fl ow of the center to improve working tasks, allow for better offi ce space, create a better break area and allow for better animal-care separations.”
Ten weeks after shutdown, the Wildlife Care Association was still waiting for its permit to be renewed, but the organization is optimistic.
For information on what to do if you fi nd an ill, injured or orphaned wild animal, as well donating and volunteering, visit wildlifecareassociation.com.
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FROM PAGE 38
Lukenbill and his friends were dreamers. Benvenuti was a real estate guy.
The master plan for the Kings involved real estate, not basketball. Joe never attended an NBA game before he bought the team. He used the Kings as leverage to open Natomas for development.
Benvenuti knew if he showed up at City Hall with an NBA team and plans for an arena, the City Council couldn’t deny his application to rezone hundreds of agricultural acres for industrial development.
The scheme was simple. No entitlements, no team, no arena. The city rezoned the farmland.
When Benvenuti died in 2012, his estate included $600 million in warehouses, distribution hubs, call centers and offi ces. About half were within 2 miles of Arco Arena. The Kings were losers, but Joe didn’t care. He died a winner.
Next came Jim Thomas, who purchased the Kings in 1992. Thomas was a real estate guy. He built skyscrapers in Dallas and Philadelphia and especially Los Angeles, where he claimed four of the tallest buildings in the 1990s.
Thomas talked about developing commercial properties in Sacramento. He completed just one. Working with city offi cials to replace an old garage at 10th and I streets, he built the 25-story California EPA building. The tower was a success, but the Kings leaked money. Their failures prompted Thomas to sell.
When the Maloof family bought the team in 1998, they were small-time Las Vegas casino operators and beer distributors. They weren’t real estate developers. Unfortunately, they became real estate guys two years later when they built the Palms hotel and casino.
Within a decade, Palms and its adjoining towers buried the family fi nancially and forced the Maloofs to sell their beer distributorship, hotel, condo tower, casino and basketball team in 2013.
Maybe Ranadivé can break the real estate curse, but I doubt it. He’ll have to go back to electrical engineering or tech. He’ll have to forget real estate. He blew it with the Warriors. Quitting real estate is his only hope.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n
