Sacto’S
best burger? see Dish, page 29
Caution:
When
insults are compliments see arts&culture, page 24
no HEaLtH CaRE FoR aLL
War on teachers see Bites, page 13
expel aWay
the gay see news, page 9
Sacramento still denies undocumented immigrants, even though most major California cities offer medical coverage by SaSHa abRamSky Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly
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one cup see editor’s note, page 3
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Volume 26, iSSue 09
Two worlds,
thurSday, June 19, 2014
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June 19, 2014 | vol. 26, issue 09
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Two worlds, one cup It’s deafening inside downtown’s de Vere’s Irish Pub. A pint of beer might explode in your hand from the noise. The United States just scored a go-ahead goal against Ghana: an unconventional header with only minutes left in the match, on the heels of a Ghana equalizer. The scene is a chorus of piercing baritones and frenzied sopranos, men and women donning red, white and blue; standing on chairs; hugging; even crying. It’s awesome. I get a lot of flak for being a hater on sports—on the Kings, on Second Saturday, on all things fun and forward-thinking in Sacramento. But I’m not that guy. What’s better than a cold brew, a few hundred strangers and the World Cup on TV in a local bar? Still, it’s hard to stomach soccer, because the organization that puts on the World Cup every four years, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, is just awful. John Oliver has a new show on HBO, and he recently did a segment on all the horrible things FIFA does to produce the World Cup every four years. In Brazil, there have been slave-labor accusations and deplorable working conditions at stadiums, displacement of poor residents and evictions from public spaces in Rio de Janeiro, wasteful public spending on FIFA facilities, rainforest destruction, law-enforcment crackdowns in “slum” neighborhoods, “exclusion zones” near the stadiums, and thousands of armed troops. It’s unbelievable, really. So, while it’s easy to love the game, it’s also just as easy to feel outraged by FIFA and the international community’s treatment of Brazil’s poor. Critics say things will only be worse in Qatar in 2022. Not trying to be a downer here. But it doesn’t have to be two worlds and one cup.
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“I lost my entire CD collection.”
Asked at Sacramento State University:
What’s the worst thing about moving to a new place?
Eric Brownell
Tramaine Ellison
Victoria Thomas
student
student
I lost my entire CD collection when I moved from New York to California. It was worth around $2,000, and I didn’t insure it. I got a note from the [U.S.] Postal Service saying it had been missing, and there was no way to try to retrieve it, so they gave me a check for maybe $10 to pay back the postage.
student
I’m a terrible driver. [The moving van] was under my name, so I had to drive it off the lot and my guy friend was going to drive it the rest of the way. My apartment had an overhanging carport, and I was trying to get it as close as possible. Needless to say, I ran into the overhang.
John Huynh
Liz Scherer
nurse
I went to University of Hawaii, and acquired a lot of things over there that would have cost a whole bunch of money to ship here. I gave them away and threw them away. I miss my TV. I had a nice couch. My books were too heavy to ship back. My dorm room was pimpin’.
J.J. Robledo
student
I actually like moving because it gives you a chance to clean up. Time flies by, you pile up a bunch of nonsense memories, but sometimes you need to clean up, start over and get a brand-new place. I’ve moved my whole life, in elementary school, from Sacramento to Fresno, lots of times.
student
I lived in San Diego for a year, and I lived at five different places that year. I had a few plans, and they all fell through. The last six months were pretty stable, but before that I paid rent on three places and stayed with friends in between. I left my surfboard, my bike and my sewing machine down there.
I’ve moved a couple of times. It’s not too bad. I’ve lost some stuff, but I got over it quickly. I lost a couple of [video] games. I had this game case I carried all my games in, but I couldn’t find it anymore. Technology loses value over time, so it can’t be helped.
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YOU MOTHER
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Re “Dangerous bait� by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R News, June 12): I was surprised to find this article was written with no regard whatsoever to the victim. Let me share my experience with you: I was orphaned suddenly at 14. I became a foster child in south Sac. I started letter of working at 15 (foster kids can get special permits), which the week involved working at a fast-food restaurant after school (I still maintained a 3.5-4.0 GPA). I worked every summer to earn money for college. Well, some jerk stole my bike. This left me, a teenage girl with the options of one, quitting my job, or two, walking home through south Sac at 11 p.m. at night! Let’s face it, Regional Transit does not operate in certain neighborhoods after 8 p.m. My desire to better myself allowed me to focus on my goal. However, walking left me vulnerable to kidnapping, sexual assault and dog attacks. If people are so concerned about these perpetrators, let them purchase bikes for them. Let them start a nonprofit to supply bikes for them. Those of us who worked hard to legally purchase our own transportation have a right to keep it, and people who steal our property deserve to be prosecuted for doing so. Mari H.
S a c ra m e nt o
Re “Voters send a message� by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Bites, June 12): Bites has a point-the-finger issue with The Sacramento Bee. I am not a great fan of the Bee, but you are like sourer grapes when it comes to them. Grow up. I like SN&R, but it has a history of attacks on the Bee when it comes to Bites. Carol Lemos Sacramento
Indie voters could still go partisan pre-Prop. 14 Re “Less gridlock, more governing?� by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, June 12): This article is factually wrong when it says that before Proposition 14 passed, independents could not vote in partisan primaries. Between 2001 and 2010, independent voters who walked into the polling place on primary day were informed that, if they wished, they could have a Democratic or a Republican primary ballot, for all congressional and partisan state offices (however, independents could not vote in Republican presidential primaries). Vote-by-mail independent voters had a self-addressed stamped postcard included, letting them request a Democratic or Republican primary ballot if they wished. Richard Winger San Francisco BEFORE
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No ag, yes affordable housing Re “Ag order� by Nick Miller (SN&R News, June 5): Agriculture? Really? It makes far more sense to put money into affordable-housing developments near transit, so that low-income residents don’t need to drive to work, shopping and so on. In Sacramento, we need to develop more than 52,000 affordable units, so that our low-income fellows are not spending most of their income on rent. (Ninety percent spend more than 30 percent of their income for rent, and 70 percent spend more than 50 percent.) Working to reduce the number of people who must drive, and don’t have the money to buy lowemission vehicles, would have far more impact than reducing agricultural pollution. That Gov. Jerry Brown is more interested in agriculture than the development of affordable housing is little surprise. I’ve found over the last 35 years that the problem of affordable housing is always somewhere that Brown isn’t. Alison Brennan via email
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Juice, doughnuts, burritos See NEWS
See BITES
13
Iraq is back See EDITORIAL
15
Expel away the gay
photo by Steven CheA
11
How to fire teachers?
Local Christian university bans student as other colleges, churches trend oppositely, embrace LGBT community Last year, William Jessup University discovered two things about one of its students: First, by that he was living with his boyfriend, and Lien Hoang second, that he was arrested after they had a dispute. It’s unclear which of those drove the Christian university in Rocklin to expel Anthony Villarreal. But last month, Villarreal published an article on the website Outsports accusing the school of kicking him out for being gay. “After struggling for years with my sexual identity, wrongfully being arrested and nearly killing myself, I had finally reached a place of self-acceptance and found a loving and supporting boyfriend who nurtured me,” Villarreal wrote. “Then the school took away everything that I had worked so hard for.” The university declined to explain Villarreal’s dismissal, except to issue a statement: “While University policy prohibits us from discussing private student matters, we do not discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation.” University president John Jackson also sent the statement through a universitywide email, in which he asked students and faculty to keep William Jessup “in prayer regarding these matters.” While the school says it does not discriminate against students because of their sexuality, it does have an anti-gay policy. The school’s handbook includes a nonbinding code of conduct that states, “Students who engage in unmarried heterosexual cohabitation or any homosexual/ bisexual activity will be subject to judicial action.” In an interview, Villarreal said he knows straight students who were disciplined for cohabitation but remained enrolled. The school would not say whether it has dismissed straight couples for living together. Jackson wrote in his email, “Participation at William Jessup University is a privilege and as such comes with specific responsibilities which all of us voluntarily accept.” This poses the question: Why would a gay man voluntarily matriculate at a conservative Christian university? Villarreal says that he was confused as a freshman. “I prayed to God to please make me straight,” he says. “At that time, I was so strong in my faith that I guess you could say I thought my faith could overcome my sexuality.” BEFORE
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He eventually realized that praying wasn’t working and accepted that he was gay. Now, when people tell him the Bible bans homosexuality, Villarreal makes the common argument that the same passages, from the Book of Leviticus, also ban shellfish and mixing cotton with other fibers. Villarreal, an accomplished distance runner from outside Fresno, was raised in a Catholic Mexican-American household and continues to identify as Christian. He was involved in a youth ministry and taught catechism. That upbringing, along with his tough-cop dad, shaped Villarreal’s views about homosexuality. “I don’t want to say he hated gays, but he was always so negative about them, and that instilled a fear in me,” he said. After he came out, his mother said the words a child hopes never to hear from his parents. Villarreal quotes her in his article: “I hate you Anthony, you make me hate you. You’re going to hell.” Over time, she became more accepting, and Villarreal now has a healthy relationship with both parents. But the turning point didn’t happen until he published the article. He said it showed her what he was going through during the low point in their relationship—and gave her the courage to apologize.
“My orientation shouldn’t relate to the degree I’m trying to attain.” Taliyah Allen ministry trainer at A Church for All in Sacramento His essay brought a wave of support from many others as well. Besides teachers he hadn’t seen since elementary school and strangers emailing to say they liked what he wrote, Villarreal, who’d lost all his college friends after the expulsion, also heard from William Jessup students. Although he said students had been instructed not to speak with him, some gay alumni told him they too felt unwelcome. They’d seen homophobic speech tagged on their car on campus, risked losing scholarships, or stepped down from leadership positions because they weren’t considered good role models. If Villarreal’s homosexuality was a factor in his dismissal, it would put the university at odds with a growing climate STORY
Anthony Villarreal recently wrote an essay accusing Rocklin-based William Jessup University of kicking him out because he was gay.
of tolerance from the church (Pope Francis famously said he is not one to judge gays), as well as from other universities. By coincidence, not long after news broke that William Jessup had expelled a gay student, public universities in California announced policies that moved them in the opposite trend. On June 3, the University of California said in a press release it was creating an advisory group to make recommendations “on how best to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBT students, faculty and staff across the UC system.” The same day, California State University updated its Systemwide Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Against Students, including on the basis of sexual orientation. That’s a good sign for Villarreal, who is looking into state schools where he can complete his bachelor’s degree. He left William Jessup just eight classes short of a degree.
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Several schools reached out to him to discuss transferring. Some in the religious community also have expressed sympathy for Villarreal’s situation. Taliyah Allen, a lead trainer in the peer-support ministry at A Church for All in Sacramento, said there need not be a distance between gays and God. “He’s a god of love, a god of acceptance, and he made no mistakes when he created us,” she said in a phone interview, adding that her church helps LGBT people through programs like Ripple Effect, which offers mental-health services. Allen also criticized William Jessup for its anti-gay policy. “My orientation shouldn’t relate to the degree I’m trying to attain,” she said. “That should not be something that should be discussed or is privy for that school. It had nothing to do with [Villarreal’s] education.” Although the experience has left Villarreal feeling “neglected” by his religion, he said, “I still have faith in God and know he loves me as much as I love him.” Ω
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It takes a university On the trend of new developments and higher-education promises A group of developers has set its sights on almost 900 acres of real estate south of Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, by Alastair Bland where construction of 3,000 homes, commercial lots, a few greenways and parks, and a sporting complex could begin next year. The package also promises a university. This would bring to the suburban property, which abuts Kiefer and Sunrise boulevards, high-quality jobs, the energy of youth and a sense of cosmopolitan sophistication, its supporters say. But the backers of the community, called Mather South, aren’t the only developers currently promising to build a college campus. The Cordova Hills project, a controversial 8,000unit plan tucked between Folsom and Rancho Cordova, also plans to build a campus. Discussions between investors and the University of Warwick in England about developing a piece of land are well underway, and other communities in the area have expressed interest in playing host to new university campuses. Will so many proposed college campuses actually come to fruition? Or is adding a university to a developing firm’s to-do list simply fashionable in a climate increasingly skeptical of sprawl and suburban housing?
“I don’t see it as a Trojan horse.” Troy Givans planner, Sacramento County, on building a university at a 3,000-home development in Rancho Cordova Just a little more than a year ago, Supervisor Phil Serna questioned the need for the Cordova Hills project, even characterizing it as a bait-andswitch plan to build thousands of homes, with or without the promised university. He declined to comment for this story. Supervisor Don Nottoli recalls the speculation about whether the developers behind the Cordova Hills project were sincere about finding a university tenant “or whether they were using it as an entrée to getting their project approved.” However, he says he is optimistic about the chances for developers landing deals with one or more universities on local development sites. 10
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“Amidst all the land uses we’ve planned for, having a site in the county of Sacramento reserved for a university or universities makes sense, because there continues to be a lot of growth,” he said. “It’s smart planning.” Local organizations—even those that have expressed concern over the Cordova Hills development project— think Mather South is good growth. “We’re more supportive of this project because it’s closer to employment and will contribute less to road congestion,” said Ron Maertz, with the Environmental Council of Sacramento. A spokesperson with Sacramento Area Council of Governments agreed. Troy Givans, with the county’s Office of Economic Development and Marketing, has been working with the Lewis Group of Companies on advancing the Mather South project. He says 650 inquiries have been mailed to university presidents around the country. He told SN&R that the Mather South area is a good candidate for a university, as it currently lacks such an institution, but is conveniently situated toward downtown Sacramento and well-connected via publictransport routes. As for whether the promise of a college campus on this housing development is just a bait-and-switch tactic, Givans says no. “I don’t see it as a Trojan horse,” he said. “This was a very deliberate and strategic decision to look for a university, which would benefit the location.” The Cordova Hills developers are still looking for a tenant for their 224-acre university site, and they have powerful incentive to land a taker: If they find no one to occupy the university site after 30 years, the parcel will be claimed as county property. No such pressures on the Mather South developers, Givans said. At a meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 10, backers of the Mather South project detailed the landuse breakdown. Exclusive “executive housing” would be situated adjacent to a golf course, with homes built to the tune of about three per acre, while cheaper units would be packed in at 10 to 30 per acre. The meeting essentially kicked off a yearlong environmentalreview process. Givans said the site will be shovel-ready soon, and building could begin as soon as 2015. Ω
To your health
BEATS
Fresh-juice craze arrives in Midtown as, coincidentally, a beloved doughnut spot announces closure. Plus, burrito wars! Refreshing, nutritious—and perhaps pricey—cold-pressedjuice.SN&R mulledoverthetrendinarecentessay by (“Juicingcrazeisgettingcrazy”by SN&R staff JanelleBitker,SN&REssay,June5). Inthat,thewritermentionedhowa juicebusinesswonagranttoopena spotdowntownandthatanothernew Midtownjuiceshopwouldbeopening thisspring.
Well,it’sopen.Lastweek,Sun &SoilJuiceCompany(at1912P Street)startedsellingitsbrightly colored,cold-pressedrawjuice.Most 16ouncebottlescost$8or$9.It’s doingasustainable-glassprogram, sowhencustomersreturntheglass bottle,theywillgetreimbursed$2. Assumingyou’renotlazyorforgetful, it’sabetterdealthanthe12ounce, $7blendsfromtheessay-mentioned MetroJuiceCompany,whichwill openat800JLofts,thankstothe CallingAllDreamerscontestbythe DowntownSacramentoFoundation. Sun&Soilblendsdoexcite,often jazzedupwithginger,garammasala, cayenneorHimalayansalt.Thefull menuisatwww.sunandsoiljuice.com.
Midtown’s latest juice bar, Sun & Soil Juice Company, opened this past week on P Street. It recycles the glass jars its juice comes in.
Janelle Bitker and Jonathan Mendick contributed to this report.
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Meanwhile, gourmet doughnuts are on the
decline,Sacramento.Nomorelemonlavenderbliss.Nomorepillows oozingwithlime-coconutcream.No morevegandoughnutsthatstilltaste likedoughnuts. TheownersofDoughbot (222610thStreet),thecity’sonly gourmet,experimentaldoughnut shop,announcedovertheweekend thatthey’recalling itquits. Doughbotopened aboutthreeyears ago,andthelastday tohoarditsfried doughygoodnesswill beSunday,August3. Doesanyone knowifdoughnuts freezewell? Thecouplebehind themagic,Bryan WidenerandDannah O’Donnell,notably competedonDonut Showdown,aFood NetworkCanada televisionequivalent ofCupcake Wars, andwon.Their peanut-butter-and-jelly doughnut,aregularin theshop,chocolatebeerdoughnutand baked-potatodoughnut blewjudgesaway. OnFacebook, O’Donnellsaid:“As rewardingastheselast fewyearshavebeen, they’vealsobeen incrediblydifficult. We’resimplyburned out.…Wesincerely appreciateyourcontinuedsupportovertheyears,andwe hopewe’llseeyousoon.” About100peoplerespondedwith sadness.Manysaidtheythought theydidn’tevenlikedoughnutsuntil theytriedDoughbot’sversions.A fewtoutedthevegandoughnuts asthebestinexistence.Acouple askedifWidenerandO’Donnell consideredhiringmorehelpinstead ofclosingupshop. Andonesaid:“Thatjustblows doughnutholes!” In other local-food news, former New
YorkTimeswriterNateSilver,who tookhisFiveThirtyEightblogto
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ESPN,hashisstaffonthehuntforthe country’sbestburrito. It’sacrazytaskthatinvolves datamining,a“BurritoSelection Committee”(whichincludesOC WeeklyeditorGustavoArellano)and aspecialburritocorrespondent. Backin2007,Silverdida regional“burritobracket”inwhich Chicago-areaburritosfacedoff againsteachother.Henarrowedit downtothefinalfiveanddidn’t finish,“partlybecauseIwasbeginningworkonwhatwouldbecome FiveThirtyEight,”hewrote.
Doughbot, the city’s only gourmet, experimental doughnut shop, announced over the weekend that it’s calling it quits. ThisgotSN&Rthinking:Who wouldbeinSacramento’sburrito bracket?Chando’sTacos’chicken burrito,thepaellaburritoatDos Coyotes,TakoKoreanBBQ’sspicy porkburritoandtheSuperBreakfast BurritoatElForasteroMexicanFood? Well,itlooksliketheBurrito SelectionCommitteefromthe America’sBestBurritobracket hasSacramentointhecrosshairs: Chando’sTacosistheonlyeatery fromSacramentothatmadeitinto the64burrito-selling-establishment bracket.Itbeatoutnearly27,000other burritovendersinCalifornia. That’sbignewsforChando’s, eventhoughthenorthSacramento taqueriaisupagainsttoughcompetition,theNo.1seedintheCalifornia region,SanFrancisco’sElFarolito Taqueria(yes,Californiahasitsown regionforthecompetition).Round oneisalreadyunderway,whichwill takethe64competitorsdownto16. TwoBSEsindifferentregionshave advancedalready. Visitwww.fivethirtyeight.com/ burritotoseethefullbracketandto readhowChando’smadethelist. Thengoeatadoughnutone lasttime. Ω
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Ag spending survives California’s new budget will include $30 million for farm and agricultural solutions to fight climate change. That’s not a ton of cash. And it was a battle to secure these limited funds (see “Ag order,” SN&R News, June 5). But sustainable-ag activists remain optimistic that it will be just the beginning. “Over time, we look forward to larger investments in sustainable agriculture and farmland conservation,” wrote Jeanne Merrill with the California Climate and Agriculture Network. Of the funding, $15 million will go to energy efficiency on farms, $10 million to conserving water and $6.5 million to preserving farmland. (Nick Miller)
Domestic-violence fund shrinks A limited funding source has pitted three local domestic-violence shelters into a debate over who gets what. Sacramento County supervisors recently followed a staff recommendation to devote $187,691, or 81 percent of its domestic-violence trust fund, to WEAVE. But this year, the trust fund shrunk from $520,650 to $230,703. The reason for the sharp drop—or rather, the reason there was more money last year—is because the Department of Human Assistance discovered an unspent $418,000 in convicted batterer’s fees during a 2012 audit, allowing for the one-time surplus spending, a staff report states. In other words, a happy anomaly. But everything that comes up must slam down. The return to economic reality means there’ll be less for WEAVE, too, pointed out spokeswoman Julie Bornhoeft. The fund is cobbled from fees on marriage licenses and batterers. Two other groups, My Sister’s House and A Community for Peace, also want money from the fund. Their representatives contend that county staffers based funding recommendations on an inflexible formula that only considers the number of shelter beds without verifying their usage or providing for annual reviews. In a letter to the board, A Community for Peace executive director Elaine Whitefeather said the $19,551 allocation to her group would mean a 45 percent funding decrease. “We’re a real young, developing organization,” Whitefeather told SN&R a week after the vote. “So when you cut $20,000 off of [our] budget, that’s the same as cutting $50,000.” She was quick to add that her beef isn’t with WEAVE. Nilda Valmores, executive director of My Sister’s House, whose shelter specializes in serving Asian and Pacific Islander survivors of domestic abuse, concurred. “I think that one of best things that Sacramento County has going for it is that fact that it does have three domesticviolence shelters, but each has a different emphasis and different way of operating, and that’s really important,” Valmores said. But both organizations backed an alternative funding plan that called for a three-year transition toward equal shares for each organization. Instead, the county based its decision on the hard number of beds, for which WEAVE lords over the other two. WEAVE has 96 shelter beds, compared to a combined 22 for the other service providers. But supervisors also asked staff to return next year with a modified funding formula, and Whitefeather and Valmores promised to argue their case. (Lovelle Harris)
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In case you didn’t already know, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a jerk: He came to Sacramento last week to raise some money, took a cheap shot at Gov. Jerry Brown by driving a Tesla down L Street, and then he showed up in San Francisco, where he compared being gay to being an alcoholic. Feel free to put a boot in his ass.
BevMo! opened on J Street in Midtown this week, but Whole Foods Market is still all about the drama? Will the megagrocer come to the grid? And will it be on L and 20th streets, or Q and 21st, or Capitol Avenue and 21st? Well, you can rule out the latter—the Sacramento Business Journal reports the latter lot will become … a parking lot.
Journalists love doughnuts almost more than law enforcement does, so it comes with a (doughnut) hole in our heart to say goodbye to Doughbot, the always busy downtown artisan-doughnut shop. The owners are exhausted, website Cowtown Eats reported, and will be closing in August.
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Schoolteacher rams bicyclists
Another bike hit-and-run
Second Saturday after dark became dangerous for bicyclists when a 31-year-old schoolteacher intentionally nailed a bicyclist, then accidentally hit two other riders, just after 10 p.m. in Midtown. Wesley Cuong Tran was booked with felony assault and DUI. The bike riders are OK as of deadline.
Police report another dangerous car-bike incident, this time on the 6800 block of 24th Street. “The bicyclist, in her 40s, was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries,” police reported. She was hit by what law enforcement suspects might be a dark-colored SUV.
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by SN&R staff
The weekly Midtown Farmers Market Sacramento upped its game last Saturday with a beer garden, a chef demo by Michael Tuohy of Block Butcher Bar, a small-doggy dog park—plus all the usual fresh veggies and market goods. Then, later, a stage went up on 20th Street, where bands jammed as fans danced, sipped brews and played pingpong and cornhole (sponsored by Xoso Sport & Social League) as part of the This block party. It wasn’t art—but it was a rad Second Saturday.
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War on teachers
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On the Vergara ruling and the real problems in education Many readers know Bites columns on education come from a particular point of view—that of the spouse of a teacher who has spent nearly two decades working in high-poverty schools in Oak Park and south Sacramento. This offers at least some insight into what it might feel like to be a teacher in Sacramento, and to open the paper every morning wondering how teachers will be arVin denigrated and scapegoated that day. by CosMo G There was a lot of that in Sacramento cosmog@ newsrev iew.c om last week, following the Vergara v. California decision. Vergara was funded by a Silicon Valley millionaire named David Welch, one of many rich guys pushing to diminish the influence of teacher unions in education. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled that California’s rules on tenure and teacher dismissal are unconstitutional, because they effectively stick poor kids with bad teachers. Treu’s ruling delighted foes of teacher unions everywhere. Critics say his decision is thin, and likely to be overturned on appeal. Nothing changes until then, either way. The real problem in education, of course, isn’t teacher tenure. It’s poverty, income inequality and segregation. Still, reasonable people can disagree on how much teacher protection is enough. Bites has seen a lot of commentary around Vergara on how “crazy” California’s tenure system is, allowing teachers full due-process rights after just two years. Due process means a teacher can’t be fired without cause, and is entitled to defend their job at a hearing. California is one of a handful of states with a two-year-probationary period. A handful of states have four- or five-year waiting periods. The large majority of states have a three-year probationary period. So, yeah, bananas. California’s “last in, first out” rules means that when layoffs happen, the pink slips go first to the teachers with the least classroom experience. The plaintiffs in Vergara argue LIFO leads to firing lots of young, good teachers and keeping lots of bad, old teachers who happen to have more seniority. That’s a red herring. Layoffs are an extremely blunt instrument—not the right tool to address teacher performance. Underperforming teachers should get support, or they should be shown the door before being awarded tenure, or they should be dismissed with due process. Bringing us to Treu’s other finding: There’s too much due process. In fact, just last week, the state Legislature passed new rules—supported by the California Teachers Association— streamlining the process for firing incompetent teachers and teachers engaged in serious misconduct. It’s not clear if those new rules would satisfy any of Treu’s concerns, assuming his ruling survives appeal. It is clear that nobody actually wants bad teachers in the classroom. Teachers BEFORE
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don’t want bad teachers in the classroom, just like reporters don’t want bad reporters in the newsroom. It also happens that the Sacramento city teachers are already working with local district officials on a new evaluation system for teachers—an initiative that has nothing to do with Vergara. But here’s the question for reasonable people who believe seniority and due process are the problem: What should they be replaced with? Should we lay off teachers with the largest salaries first? Can we fire teachers who are too opinionated about teaching? Should teachers who are best at kissing ass be the ones to keep their jobs? Those are options. The folks behind Vergara would also like to fire teachers based on student test scores. Lots of people think this is a good idea, mostly politicians, rich guys and antiunion newspaper editorial writers.
— Sri Sarada Devi
Parking in back For more information please see www.SacVRG.org
WERE YOU BURNED BY WYOTECH COLLEGE (or any other school) CLOSING?
In Oct. 2013, WYOTECH COLLEGE closed its doors, leaving many students with no diploma, no job and huge student loans to pay. My client still owed $16,000, including a $5000 federal student loan. We took on their attorneys and he got back all of his tuition, plus interest. If this happened to you at WYOTECH, or any other trade school, contact me IMMEDIATELY! I will review your case on contingency. The big boys have big corporate attorneys - BUT THEY DON’T SCARE ME! I’ve been an attorney for 37 years, taking on tougher opponents than them. GET YOUR TUITION RETURNED - OR YOU pAY NOTHING TO ME!
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The real problem in education, of course, isn’t teacher tenure. It’s poverty, income inequality and segregation. “No professional organization says that test scores are an acceptable way to evaluate teachers,” says David B. Cohen, associate director of Accomplished California Teachers, an outgrowth of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Even the American Statistical Association— folks you would assume to be pro-quantitative analysis—warned earlier this year that “the majority of the variation in test scores is attributable to factors outside the teacher’s control,” such as poverty, family background and factors that frequently aren’t accounted for in statistical models. At home, Bites hears a lot about those factors: drug and alcohol abuse at home, domestic violence, parents who don’t read to their kids or even talk to them very much, health issues (asthma and autism seem to come up a lot), homelessness, prison, language barriers, nutrition. The list goes on. Cohen says evaluating teachers based on test scores could drive more talented teachers away from high-poverty schools and hurt low-income students. “What’s your incentive to take on a more challenging assignment,” he asks, when you’re likely to be punished for it? And when college graduates see the job security in teaching stripped away, and see teachers scapegoated for the problems of poverty and inequality, what is their incentive to enter teaching at all? You want good teachers working in highpoverty schools? Stop attacking them. Ω
STORY
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Poverty and solutions
THINK FREE.
If you like SN&R’s cover story this week, then read Sasha Abramsky’s book
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In this week’s SN&R, Sasha Abramsky explains how Sacramento County denies undocumented immigrants much-needed medical coverage. While nearly all other major California metropolitan areas have somehow found the money, we have not. Sasha then describes the human toll. He interviews Sacramento residents who, because of their immigrant status, cannot receive health care. If Sasha’s story does not move you, I suggest that you get your heart checked out. You may find that it is missing. Sasha also examines the shortsightedness of l by Jeff VoNKAeNe not providing preventative health-care coverage. It is an excellent story which I am proud to have in j e ffv @n e wsr e v ie w.c o m the paper. But I do not need to tell you about a cover story in this copy of the SN&R that you are already reading. I want to tell you about Sasha’s book, The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives. Once you read Sasha’s cover story, you will want to read his book. Modeled on Michael Harrington’s The Other America, which helped our country understand poverty 50 years ago, Sasha tells stories of Americans struggling to overIt is clear that the come overwhelming obstacles to take care of themselves and system is rigged. their families. It is clear that the system is rigged. Foster kids are so likely to end up in prison. Untreated health problems get worse. A high unemployment rate leaves people behind, regardless of how hard they try. In the second part of his book, Sasha demonstrates that all this is a political problem, not an economic one. Our country has the resources to solve these issues, and we Read Sasha already know what to do. We need to raise the minimum Abramsky’s wage, put a small tax on stock sales, eliminate tax loopcover story on holes, improve the education system and create government Sacramento’s ban on medical care jobs. These are some of the solutions. It can be done. It is for undocumented being done in other countries. immigrants on Poverty is a difficult, complicated, confusing subject page 18. with more questions than answers. Sasha, like Harrington half-a-century ago, has made us see the people impacted by poverty, and helped us see the solutions as well. This is no easy chore. I can see why The New York Times selected Sasha’s book in its list of the “100 Notable Books of 2013.” Our local boy is up there with Dave Eggers, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood and others. Not bad company. Jeff vonKaenel Sasha ends his book by asking, “How do we generate is the president, the political will for such an overarching, and holistic, CEO and project? We educate. We empower people. We convince majority owner of the News & Review enough Americans that no matter how much money from newspapers in big-dollar donors floods the political system, a democracy Sacramento, as vibrant as American’s can, and should, respond to the Chico and Reno. fundamental needs of its populace. ... And now, knowing the challenges, and hearing the demands of conscience, our task is to act.” I suggest to you that one of your first steps is to read Sasha’s book. Ω
This Modern World
by tom tomorrow
Fake stash houses, real injustice “The Black cases arise from a profoundly If you are poor and conspire to rob a fake stash house, go disturbing use of government power that directly directly to jail. If you are Goldman Sachs and by imperils some of our most fundamental constituconspire to rob millions of real dollars from real Julie Mumma people, then enjoy a perpetual get-out-of-jail-free tional values,” wrote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who was joined by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. card. The criminal-justice system is rigged. In two other recent stash-house cases in Los Want proof? Angeles federal court, two courageous judges, The U.S. Department of Justice dreamed up Manuel L. Real and Otis D. Wright II, dismissed Operation Gideon IV to entrap people with the the indictments outright. In his order, Judge Real false promise of money to commit crime. Last called out the United States Attorney’s Office month, U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England with his observation “that the Jr. sentenced Rathanak government targets minorities Van to more than 11 years Our Ninth Circuit Julie Mumma is a in prison, after doling out in poor neighborhoods with criminal-defense 71 months to Snangehk huge payments in the hundreds had no problem attorney and of thousands of dollars, then sacramento state Peou, for conspiring to upholding seeks life sentences to those University adjunct rob a fictional, nonexisthat fall into its web.” He called convictions for professor. Follow her tent stash house. @sunshinetruthx. such tactics “so outrageous as “There is absolutely fictional crimes to offend the basic sense of no need for the federal concocted by justice.” government to manuSo the poor are prosecuted facture crime,” argued the government for manufactured crime. The Mark Reichel, the defense to ensnare rich roam free. And weed gets counsel in United States a federal mandatory minimum v. Keopadubsy, a pending impoverished sentence of 10 years. stash-house indictment in minorities. It gets worse. On August 18, Sacramento federal court. federal prosecutors will argue But our Ninth Circuit, the ludicrous proposition that marijuana is a in what’s become known as “the Black cases,” An online version of this Schedule I narcotic with no medicinal value at had no problem upholding convictions for essay can be found at the Sacramento federal courthouse. www.newsreview.com/ fictional crimes concocted by the government to sacramento/ ensnare impoverished minorities. The dissenting Let’s hope for justice from our Sacramento pageburner/blogs. federal judiciary in the next roll of the dice. Ω justices vehemently disagreed. BEFORE
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An Iraq reminder Eleven years after this country invaded and three years after our departure, civil war in Iraq is climaxing. Sunni-led rebel groups in the north seized the country’s second largest city, Mosul, last week. The Iraqi army, under the command of the Shiite-led government, by all accounts ran away, leaving American-provided artillery and Humvees in its wake. Now, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or the ISIL, is threatening to converge on Baghdad and oust the U.S.-backed Nouri al-Maliki government. There’s so much to be learned from all this. But there’s also some basics that we need to understand before our leaders make more (hopefully not catastrophic) decisions about what to do in Iraq. First, ISIL is not al-Qaida. The two groups struggle for power, and the latter group absolved themselves earlier this year. Why is this important? Well, when the traditional media says that al-Qaida terrorists are overtaking Iraq, they’re wrong. Two, a military solution is not the answer. All the drum-banging in Washington, D.C., this week to bomb the hell out of the rebels will just escalate the danger. Instead, the Shiite-led central government needs to reform. It needs to extend an olive branch to the Sunni and Kurds of the north. It needs to change. Three, here in this country, it is not time for a blame game. The GOP is fingering the Obama administration for this mess, saying it mishandled the troop withdrawal. Dems, needless to say, blame the Bush-era leaders. Let’s not be so dense. It takes five seconds to Google the 29 U.S. senators and president who started the war in 2003. We could, of course, revisit that folly—which included then-Sen. Hillary Clinton voting for the war—but that won’t help us make smart decisions. Internationalism and inclusivity are the answers to avoiding a disastrous civil-war endgame in Iraq. Ω
Pump up regulations
If any good can come from California’s ongoing drought, perhaps it is this: After decades of opposing limits on groundwater use, Central Valley farmers and water districts suddenly appear willing to accept state regulation. In most years, about 30 percent of California’s water is pumped from underground, and during dry years that number can reach 60 percent or more. Yet unlike Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and even Texas, California does not regulate pumping. Recently, drought and rising demand for waterintensive crops such as almonds and grapes has led to increased groundwater use in the Central Valley that is causing the water table to drop rapidly, risking permanent damage to the aquifer, and requiring costly maintenance to roads, bridges and canals as land levels subside. Meanwhile, farmers find themselves locked in a costly competition with their neighbors to dig deeper and pump more while the water lasts. The crisis has resulted in an unexpected development: Many of the state’s largest water users now agree with environmentalists that groundwater must be regulated. It’s time for California to do what other arid Western states have done and regulate groundwater usage. The state Legislature should work quickly to protect this vital resource. Ω | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R | 06.19.14 | SN&R
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by Sasha Abramsky
photos by Lisa Baetz
CAUTION: NO HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
Sacramento still denies undocumented immigrants, even though most major California metropolitan areas offer medical coverage
M
artha looks like any one of thousands of young California women, her life spreading out ahead of her, her dreams about to take off. Unlike most, however, the 20-year-old North Highlands resident is undocumented. And because of this, she and her family, most of whom do farmwork out in the fields surrounding town, have virtually no access to medical care. It’s been this way since 2009, when Sacramento County nixed health care for its undocumented population to save just $2.8 million during an extreme budget crunch. This positioned Sacramento alongside many rural and conservative counties in California, rather than with other large metropolitan areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles—most of which provide at least some health-care access to undocumented residents. When Martha and her relatives get sick, they self-medicate with Tylenol and herbal teas. When the Tylenol and tea don’t work, they simply suck up the pain.
Originally from Jalisco, Mexico, Martha (not her real name) is one of six siblings. Four years ago, her younger brother injured his back while jumping on a trampoline. The wound didn’t heal properly, the family had no ready access to doctors, and to this day, he has a large ball-like protrusion on his lower back. “Every time he moved or ran, it would bleed, and it would hurt him more,” Martha says. “To this point, we haven’t been able to take him to get checked.” Meanwhile, her father, now in his 40s, injured his back recently while picking tomatoes, and the pain has gotten so intense that he has had to temporarily stop working. He too cannot afford to get medical care. And the longer he is off of work, the more precarious the family’s finances become. When Martha was younger, she remembers having some access to medical care. Then it stopped; she doesn’t know
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why. It’s a fair bet, however, that what she recalls is 2009, when the area’s roughly 100,000 undocumented residents lost access to county-funded medical services. Five years later, that lack of health care for the undocumented remains a festering wound for Sacramento. And now, in a particularly cruel twist, elected officials, from Gov. Jerry Brown on down, trumpet the fact that the state has embraced “Obamacare” more than any other. California has successfully enrolled millions of residents in Medi-Cal and the new health-care exchanges. But millions more Californians remain excluded from these programs. Lacking proper health insurance, undocumented immigrants often rely on charity medical care or on the few local federally qualified indigent care clinics. These clinics use federal funds, so by law they have to see everyone. But they charge a sliding scale for services, which scares off many poor residents. Oftentimes, people wait until they get so sick that they cannot avoid going to the hospital. By then, the costs—both in terms of long-term damage to individuals’ health and in terms of dollars—have massively escalated. “It costs a lot more to treat someone with full-blown diabetes than to diagnose it [early] and tell them what foods to avoid and give them the medications,” argues Xavier Morales, executive director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. More than 42 percent of Latinos hospitalized in California suffer from diabetes, according to data recently generated by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and UCLA researchers, many of them undocumented residents. The costs associated with treating those diabetic patients amount to more than $1.6 billion annually. “And it’s not just diabetes,” Morales continues. “There’s heart disease, stroke. All illnesses that cost a lot more to treat than to prevent. “It doesn’t make economic sense.” To save a few million dollars in the short term, Sacramento has locked in place a policy almost guaranteed to cost taxpayers far more in the long run. Like so much else in the roiling debates over immigration, it’s a policy that would be comical in its absurdity if it didn’t come with such an awful human cost.
“CAUTION: NO HEALTH CARE FOR ALL” continued on page
Antonio owns a janitorial business and has lived in Sacramento for years, yet he’s afraid to get sick because the county offers no safety-net medical care for immigrants without legal documentation. BEFORE
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“caution: no heAlth cAre for All” continued from page
While there is talk of shuttering Sacramento County’s largest clinic for the indigent, some argue that it should be converted into a care facility for immigrants excluded by the Affordable Care Act.
untreated and left behind
the region of 100,000 residents are undocumented, many thousands of whom have at best only minimal, and episodic, access to health care. This means that many thousands of kids like Martha in the region live in households where a single sickness, even after implementation of the Affordable Care Act, can plunge adults and kids alike into destitution, hunger and homelessness. “I’m undocumented,” says 49-year-old Antonio, who has been living in Sacramento since he left Aguascalientes, Mexico, in 1995. Early on in his new life in the United States, he says he worked for the National Guard. Later, he ended up employed as a janitor in the IRS building in Sacramento. For the past 17 years, he and his wife have owned their own small janitorial-services company. During that time, when a member of the family has gotten really sick—such as the time he came down with pneumonia and coughed so much that he passed out—they have visited doctors and paid cash to be seen. Most of the time, however, they just tough it out. When they have a toothache, they go to a dentist and pay to have the tooth pulled rather than filled; it’s cheaper, after all, to remove a tooth than to fix it. “I try to be healthy,” Antonio —a short man in black jeans, old sneakers, a black T-shirt, and with receding hair and a trim mustache—says matter-of-factly. “The real problem is with one of my daughters.” He explains that she has a malformation on her back that they
Martha wears a white dress, heeled sandals with orange-painted toenails, and a pink cardigan that hangs loosely off of her shoulders. She explains how she’s long been plagued both by hacking coughs and extreme menstrual cramps. They’re so severe that she would have to take time off from school during her period. She went to the doctor a couple times many years ago, and he prescribed her medicine. She doesn’t remember what this was. And, anyway, her family can’t afford to fill prescriptions. She’s not alone. The Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project estimates there are 11.7 million undocumented Americans, of whom slightly more than 2.5 million live in California. That’s close to 7 percent of the state’s population. The Hispanic Trends Project calculated that, because those who are undocumented tend to be younger than the population as a whole, nearly one in 10 workers in the state is undocumented. Millions of California families are mixed status, meaning that some members—oftentimes the children—are U.S. citizens, while others live in the shadows. In fact, latest estimates are that an astounding one in six California kids live in such mixed-status families. Assuming Sacramento County, with a population of roughly 1.4 million, follows statewide trends, that means somewhere in BEFORE
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together a bare majority in Congress for legislation expanding health-care access. And so today, millions of America’s poorest, and oftentimes sickest residents lack entry points into the country’s vast and complex health-care-delivery systems. Researchers at the UCLA Labor Center’s Dream Resource Center reported earlier this year that half of all uninsured undocumented immigrant youth in California had delayed seeking necessary medical treatment at some point during the past 12 months. Churches, which have become epicenters in the drive to insure the uninsured, have found much the same thing: an inability to access affordable insurance or safety-net programs, and as a result, pools of immigrants who don’t go to the doctor when they get sick. When Sacramento Area Congregations Together held a series of 15 enrollment fairs at local places of worship this year, there was so much demand, it “turned away about half the families,” recalls ACT organizer Annie Fox, who has been campaigning to find ways to insure undocumented residents. For Dan Garza, a pastor at Ebenezer Christian Center who spoke at an event organized by ACT at the Congregation B’Nai Israel synagogue in Land Park in late May, the plight of undocumented people flies in the face of religious teachings. “The Scriptures declare to the prophet Moses ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’” he noted. “Everyone, including immigrants, are created in the image of God.”
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never had money to fix. He starts to cry. “When she was little, they found it. I couldn’t afford to go to a specialist. She doesn’t have pain; she’s just a little malformed. Hunchbacked.” She also has teeth problems, which without access to dental coverage, have long gone untreated. Her younger sister, by contrast, who was born in the United States, and thus is a citizen, has medical coverage and now wears braces. The arbitrariness of the situation is striking. “A lot of people thought when Obamacare passed they’d be able to get health insurance,” says a young undocumented worker at a health-insurance company. This person holds community-healtheducation workshops and encourages low-income residents to get screened for common diseases. “They were shocked when they didn’t qualify. “A lot of people [instead] get medications from Tijuana. But they get no monitoring, no follow-up. Nothing.” The Affordable Care Act was crafted to leave out America’s undocumented residents—much as Social Security and unemployment insurance in their original New Deal incarnations excluded agricultural and domestic workers, great numbers of whom were black. In the 1930s, FDR swallowed this ugly compromise with the segregationist South, the price to be paid for creating broad social-insurance umbrellas. In 2010, bowing to anti-immigrant sentiments was a price that pro-health-care-reform politicians were willing to pay to cobble | A R T S & C U L T U R E
Around 100,000 SAcrAmento reSidentS Are undocumented, mAny thouSAndS of whom hAve At beSt only minimAl, And epiSodic, AcceSS to heAlth cAre. Sacramento’S cow town policy As we head toward the November election, health insurance for the undocumented residents has become a hot-button topic. In the run-up to the June primaries, progressive Sacramento-area candidates rushed to explain why they support expanded health-care access. Patrick Kennedy, who recently won election to the county board of supervisors, calls what happened in 2009 “an abomination.” “It’s ludicrous. A $30 flu shot can save hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in an influenza epidemic. But it’s not just economic. It’s moral,” he explains. At the state level, a series of bills have recently been proposed offering various fixes for this problem. Chief among these is the Lara Bill, or Senate Bill 1005, proposed by state Sen. Ricardo Lara. This would create a parallel Medi-Cal and health-care-exchange system in California specifically for those who are undocumented. Many health-care advocates and immigrants-rights groups have endorsed it as a sensible public-policy proposal. But because of the sticker price, in the hundreds of millions of dollars, it is facing an uphill fight to get out of committee and onto a floor vote anytime soon. Opponents of coverage in Sacramento argue that there’s nothing abnormal about the region’s situation. They say most counties in California don’t cover the people who are undocumented, and by law they don’t have to: Section 17000 of the Welfare and Institutions code, which deals with health care for the indigent, gives counties the option not to care for those in the country illegally . As a result, 49 of the state’s 58 counties don’t provide such coverage. NumbersUSA and other groups opposed to paths to citizenship and other rights for undocumented immigrants argue that people oughtn’t to be “rewarded” for illegally crossing national borders or for overstaying their visas. They cite a
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CRIMES AGAINST NATURE at the CA STATE FAIR July 11 - 27, 2014
THE GOOD NEWS - No brutal farrowing crates this year (due to the porcine virus sweeping the country), and no hermit crabs sold as pets (but only because no one applied for a booth). Both are still possible in 2015 and beyond. THE BAD NEWS - Despite major public outcry, the 2014 Fair again plans to allow vendors to give away goldfish as “prizes” -- a reported 15,000 of these unfortunate creatures at the 2013 Fair. There’s still time to stop the mayhem. Many fish will suffocate in those tiny plastic bags, be illegally dumped into local waters, or simply flushed down the toilet, treated as mere “expendables”. A terrible message to send to impressionable young children. State law (Penal Code 599) prohibits the awarding of poultry and rabbits as prizes. Why not ALL animals? CalEXPO needs to adopt a permanent, written policy banning all these abuses. Failing that, state legislation is in order. HOW YOU CAN HELP - Contact Rick Pickering, CEO, and the Board of Directors, at CalEXPO & State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; email calexpoboard@calexpo.com; tel. 916-263-3010. Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assemblymember Roger Dickinson are both ex-officio Fair Board members. They need to hear from us, too: All legislators may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. INFO: COMMITTEE FOR A MORE HUMANE STATE FAIR - Sacramento SPCA, Oakland/East Bay SPCA, SPCA of Monterey County, Peninsula Humane Society, Marin Humane Society, Ohlone Humane Society (Fremont), Humane Society Silicon Valley, Humane Farming Association, In Defense of Animals, Animal Place. P.E.A.C.E., Animal Legal Defense Fund, and many individuals, c/o ACTION FOR ANIMALS, P.O. Box 20184, Oakland, CA 94620; email - afa@mcn.org
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“cAution: no heaLth care for aLL” continued from page
her employer fearing that having herself been on the wrong side of an expensive health-care emergency, she would otherwise begin to agitate among fellow workers to get the company to provide them with insurance. Meanwhile, nearly five years after the recession technically ended, Sacramento is in a far better fiscal position than it was in 2009. It has more tax dollars coming in. What’s more, because of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the state is taking over responsibility
Just don’t get sick
2007 poll, conducted by Arizona State University researchers, showing that a small majority of residents in Southwestern states oppose equal health-care access for the undocumented. Many politicians, especially in rural counties, make similar arguments. Yet increasingly, in large metropolitan centers, political leaders and publichealth advocates argue the exact opposite. The nine California counties that do cover undocumented immigrants include almost all of the largest metropolitan centers in the state. Los Angeles and San Francisco have both set in place plans to provide something close to true universal coverage within their boundaries, and Oakland, Riverside, and San Jose aren’t far behind. In fact, of the state’s biggest cities, only San Diego and Sacramento don’t provide such coverage—though, come June 20, they will also be joined in this rather shameful club by Fresno, which recently convinced a court to overturn a decades-long injunction barring the county from cutting off immigrants from access to health care. Overnight, when the county’s rollback commences, thousands of undocumented immigrants will lose what little health-care security they had in Fresno. Opponents also argue that providing coverage to those who are here illegally is an unaffordable luxury in austere times. That might be true if we only consider the costs to individual government agencies. But taken as a whole, not providing care is far more expensive to society than intervening in health crises early.
Martha says that when her family is at work, there’s a fear. “In the fields, when you get sick or injured, [owners are] scared you’re going to fight for your rights,” she explains. “And so you just lose your job.” Recently, at an ACT-sponsored board of supervisors candidates’ forum, Martha talked of a co-worker who heard a terrible buzzing in her ear. She ended up having to go to the emergency room to have an earwig removed. The woman was, averred Martha, promptly fired,
“Let’s say I have an accIdent, and I’m not abLe to work. then nobody’s goIng to support my famILy. we are so scared to get sIck.” Antonio local small-business owner and undocumented immigrant
A slew of public-health studies indicates that, in the long-run, providing preventative care to the undocumented saves money. By contrast, waiting until people get so sick that they end up in ERs—which have a legal mandate to treat everyone regardless of whether or not they have insurance or can pay their medical bills—costs a ton of money. In the long run, providing health-care access is also a good public-health policy: for absent access to doctors, to medical tests, to annual checkups, and to prescription drugs, undocumented residents can serve as incubators for diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis and a laundry list of other serious illnesses that, once in the community, rapidly infect people across demographic boundaries. “We have public-health expert witnesses from UCLA and other organizations. We have documents from the county of Fresno showing they’re only able to treat and take care of 50 percent of active TB cases in the county,” says Stephen Schilling, CEO of Clinica Sierra Vista, which has led the fight to try to stop Fresno from rolling back its health care for undocumented immigrants. “Allowing that population to go completely underground and not have access to primary and secondary services” means that infectious diseases will spread more rapidly, and epidemics will be harder to contain, he says. Put simply, expressing frustration at the condition of the country’s porous borders by barring undocumented immigrants from health care is akin to cutting off one’s nose to spite someone else.
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Martha says when her family gets sick, they suck up the pain, because the government denies them health care. Her father had to stop working recently because of excruciating back pain.
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from the counties for covering millions of residents who previously weren’t eligible for Medi-Cal. The Department of Health and Human Services budget is in the luxurious position of having some disposable money to play with. Which is why advocates have launched a full-court effort to fund a system of health-care services for undocumented residents in Sacramento County. There is talk of shutting down the county’s one remaining largescale health clinic for the indigent, located on the corner of Broadway and Stockton Boulevard. Far better, argues Fox of ACT, to invest some of those spare dollars and to convert it into a clinic dedicated to providing coverage to undocumented immigrants excluded from the provisions of the ACA. “Oh, man,” says Antonio, as he ponders what it would be like to have regular access to doctors. “First thing I’d do is get a general checkup. That way, you feel you can just keep going. I have cramps in my hand. I have a little pimple on my chest. A checkup would be, oh, man, wonderful.” For Martha, who is starting classes at American River College in the fall, the precariousness of her family’s health is serving as something of a motivating force. “I want to go into the medical field,” the young farmworker explains. “I love serving people. I always thought if I went into the medical field, we wouldn’t suffer from being sick. I could help my family. Both my parents, they’re always struggling with their feet hurting, bones hurting. At work, we’re exposed to chemicals and get very bad allergies.” “Let’s say I have an accident, and I’m not able to work,” says Antonio. “Then nobody’s going to support my family. We are so scared to get sick.” He laughs softly. But it’s a nervous laugh, a laugh with no joy behind it. “If I had to go to emergency room, I don’t know.” His voice trails off at the thought of the medical bills he would accrue. “My wife has arthritis. But we can do nothing about it. She takes Motrin or Tylenol.” He stops and smiles a fatalistic smile. A gap-toothed smile, a shrug of the shoulders, a what-are-you-going-todo-about-it sort of smile. Sacramento is his home; he’s been here for decades. He pays taxes here. His children have been educated here. But Antonio knows that so long as he’s here, so long as he’s undocumented, and so long as the county tries to save a few dollars here and there on the backs of people such as him and his wife, he still can’t afford to let himself get sick. Ω
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As the next N o Excuses battle approac hes, rappers duke it out ov er punchy zingers, lyrica l art and self-expression
by
Janelle Bitker jan ell eb @ ne ws re vie w. co m
photos by
Bobby Mull
The energy in the room feels more like a wrestling match than a hip-hop show. There’s excitement, tension. Some rappers hug, others engage in stare-downs.
Matt K.O. is the current reigning No Excus es battle rap champion. He thinks most of the other battle rappers are like him—norma l people with jobs or studies, who find battle rap to be a ridiculously fun creative outlet .
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This is the No Excuses battle league. The reigning champ goes by Matt K.O. By day, he works as a political-action intern at the Capitol. He studied sociology and theater at UC Davis, and now he uses those memorization skills to verbally destroy opponents in front of a live audience. “The atmosphere is the real beauty of battle rap,” he says. “It’s this inverted world where you can insult someone and say the most disrespectful things, but it’s actually a compliment.” Yes. A compliment, like this one K.O. delivered in a battle earlier this year: “My analysis: Your brain is gelatinous, you’re prone to bed-wetting accidents, plus every doctor, girl ever said you have chronic flaccid paralysis—and flatulence.” It was a quick rap—or “bar” in battle terms—delivered during a 30-minute match. Rappers spend months writing, editing and practicing—K.O. started working on his next battle back in February. Stakes are huge for the champion, who could find himself dethroned on Friday, June 27, at the Layalina Lounge. “I am more disrespected when they give me wack, bad insults,” he says. “If they hit me with some good stuff, I’m like, ‘Yes. You actually put time into battling me. You put time into preparing for me. Thank you. I appreciate that.’” Battle rap was first popularized by Eminem in the 2002 film 8 Mile as a blend of sport and hip-hop. Lyrical supremacy is the goal; self-expression is the art form. But the culture is aggressive, to say the least: Insults are often laced with homophobic and misogynistic language that may keep it from ever approaching the mainstream. No Excuses is modeled off big battle leagues such as the Ultimate Rap League in New York, King of the
Introducing Bonney Field See NIGHT&DAY
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Hella tasty burger See DISH
Dot Entertainment in Canada and Don’t Flop in Great Britain. The group puts on live events and uploads videos for endless online debate. Khalid Ali, who also goes by his rap name Impact, runs the show. He picks matches, books venues, promotes events, edits videos, and at age 20, calls himself a CEO. Earlier this year, he added a No Excuses dance battle league to his long list of projects, even though he works full time for his family in Vacaville. But No Excuses is his pride and joy—a business he wants to see grow on a national scale. His ultimate vision is similar to professional wrestling: Individual No Excuses battlers will have legions of fans who follow their stats and buy their merch. Ali unofficially started the league as a 17-year-old at Davis Senior High School, until school officials told him to take the battles off campus. He gathered rappers in parks until he decided to get better organized about two years ago. He started a multimonth tournament to name the first champion of No Excuses. And win a $1,000 prize—Ali’s own money, repurposed from a personal academic grant. With that hefty cash prize, No Excuses got a lot of interest. K.O. won the initial tournament, but rappers stuck around—the league currently has about 30 regular performers. Some are in their teens; the oldest are in their late 20s. They drive to battle from Davis, Auburn, Grass Valley and other unexpected havens of hip-hop culture. Events are spectacles, fueled by promotional videos, interviews and other dramatics. The buildup can really work, with the audience totally riled up over perceived tension. As No Excuses vice president Teddy Graham says, “Sometimes the beef is real. Most of the time it’s not.” The result is over-the-top, theatrical entertainment, which, apparently, people crave. “Everyone wants to see so-andso go at it,” Ali says. “It’s the fight-fight mentality.” One of the most notorious No Excuses battles followed several months of buildup and shit-talking. Ant Watts, who recently moved to Chicago, came out on top with a performance that exhibited beautiful wordplay and terrifying threats. It flowed easily from a guy who spent much of his teens in and out of juvenile detention for attempted burglary and larceny, and on and off probation, all the while keeping a dictionary and thesaurus next to his bed.
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“I like to see what you can do with different words,” he says. “Make ’em bounce off each other, how you can make ’em sound bigger than what they really are.” Watts has plenty of stories. He’s from Chicago, born into a musical family with 11 brothers. He rapped through childhood and says he even negotiated with P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. It didn’t work out, and eventually he moved to Sacramento to live with his mom—on the streets.
Different kind of country See MUSIC
“Nowadays, everybody is a rapper. If you don’t take it seriously, move out of the way,” he says. “Hip-hop is genuine when people rap about who they are, where they’re from, what’s going on in their life.” Now living in Chicago again, Watts is intent on starting up a Midwest No Excuses league. And Ali is set on expansion, too—he’s been talking about collaborations in other California cities, including Los Angeles. No Excuses has the potential to reach further, Graham says, because of its diversity in performers. Some are all about cheap jokes and punchy zingers. Some rap in stories or deliver poetry with intentional arcs. Others focus on flow, complexity and multisyllabic rhymes. But the league’s problem in attracting wider audiences is battle rap’s general image. “Battle rap’s just trying to appeal to people from the hood, or people in this certain culture, and they’re limiting themselves,” Graham says. Graham is proud that No Excuses draws what he calls “everyday folks” as well as women and children. Though, only two women actually rap in the league. “There are no female battle rappers who are even famous within the culture,” Graham says. “The bars are just so masculine.” So masculine—if masculine refers to homophobic slurs and imagery of rape that just might be unprintable. Not every rapper speaks that way, of course. K.O. draws some lines. “Gay jokes are part of the style, but I think it’s a dark path to go down. It’s offending the wrong people,” he says. “I try to avoid actually going into people’s personal lives, family members, sexual orientation.” A few regular attendees have taken to booing loudly whenever a performer uses the word “fag.” Sometimes, there’s a lot of booing. Sometimes, there’s a lot of profanity and cringing. But K.O. thinks most of the No Excuses rappers are like him—busy, normal people with jobs or studies, who find battle rap to be a ridiculously fun creative outlet. “It’s not all about the hustle,” K.O. says. “For a lot of the kids, they’re just starting their journey of selfexpression, creation and art. They’re finding that difference between who they are as an artist and who they are as a person.” Ω
“The atmosphere is the real beauty of battle rap. It’s this inverted world where you can insult someone and say the most disrespectful things, but it’s actually a compliment.”
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Matt K.O. reigning No Excuses battle rap champion After a few arrests, the government gave him an ultimatum: Clean up now, or skip juvenile detention and go straight to county jail on the next offense. Watts chose the former. He graduated from high school, got a job, attended church regularly and even became a father figure. Earlier this year, the 21-year-old lived with his mom and his 12-year-old godson in a small Rio Linda apartment. Perhaps that’s why Watts finds No Excuses battlers who proudly tout gangster rhymes the most frustrating.
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Catch the No Excuses battle rap league on Friday, June 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Layalina Lounge, 1596 Howe Avenue. Tickets cost $15 in advance, $20 at the door. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/noexcusesbattles.
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What about the bag, man? See THE 420
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SCENE& HEARD Hunt out Gather The G-word was felt in full force last Thursday night in Oak Park. Flights of local craft beer were poured. Kombucha Kulture rolled in. Artisanal jams were priced at $10 a pop. Sub in the G-word of your choosing, but I’m talking about Gather, a new monthly block party at Third Avenue and Broadway. It’ll continue every second Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through October, and it comes from the same team behind Good: Street Food + Design Market on Del Paso Boulevard. The first Gather showed a lot of promise for the rest of summer, with similarly attractive spaces that folks expect from Good and an energy that feels like something is really happening. Shortly after 5 p.m., the block was already flooded with people, milling around and drinking beer. And it was an ideal, festive environment for a cold one after work: lots of activity, but not overwhelmingly so; sweet and savory food options for sale; plenty of seating shaded by large umbrellas; and a deejay spinning Motown. Palm trees lined the sidewalk. Market lights and lanterns were strung along the trees. A long stretch of tables sat in the middle of the street, simulating a communaldining experience. Families came out in high numbers. Some kids danced on patches of fake grass, while others took advantage of an arts-and-crafts corner. Without a doubt, they all looked ecstatic over the colorful, frozen treats from DavePops and Maui Wowi Hawaiian. Is it a block Fancy bites abounded, but I ultimately got in line for the party for the cheapest nourishment I could neighborhood, find: three tacos for $3 from Tequila Museo Mayahuel, the so they can restaurant and tequila spot escape their downtown. The line was long and painfully slow, and the surrounding payoff was bleak: small pools food desert? of meat haphazardly thrown onto cold tortillas. My fault for being cheap, I guess. The servings of Thai Basil’s panang curry that floated by looked and smelled like the better choice that evening. More than anything else, I was disappointed to only have two meal choices that night. There were lots of desserts, beverages and jarred goods to take home, but organizers had said the original vision for Gather was to have about six restaurants or food trucks present at each event. Plus, they had advertised a couple restaurants that either never showed up or showed up past my bedtime. Still, most people seemed to be having a grand time— impressed by the charm of Oak Park and wondering why they had never ventured to the “Triangle District” before. At least that was the sentiment I overheard over and over again. A lot of people drove in from Midtown, West Sacramento and the neighboring suburbs, lamenting the Fix 50 traffic but relieved over the easy parking. So who is Gather for? Is it a block party for the neighborhood, so they can escape their surrounding food desert one night a month in an uber-hip space? Or is it for outsiders, to “discover” Oak Park by buying goods from pop-up businesses not actually based in Oak Park? Probably best not to overthink it. Gather was a cool, fun and largely well-executed block party for any age and for most budgets. Mark your calendars for July 10.
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—Janelle Bitker
ja ne lle b @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m |
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For the week of June 19
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u m m e r o f f i c i a l l y b e g i n s o n Saturday, June 21. Unfortunately, the only sports that are really comfortable to participate in during a typical Sacramento summer seem to be swimming, water polo and synchronized swimming—assuming anyone actually considers that a sport (editor’s note: They do. And it’s a hard sport. See “Pruny skin and noseclips” by Shoka, SN&R 15 Minutes, page 63). The good news is there are plenty of great chances to spectate instead of getting all hot and tired. Whether you’re a fan of baseball, soccer or rugby, there are quite a few opportunities this week for you to sip a cold beverage while watching someone else do the sweating.
Sacramento Republic FC plays a pair of matches this week, starting with its first ever game at Bonney Field on Friday, June 20, against the Colorado Rapids Reserves. The new 8,000-seat sports facility has a full 120-yard by 80-yard pitch, concession stands and a beer garden. Later in the week, the Republic take on Arizona United SC on Thursday, June 26. Both games start at 7:30 p.m. at Bonney Field in Cal Expo (1600 Exposition Boulevard). Also at Bonney Field, the USA Men’s Eagles rugby team will match up against Rugby Canada in the 2014 Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday, June 21. A handful of Jesuit High School alumni in the Eagles’ player pool could figure prominently in the match and get to impress their hometown crowd. (The team will be picked Thursday, June 19.) The game starts at 3 p.m., and more information can be found at http://usvcanadarugbymatch.com. Lastly, in a much more American pastime, the Sacramento River Cats take on an eight-day stretch of consecutive home games starting on Thursday, June 26. Watch the home team play several games of good-ol’ fashioned baseball against the Las Vegas 51s (June 26, through June 29) and the Fresno Grizzlies (June 30, through July 3). Fireworks will follow games on June 27, June 28 and July 3; and there’s a different promotion every night. Head to www.rivercats.com for details.
—Jonathan Mendick
wEEkLY PIckS
Raley Field Brewfest
Sacramento French Film Festival
Friday, June 20 We all know it: Sacramento has a bunch of craft-beer nerds. The annual Raley Field Brewfest seems to acknowledge this with the addition of the Rare Beer Tent this year, BEER which requires its own ticket. There will also be a cigar lounge, live music and food available for sale. $40-$45 for general admission, $50 for a Rare Beer Tent ticket; 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Raley Field, 400 Ballpark Drive in West Sacramento; (916) 371-4487; www.raleyfield.com/brewfest.
Friday, June 20, through Sunday, June 29 This annual film festival offers some of the best recent films out of French cinema, plus shorts, classics and a few racy late-night movies. This year’s selection features some of the biggest French stars, including FILM Audrey Tautou, Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve playing “strong and magnificent women characters of all ages and situations,” said festival director Cécile Downs. Various prices and times, at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street; (916) 442-5189; www.sacramentofrenchfilm festival.com.
—Jonathan Mendick
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F E AT U R E
Juneteenth Ball: An Evening of Elegance Saturday, June 21 Juneteenth commemorates the day the abolition of slavery was announced in Texas on June 19, HISTORY 1865—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. This soiree takes place directly after the 13th annual Juneteenth festival in William Land Park. Celebrate with food from the Juneteenth Black Chefs Collaborative, plus drinks and dancing. $50, 7 p.m. at The California Museum, 1020 O Street; www.sacramentojuneteenth.com.
Sacramento Beer Train Saturday, June 21 Has the stationary scenery at the bar been bumming you out lately? Put your beer habit in locomotion with a three-hour ride featuring eight tastings of brews from Bike Dog Brewing Company, Hoppy Brewing Company, New Helvetia Brewing Company and Rubicon Brewing Company. Discounted tickets are available for designated BEER drivers and—wait for it—dogs! $10-$65, 6 p.m., Sacramento RiverTrain, 400 N. Harbor Boulevard in West Sacramento; (800) 866-1690; www.sacramentorivertrain.com.
WedneSday, June 25 NorCal boasts access to a bounty of rivers and lakes, which can make for a hella rad summer— even if we’re running a little low on H2O this year. Author and paddler Charlie Pike details popular spots for kayaking SPORTS and canoeing with a slideshow and will recommend spots based on various skill levels. Free, 7 p.m., REI, 1790 Expo Parkway; (916) 924-8900; www.rei.com/ event/57006/session/90247.
—Deena Drewis
—Deena Drewis
—Deena Drewis
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FOR SPRING The Waterboy Restaurant and the Clarksburg Wine Company pair two of their favorite offerings, Scallops & Chenin Blanc.
Presents
Louisiana Sue's Gumbo Ya Ya
the ULTIMATE MUSIC & FOOD FESTIVAL
CL ARKSBURG WINE COMPANY
2011 Chenin Blanc “Our Chenin Blanc is rich and luxuriant with luscious nectarine and white peach flavors. A perfect wine for Spring.” - Andry Gaudy, Winemaker Clarksburg Wine Company
A Spicy Mixture of Music, Food & Fun for the Entire Family!
Saturday June 28 | 11 A.M.- 9 P.M. Yolo County Fairgrounds, 1250 E. Gum Ave. Woodland
Admission: $15 | Kids 15 & under FREE with adult Food/Drinks Extra The Bands:
Carol Manson & Reggie Graham Trio, Crescent Katz, Joey V, KB & the SlingTones, Zydeco on our Mind, Zydeco Flames, BeaufunK with Tower of Power's Michael Jeffries, Solsa & The Element Brass Band.
The Food:
Alligator, Lamb, Tri Tip, Shrimp, Catfish, Mac & Cheese, Wings, Jambalaya, Oysters, Frog Legs, 4 Great Gumbos, Turkey Legs, Sausages and More. Fabulous Desserts, Kids Zone with Pony Rides, Steampunk, Mardi Gras Parade, Merchant Market Place
For info: www.louisianasue.com | 916-962-6415 | Get your discount tickets while they last on line at http://snrsweetdeals.newsreview.com
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T H E WAT E R B OY RESTAURANT
Spaghetti with Dayboat Scallops, Cauliflower, Brown Butter & Capers “Lemon and brown butter are the perfect compliment to scallops. In this dish, briny capers and chili flake give balance and body. The sweetness of the scallops creates a lovely pairing with the crisp acidity of this Chenin Blanc.” - Rick Mahan, Chef-Owner The Waterboy Restaurant
DRINK BEER WATCH SOCCER
Come for the beer, stay for the food
100 TAPS & EVERY GAME
Pangaea Bier Cafe 2743 Franklin Boulevard, (916) 454-4942, http://pangaeatwobrews.com Just as European wines are made to be enjoyed with food, rather than sipped alone, the current tsunami of European-style microbrews features drinks by Ann Martin Rolke often best quaffed alongside a well-crafted meal. Pangaea Bier Cafe, which opened in 2008 across the street from Gunther’s Ice Cream Shop in Curtis Park, recently stepped up its food game to satisfy that need. Owner Rob Archie installed a new kitchen and new chef just in time for February’s Sacramento Beer Week celebration. Chef Robb “Rossi” Venditti arrived with plenty of kitchen cred, most recently slinging the rating: pans at Formoli’s Bistro, and before that at HHH 1/2 Mulvaney’s B&L. Since then, he’s ramped up the menu to dinner for one: include an ever-changing rotation of seasonal, $10 - $15 slightly upscale pub food. For weekday happy hour, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., diners can get great deals on snacks. We tried four items, each priced between $5 and $7, with plentiful proportions. The menu says Buffalo, but the wings aren’t just slathered in Frank’s hot sauce. They’re H Flawed deeply flavorful fried morsels with a thick glaze of goodness. The mac ’n’ cheese is creamy, HH has moments with a bit of beer in the sauce and a crunchy topping of breadcrumbs. HHH The flatbread, which changes daily, is made appealing in-house and can be customized for children HHHH and other picky eaters. Ours had a slightly spicy authoritative red sauce and cheese. The bread itself was HHHHH crunchy on the edge, but lacked a strong flavor epic of its own. Still, it’s a good size for a starter. The sliders are gorgeous little mouthfuls with Tillamook cheddar and house-made pickles. They leave you wanting more, which is exactly what you get with the main-course cheeseburger. Rated on the Burger Junkies website as a Still hungry? search sn&r’s burger that “lived up to its good looks,” we “dining directory” found Pangaea’s to be one of the best we’ve to find local had in ages. Made from a custom blend of brisrestaurants by name or by type of food. ket and chuck, this is a juicy, toothsome patty sushi, mexican, indian, that holds together, yet bursts with flavor. The italian—discover it locally made brioche bun bears up well, and the all in the “dining” house pickles and cheddar simply gild the lily. section at The shoestring fries are good, but don’t even www.news review.com. touch them until you’ve tried the burger. Other menu items are equally tasty. Mediterranean-spiced lamb meatballs are served as three large portions on a bed of white polenta and the same spicy red sauce that’s on the flatbread. The polenta tasted rich with cheese and butter—a good foil for the acidic sauce. A pork piccata was an unusual offering, but arrived juicy and wisely accompanied by capers, lemon sauce, potatoes and baby artichokes. We also tried the sausage sampler, since all the links are made in-house. Three varieties are freshly grilled and served with mustard, pickled BEFORE
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veg and aioli. It goes well with any number of the rotating beers on tap. At lunch one day, we tried the hot buttered pretzel, which is a behemoth. It was the least favorite of our dishes, with a hint of fake butter in the glaze. The chewy texture is perfect, though, and the mustard alongside is classic. The cheese sauce tends more toward Velveeta than rarebit, which would be even better.
Pangaea Bier Cafe’s cheeseburger is one of the best we’ve had in ages. However, an eggplant-Parmesan sandwich was well-executed with feta, pesto and arugula layered on the roll. The muffaletta is a fair version of that New Orleans tradition, but with a softer focaccia rather than the usual Italian roll. The mustard-laced potato salad alongside, though, is worth the price alone. Venditti plans to start weekend brunches this month. He also promises seasonal additions like peaches with scallops and pork belly, and plenty of drought-tolerant cactus dishes. With Pangaea’s new kitchen and Gunther’s just across the street, there’s now even more reason to visit Franklin Boulevard and never leave. Ω
916.442.2682 2019 O STREET | SACRAMENTO
Heat
Take a break from the
The mac(aroon) daddy
When a treat’s package highlights a list of things that it doesn’t have—gluten, nonkosher ingredients, animal products— some sweet-toothed grown-ups may make the “ew” face of a 4-year-old. That’s wiggida wiggida wiggida wack. Because Laughing Giraffe Organics Snakaroons has such a list, and these macaroons are kicking the flavor that makes you wanna jump in the bag for another one. Start with the “safety” of the chocolate-flavored one, and be impressed by the real fly shreds of coconut gathered into a cocoa ball that’s still light enough to make ya bump, hump, wiggle and shake your rump. Work through all six flavors and graduate with the goji maca. And when your friends ask, “Do they rock?” Say, “Believe that.” Get these miggida miggida miggida mac(aroon) daddies in the raw-food aisle at the store or online at www.thelaughing giraffe.com—and sincerest apologies to Kris Kross. Uh-huh, uh-huh.
SUPER DUPER TOP SECRET MENU ITEM #5
The Tuxedo
6821 STOCKTON BLVD #110 Facebook.com/VampirePenguin916
—Shoka
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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.
Mother It’s no secret that
Midtown The Coconut Midtown The food here travels a path between standard and inventive. Cream-cheese wontons, for example, aren’t the epitome of culinary Southeast Asian traditions, but damn it if they aren’t delightful. Soft cream cheese and chives in a crispy wrapper and served with a sweet chili sauce? Nothing wrong with that. The chicken larb—a spicy minced-meat salad—is fragrant and intense. Mint, chilies, basil and iceberg lettuce are drenched in a spicy lime dressing punctuated with a heavy hand of fish sauce. The Coconut has warnings in its menu about which dishes are spicy, but unless you’re a newborn kitten, trembling and mewling, you might not even be aware of the chilies in your food. Thai. 2502 J St., (916) 447-1855. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH1/2 G.M.
Der Biergarten This spot is a slightly quirky, low-key place with only nine food items on the menu: four appetizerstyle options, four sandwichtype offerings and a sausage platter, plus about 30 cold ones on tap. Patrons order from a building that was built from a couple of cargo containers and dine outdoors on communal benches, traditional German biergarten style. The Derfinater Dog is a gussied-up hot dog, and despite its seemingly excessive number of toppings, everything served a tasteful purpose. The mayo and garlic sauce helped moisten a somewhat dry roll, and the bacon added saltiness, which balanced the sweetness of cream cheese and barbecue sauce. The pretzel disappointed by being a bit on the flaky and brittle side. The sausage platter was the best item on the menu: a pork sausage, chicken sausage, and a veal-and-pork sausage— much more plump, juicy and flavorful than the frankfurters—served alongside piles of sauerkraut and German potato salad. German. 2332 K St., (916) 346-4572. Dinner for one: $5-$10. HHH J.M.
Strings Urban Kitchen This more upscale version of the Gold River-based Strings Italian Cafe chain lands in the Il Fornaio camp, but with a lower price point. Recommended options include the Bruschetta Rustico, with chunky toasts layered with seasoned cheese, grape
tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. With less garlic than many versions, it’s a delicious and date-friendly choice. Pizzas are offered at 7 or 16 inches, with lots of optional additions. A small Pomodoro Mozzarella, with sliced tomatoes and marinara, was serviceable with medium-thick crust and plentiful toppings. A signature frutti di mare pie with shrimp, scallops, mussels and seafood sauce is a more unique take on the category. There are also quite a few vegetarian choices, including Vegetale de las Casa. Eggplant, peppers, zucchini and other veg are sautéed in oil and tossed with Parmesan and Gorgonzola. For dessert, try the tiramisu, with sprightly ladyfinger sponge cake and an airy mascarpone topped with cocoa and cinnamon. If you’re feeling generous, order the caffè sospeso (“pending coffee”), in which you pay for a cup for the next guest. Italian. 1500 Seventh St., (916) 444-6500. Dinner for one: $5-$25. HHHH AMR
Thai Basil SN&R readers consistently vote this place among the city’s top Thai restaurants for this paper’s annual Best of Sacramento issue. And for good reason. The restaurant’s tom yum soup may be one of the best foods served in the City of Trees. It features an incredibly savory broth with layers of flavor. Likewise, the tom kha gai—a coconut-broth soup—is a veritable panacea against Delta winds. Salads make up a large part of Thai cuisine and should not be overlooked. Larb gai consists
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Mother is a vegetarian-vegan restaurant, but this is not just a place that replaces the meat in a meal. Instead, Mother celebrates an endless array of fresh vegetables and grains. The chile verde here comprises chunky potatoes, pinto beans and hominy for a “meaty” texture. Try it topped with a soft-poached egg, and stir the yolk into the zingy chile sauce. Kale has been done almost to death,
but Mother’s version is a take on the Waldorf salad that makes eating your greens easy. Lots of golden raisins, celery, walnuts and balls of apple with a bit of skin attached join dilled yogurt and baby kale. Dessert includes the now-legendary brown-butter and sea-salt cookies. Do yourself a favor and get some. Vegetarian. 1023 K St., (916) 594-9812. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH1/2 AMR
of simple shredded chicken over mixed greens, cucumber and tomatoes. Fresh mint and a chili-laden dressing heavy with fish sauce and vigorous squeezes of lime juice pull it all together for an addictive and satisfying lunch. One of Thai Basil’s true highlights is its homemade curry pastes. These balanced constructions of basil, lemongrass, shallots, chilies, kaffir lime leaves and other ingredients, when roasted, have been known to drive hungry Sacramentans into a berserk craze. Service here is impeccable. Thai Basil has earned its reputation. Thai. 2431 J St., (916) 442-7690. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH G.M.
Land Park/ Curtis Park Spice Kitchen The menu here has a few tangential dishes like pad thai, but it’s mostly focused on Japanese cuisine, with a side menu of Chinese-American favorites. Tasty options include the vegetable tempura, lightly fried with slices of Japanese sweet potato and yams. If you want ramen, the hot soup dish these days, try the red tonkotsu version: It’s served with lots of nicely chewy noodles, spinach and the requisite soft-boiled egg. Spice Kitchen also serves bento boxes in lunch and dinner portions for a good price. Here, diners get soup, rice, salad and tempura, as well as a meat of choice. Japanese. 1724 Broadway, (916) 492-2250. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH AMR
Tidbit Catering & Gelateria Chef Eric Lee has crafted an eclectic, bargain-friendly menu. Fried calamari are lightly seasoned with a crispy exterior and served with a marinara-ish bland sauce. A carrot-andginger soup possesses a slow burn, and a chicken-lettuce wrap is sophisticated: a modest portion of food of moderate size that’s highlighted with slivers of cucumber and a shaking of vinegar. The frozen bits, however are the real winners. Gelato and sorbet are both available in astounding off-the-cuff flavors that mostly draw inspiration from Asian cuisines. A vanillaand-adzuki-bean gelato tastes sweet and earthy, with a flavor reminiscent to Chinese moon cakes. A nutty soy-based blacksesame-seed gelato is as rustic and charming as your favorite Instagram filter. American. 1907 Capitol Ave., (916) 442-7369.
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, house-roasted 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
COCONUT CLUB
BUY 7 ENTREES GET 1 FREE
Happy Hour: 4-6pm • Appetizers $3 • Bottle Beer $2 • Beer on Tap $3
Special Vegan & Gluten Free Menu Options Cooked with Organic Tofu & Rice Bran Oil
YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.
Check Yelp page under “From This Business” for: Daily Discounts • $1 Beer Selections Yelp.com/biz/thecoconut-midtown-sacramento 2502 J St | S acr amento, CA | 916.447.1855
50% 0FF Buy Buy 1 1 adult adult BuFFet BuFFet and and 2 2 drinks drinks get get 2nd 2nd adult adult BuFFet BuFFet 50% 50% oFF oFF
original coupon only • no copies
1 coupon per table. cannot be combined with any other offer. expires 07/03/14
SACRAMENTO
1402 Broadway 916.930.0888
CITRUS HEIGHTS
5623 Sunrise Blvd. 916.961.6888
Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm • Fri & Sat 11am-10:30pm PARTY ROOMS AVAILABLE • NOW SERVING BEER & WINE
30 | SN&R | 06.19.14
Dinner for one: $5-$10. HHH1/2 G.M.
China Buffet
chinabuffetrestaurant.com
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. Be sure to order noodles al dente, and it’ll make for a good option, even with its run-of-the-mill broth. Or amp it up with the spicy tan tan men, which uses a beefy and seafood-tinted soup base that teems with flavor. The sushi rolls here are Western style—a.k.a. 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 technique for sushi. Japanese. 2992 65th St., Ste. 288; (916) 455-0288. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH J.M.
Yang’s Noodles This is perhaps the only place in town that serves
niu rou jian bing (sliced beef rolls)—a specialty of northern China—and the ones at Yang’s hit the spot. This is basically the Chinese version of a burrito: meat (thinly sliced beef marinated in soy sauce) plus veggies (diced green onion, cucumber and cilantro) wrapped in a large, flat carbohydrate crepe. Elsewhere on the menu, Yang’s eponymous noodles are homemade, alkaline and chewy. Chinese. 5860 Stockton Blvd., (916) 392-9988. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH J.M.
Arden/ Carmichael 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 most amazing slider. American. 1310 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-1045. Dinner for one: $15-$25. HHHH G.M.
The Kitchen Diners here don’t receive a menu: They receive
a program, divided into seven acts, and, yes, there’s an intermission. Guests all eat together, like a reservations-only giant dinner party, dining on seasonal dishes such as chilled, minty pea soup, served with creamy pea pudding, cured scallops and Sterling Caviar. The offerings, which include the likes of lamb, steak and pasta, change monthly, but the highlights are the chefs’ tasters—small bites scattered throughout the dining area. A recent visit included oyster, faux lasagna bites, citrusy duck, and “kettle corn” cones of puffed wild rice, amaranth and corn with black-truffle caramel, which tasted sweet, salty and positively deadly. American. 2225 Hurley Way, Ste. 101; (916) 568-7171. Dinner for one: $100-$300. HHHH J.B.
Fair Oaks Yui Marlu Yui Marlu serves up California rolls, plus other American-style makizushi, but its mastery lies in Japanesestyle sushi and an assortment of other traditional fare. Here, the omakase was the pièce de résistance—one of those dishes that everyone stares at when it comes out of the kitchen. It looks like a flashy Daliesque painting, with raw fish piled into small flower patterns atop scallop shells and a bed of microgreens, dollops of sauce, piles of ginger, slender slices of fried plantains sticking out upwards of 6 inches from the
IllustratIon by Mark stIvers
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.
plate, and slices of lemon, radish and cucumber. And it tastes as surreal as it looks: The fish is fresh, fleshy and flavorful. The Rainbow roll and the Linda roll are like most American-style rolls served locally, but better. The sushi rice seems just a bit softer and less vinegary, and the fish slices taste fresher. Japanese. 6720 Madison Ave., Ste. 5 in Fair Oaks; (916) 966-5639. Dinner for one: $15-$30. HHHH1/2 J.M.
Tasty Thai It’s hard to find a better lunch deal than the one offered here: Each one includes rice and a salad with an entree—and costs $11 or less. There are 23 options, plus daily specials. (The dinner menu is similar—only bigger). Choose from four categories— wok, rice and noodles, soup, or curry—and add a protein. The Thai basil, served with green beans, onion, bell pepper and basil in a spicy garlic sauce, is cooked in a wok and has a nice smoky flavor with veggies cooked slightly al dente. In the rice and noodles category, the pad Thai and the pad see ew both impress, but the latter has just a bit more of that savoriness that make Asian noodle dishes uber-comforting. Service is friendly, even when it’s busy, and nearly every order is big enough for two meals. Expect leftovers. Thai. 2598 Alta Arden Expy., (916) 977-3534. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH J.M.
Viral-food alert
Heads up, foodies and hipster food writers (and move over, Ramen Burger and waffle taco), the Sacramento area is getting its own artisanal, totally blogable waffle-based food: a waffle burger. Yes, a new restaurant called The Waffle Experience (www.thewaffleexperience.com) will carry the burger when it opens in Natomas in a few weeks, according to posts on its Instagram account (www.instagram.com/ thewaffleexperience). The restaurant will be located at 4391 Gateway Park Boulevard, Suite 650, and helmed by chef Michael D. Donoho, according to a listing on www.farmtofork capital.com. The restaurant will also be “a strict organic, local product restaurant”—whatever that means—according to the Farm-to-Fork site. The eatery’s Instagram page shows off some other savory and sweet waffle items, too, and it’ll also serve cups from Sacramento’s Liberty Coffee Roasting Company. Still, no word yet if it’ll serve any “wonuts” (waffle donuts). —Jonathan Mendick
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311 Judah Street Roseville, CA 916.786.6655 www.bunzsportspub.com
Best Burger in Roseville!
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TICKETS & PARKING General: $12 Seniors (Ages 62+): $10 Youth (Ages 5-12): $6
Child (Ages 0-4): Free Parking: $10
Best Deal!
Save $2 on admission by purchasing tickets now at CAStateFair.org. Or get your Family Fun Pack for just $44.95!
Out of the Gate Q&A wiTH joCkEy BriTTAny SMiTH Brittany Smith, 23, is a newcomer to the horse racing circuit. Her racing career began in Oregon, but she is now based in Humboldt County and will be riding at the Miller Lite Grandstand during the Fair.
Feel the Noise! SoCCEr ExCiTEMEnT CoMES To CAL Expo Soccer is known for having some of the most passionate fans in sports. California State Fair attendees will have a chance to do their best soccer hooligan when Sacramento Republic FC plays three games during this year’s Fair. Republic FC, Sacramento’s minor league soccer team, is leasing space at Cal Expo for a new soccer pitch and stadium. With $3 million in private funding from Ovations, the 8,000-seat venue will be known as Bonney Field and is being constructed on nearly 5 acres of Cal Expo property.
Smith hopes to add to the growing legion of Republic fans. The official supporters club of team, the Tower Bridge Battalion, is known for waving flags and scarves with the team’s colors — Old Glory Red, Seal and Maple — and doing whatever it takes to uphold Republic’s motto: “Indomitable City. Indomitable Club.”
Team founder Warren Smith welcomes the opportunity to have Fair fans and soccer fans overlap.
As an expansion team, the Republic is a collection of mostly young players with a few veterans mixed in. Their lack of experience and familiarity with each other will undoubtedly lead to what coach Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic calls “growing pains.” However, he says the chance to build a team from scratch was one of the primary appeals in taking the job.
“I think it’s a great arrangement,” he says. “I think we might bring some people to the Fair who might not
“Already, the improvement from day one has been huge,” Preki says. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
c a S TAT E FA I R . o r g 32
normally go there. They will bring some people to us. Even if they can’t get in because it’s sold out, they’ll see that 8,000 people are having a good time there and will want to be a part of it.”
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SN&R | 06.19.14
You originally became interested in racing as a young girl. Tell me about that. BS: Ever since I was little, I would go with my grandmother to the track [in Saratoga, N.Y.]. She had an in, so I got to meet the trainers and take the tour. I remember walking through there and seeing those huge horses and just being amazed. I’d have my face pressed against the fence.
I thought, I just want to do anything that has to do with horses.
What’s going through your mind when you’re racing? BS:Everything happens so fast. You’re not just controlling your horse. You have to know where everybody else is … when to run, when to ease up. You have to be so in tune with your horse.
What other challenges are there? BS: To me, the warmup period is the most exciting, maybe even more than the race. You only have that little time to try to get to know your horse. The horses change from race to race. The competition changes, too. I love the challenge.
Is it still a big deal to be a female jockey or have the men gotten used to it? BS: I think it’s almost an advantage to be a woman. We’re naturally lighter, so I can go to the gym and put on more muscle mass and not worry about it. As for the male jockeys, in the jockey room, I’m just another dude, as far as they’re concerned.
BEST BET
Best soccer Hooligan
Harness racers usually own the track at Cal Expo, but they will make room for thoroughbreds, Arabian horses, quarter horses and mules during seven days of racing at the Miller Lite Grandstand.
Don ’ t m iss you r cha nce to be a pa r t of soccer excitement ! Visit w w w. sacrep u blicfc . com to pu rcha se t icket s for ga mes on Th u rsday, J uly 17, Sat u rday, J uly 19, a nd Friday, J uly 27.
The showcase attraction is the California Governor’s Cup race, which returned to the Fair last year after an extended absence.
A PA I D A DV E R T I S E M E N T
Live Horse Racing: July 11-13 and July 17-20 California Governor ’s Cup: 5 p.m. Saturday, July 19 Box Seats Package: Includes a grandstand box with six seats, 42 tickets to the Fair, daily racing programs, and general and pre ferred parking. Cost: Season box seats $425 -$525 Tickets: Visit www.CAStateFair.org
c a S TAT E FA I R . o r g
A PA I D A DV E R T I S E M E N T BEFORE
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TICKETS & PARKING General: $12 Seniors (Ages 62+): $10 Youth (Ages 5-12): $6
Child (Ages 0-4): Free Parking: $10
Best Deal!
Save $2 on admission by purchasing tickets now at CAStateFair.org. Or get your Family Fun Pack for just $44.95!
Out of the Gate Q&A wiTH joCkEy BriTTAny SMiTH Brittany Smith, 23, is a newcomer to the horse racing circuit. Her racing career began in Oregon, but she is now based in Humboldt County and will be riding at the Miller Lite Grandstand during the Fair.
Feel the Noise! SoCCEr ExCiTEMEnT CoMES To CAL Expo Soccer is known for having some of the most passionate fans in sports. California State Fair attendees will have a chance to do their best soccer hooligan when Sacramento Republic FC plays three games during this year’s Fair. Republic FC, Sacramento’s minor league soccer team, is leasing space at Cal Expo for a new soccer pitch and stadium. With $3 million in private funding from Ovations, the 8,000-seat venue will be known as Bonney Field and is being constructed on nearly 5 acres of Cal Expo property.
Smith hopes to add to the growing legion of Republic fans. The official supporters club of team, the Tower Bridge Battalion, is known for waving flags and scarves with the team’s colors — Old Glory Red, Seal and Maple — and doing whatever it takes to uphold Republic’s motto: “Indomitable City. Indomitable Club.”
Team founder Warren Smith welcomes the opportunity to have Fair fans and soccer fans overlap.
As an expansion team, the Republic is a collection of mostly young players with a few veterans mixed in. Their lack of experience and familiarity with each other will undoubtedly lead to what coach Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic calls “growing pains.” However, he says the chance to build a team from scratch was one of the primary appeals in taking the job.
“I think it’s a great arrangement,” he says. “I think we might bring some people to the Fair who might not
“Already, the improvement from day one has been huge,” Preki says. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
c a S TAT E FA I R . o r g 32
normally go there. They will bring some people to us. Even if they can’t get in because it’s sold out, they’ll see that 8,000 people are having a good time there and will want to be a part of it.”
|
SN&R | 06.19.14
You originally became interested in racing as a young girl. Tell me about that. BS: Ever since I was little, I would go with my grandmother to the track [in Saratoga, N.Y.]. She had an in, so I got to meet the trainers and take the tour. I remember walking through there and seeing those huge horses and just being amazed. I’d have my face pressed against the fence.
I thought, I just want to do anything that has to do with horses.
What’s going through your mind when you’re racing? BS:Everything happens so fast. You’re not just controlling your horse. You have to know where everybody else is … when to run, when to ease up. You have to be so in tune with your horse.
What other challenges are there? BS: To me, the warmup period is the most exciting, maybe even more than the race. You only have that little time to try to get to know your horse. The horses change from race to race. The competition changes, too. I love the challenge.
Is it still a big deal to be a female jockey or have the men gotten used to it? BS: I think it’s almost an advantage to be a woman. We’re naturally lighter, so I can go to the gym and put on more muscle mass and not worry about it. As for the male jockeys, in the jockey room, I’m just another dude, as far as they’re concerned.
BEST BET
Best soccer Hooligan
Harness racers usually own the track at Cal Expo, but they will make room for thoroughbreds, Arabian horses, quarter horses and mules during seven days of racing at the Miller Lite Grandstand.
Don ’ t m iss you r cha nce to be a pa r t of soccer excitement ! Visit w w w. sacrep u blicfc . com to pu rcha se t icket s for ga mes on Th u rsday, J uly 17, Sat u rday, J uly 19, a nd Friday, J uly 27.
The showcase attraction is the California Governor’s Cup race, which returned to the Fair last year after an extended absence.
A PA I D A DV E R T I S E M E N T
Live Horse Racing: July 11-13 and July 17-20 California Governor ’s Cup: 5 p.m. Saturday, July 19 Box Seats Package: Includes a grandstand box with six seats, 42 tickets to the Fair, daily racing programs, and general and pre ferred parking. Cost: Season box seats $425 -$525 Tickets: Visit www.CAStateFair.org
c a S TAT E FA I R . o r g
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The art of reading
Cult of Dylan The DylanologisTs
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Most of us have known someone with a Bob Dylan obsession. They’re different from Dead Heads in that BOOK these folks typically eschew festival antics and mood-altering substances, choosing instead to pore over every album, bootleg tape and song lyric for special meaning. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Kinney profiles a handful of such types, tagging along on pilgrimages to Dylan’s Hibbing, Minn., hometown, and sifting through piles of memorabilia and ephemera. What emerges in The Dylanologists: Adventures in the Land of Bob (Simon & Schuster, $25) is an at times lighthearted view of slightly more intellectual fanatics than the Elvis worshippers and Beatlemaniacs, but still people who import more power to cultural figures than the figures themselves would grant—or with which they’d be comfortable. —Kel Munger
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Though it’s billed as a way to “find fluffy singles in your area,” there’s no need to worry: This is a family-friendly app. In fact, it’s a really cool little tool used to help streamline the pet-adoption process. The app, which is free, easy to navigate and available for the iPhone and iPad, allows users to search through local profiles of adoptable dogs. The more you use the app, the more it tailors its search results to help find exactly the right fit. Once you’ve located a dog you want to adopt, it’s as simple as APP a tap on your iPhone’s screen to set up a “meet and greet.” If all goes well, you’ll be cleaning up dog poop in no time. www.barkbuddy.com.
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This summer, take the outdoor-grilling party with you—to the park, camping, down by the river, on a GADGET road trip—with this stylish cooking contraption. The Kikkerland Portable BBQ Suitcase ($85) is a foldout charcoal grill encased in a sleek, silver metal “briefcase.” Big enough to cook for two people—or one particularly ravenous eater— it’s a great, travel-friendly option for any adventure in dire need of tofu dogs, veggie burgers and grilled peaches. Sorry, you’ll have to hunt down your own “kiss the cook” apron. www.kikkerland.com/ products/portable-bbq-suitcase. —Rachel Leibrock
american liBrary associaTion’s reaD PosTers Remember those posters in the library that featured celebrities reading that commanded us in all caps to read, too? Well, they were created by the American Library Association and debuted way back in 1985. It turns out that the ALA still makes them, and the likes of GRAPHIC ART Bill Cosby and Keira Knightley have appeared on the posters (which, by the way, can be purchased at www.alastore.ala.org for $10-$18). Basically, the concept is simple: If someone sees a celebrity reading, they’d think books are cool. Last year, librarians Geoff Rohde and Marc Pezell noticed that a lot of these celebrity posters—such as one featuring the Backstreet Boys—were a bit out-of-date. So, the Sacramento Library produced a new set of its own posters featuring photos of various library employees holding famous books. The library’s graphic designer Laura Koivunen took the photos and Photoshopped backgrounds on them that tie in with the topic of the books. Several of them recently debuted at the Central Library (828 I Street). Bonus: If you’re the creative type, the library’s publicinformation coordinator Malcolm Maclachlan says that members of the public can create their own posters at home. Just make sure that you really love reading and graphic design—it’s $199 for a READ Design Studio Starter Pack, (which, to be fair, is designed for classroom and library settings). www.alastore.ala.org/read designstudioinfo. —Jonathan Mendick
When I was 10 years old, my mom died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. She was 34 years old. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I repressed my feelings. After my dog died 20 years later, my emotions about my mom’s passing came up and began to heal. My 84-year-old dad passed away six months ago. He was my best friend, role model, coach and hero. I need to deal with my loss and would appreciate by Joey ga rcia your insight. You can thank your brain for a s kj o ey @ ne wsreview.c om compartmentalizing emotions surrounding your mother’s sudden death until you were old enough to manage the pain. Joey bought tickets for You can thank your sweet soul The Submission at Big for stitching the memory of your Idea Theatre. mother’s death to the death of your four-legged friend, because both connections are love stories. And you can be grateful for your ego’s openness in seeking a deeper reality.
Being spiritually awake means we appreciate the person who has died while growing out of the unhealthy attachment of wanting things to be as they were when that person was alive.
Got a problem?
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.
My divorce is nearly final, but I still love my husband. We fought a lot because I am ambitious and he’s not. Now I see how he took care of things so I could pursue my dreams. He begged me not to end our marriage. I didn’t listen. What should I do? Understand that every characteristic has a shadow. The persistence you employed to meet your goals is also the stubbornness that you directed toward your husband. Now channel that intensity into an honest conversation with him about how mistaken you were. Practice patience while he decides what he really wants. Ω
Meditation of the Week “Nothing is so common as the desire to be remarkable,” wrote William Shakespeare. Is your striving an attempt to soothe your ego? Or have you learned to flow according to your soul’s true nature?
YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.
From a spiritual perspective, the root of grief is attachment. It’s natural to express emotions—sadness, anger, fear—when a loved one dies. As we journey through our emotions, we must also try to stay conscious. Being spiritually awake means we appreciate the person who has died while growing out of the unhealthy attachment of wanting things to be as they were when that person was alive. The death of someone with whom we have shared an emotionally intimate connection, like a parent, partner or dear friend, is particularly painful. After we muster the courage necessary to shake off the heaviest layers of grief, the real work of transformation begins. This work is so difficult that few people ever enter into it, and fewer still complete it. It is not necessary to undertake this transformational work, but choosing to avoid it stunts a person’s spiritual growth. The work is this: Integrate the role the deceased person embodied in your life. In your case, it means you must become your own best
friend, role model, coach and hero. Synthesize the qualities that you sought from interactions with your father, and exercise those attributes within yourself until you can fully own each one. Do not announce to anyone that you have this task underway. It is your work. If you need assistance, engage a spiritual director (www.sdiworld.org). Or simply learn to meditate and to pray. For those who choose not to engage in transformation, there are other paths. These routes are psychological methods of avoiding spiritual maturity. Choosing such a path is not bad or wrong, but rather a distraction, usually chosen unconsciously. Here are a few examples: A man whose mother dies dates women with deep maternal instincts, and he unconsciously and repeatedly creates scenarios in which his dating partner must mother him. He, in turn, resents her for it. Or a woman whose mother dies attempts friendships with a series of older women by becoming their supplicant, running errands and doing their work, and when she is treated poorly, she is unable to end the relationship. Or she does and begins another similar relationship soon after. You don’t have to tread that cycle. Choose to deal with your loss spiritually. Grieve the emotions, then consciously transform into the next evolution of you.
RECYCLE THIS PAPER.
Death: A love story
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Davis shakespeare Festival featuring
Much Ado About NothiNg &
She LoveS Me
June 26 –August 3
Veterans Memorial Theatre, Davis for tickets and more information visit www.shakespeareDavis.org
A party and a parade The Last Sunday in June Closet Door Theatre Company, dedicated to works by and for the LGBT community, kicks off its second season with The Last Sunday in June, by Kel Munger playwright Jonathan Tolins’ deconstruction of the “gay scene.” Couple Tom (Rick Schlussel) and Michael (Corey Morris) have an apartment overlooking the route for New York’s gay pride parade. Ignoring his partner’s wishes, Tom invites a number of friends over to watch the parade, a gathering that moves from witty repartee to serious emotional baggage when one of the friends (Jason Vitaich) announces that, although he’s still gay, he’s marrying a straight woman.
a slice-of-life feel. Zarriello, stage manager Andrea Slay and Kurt Kurtis designed the realistic set and deserve kudos for exceptional sound work, with crowd noises from the parade, a music mix certain to bring back memories, and a juicer that functions as a lie detector. In all, The Last Sunday in June has some outrageously funny lines that are just enough to keep the tears at bay—like real life. Ω
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PhoTo CourTeSy oF CLoSeT Door TheaTre ComPany
FAIR OAKS THEATRE FESTIVAL & AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE PRESENT
There are laughs and smiles, but also emotional baggage and tears.
T
The Fair Oaks Theater Festival first play of the season “The Brain From Planet X” opens June 20th at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre in Fair Oaks Village. The play, presented in partnership with American River College, is about an affectionate and hilarious send-up of bad 50s sci-fi movies. “The Brain” tells the story of an alien invasion circa 1958. Director Bob Irvin as again put together an all star cast. A Brain played by Michael Coleman and its two alien cohorts, Corey Winfield as Zubrick and Christianne Klein as Yoni, arrive on Earth and plan to take over the San Fernando Valley. It’s the first step on the road to their quest to take over the entire planet and to destroy the family unit starting with the Bunson family with Dan Sattel as Fred Bunson, his wife Joyce Bunson played by Analise Langford-Clark and their daughter Donna played
by Emily Simpson. This rousing toe-tapping musical features a dancing, singing brain…what more could you want from a musical. The rest of the cast include Joseph Hart as General Mills, Jacob Tucker as Private Partz. Professor Leder is played by Aaron Bayless and Rod is played by Cody Alexander. Jonathan Blum pulls it all together as the Narrator. “The Brain From Planet X” is from a book written by David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel, with music and lyrics by Bruce Kimmel. The play premiered in Los Angeles to rave reviews. The Los Angeles Times call “The Brain From Planet X”, “Wildly funny... wittily staged, sharply cast and graced with some catchy numbers.” The Beverly Hills Outlook called “The Brain, “Fun theatre! Silly, spoofy, and goofy!”
JUNE 20TH TO JULY 20TH • Every Friday, Saturday & Sunday • 8:30pm • Rated PG-13 Friday and Saturday Tickets for Adult are just $18.00, Seniors and Students $15.00 and Children 12 and under $10.00. On Sunday the tickets for Adults are $12.00 and Children 12 and under $6.00
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THEATRE FESTIVAL WWW.FAIROAKSTHEATREFESIVAL.COM
06.19.14
’Tis Shakespeare season
The Last Sunday in June, 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday; $12-$20. Closet Door Theatre Company at the Geery Theater, 2130 L Street; (916) 222-4932; www.closetdoor theatre.org. Through June 21.
He’s just “sick of it,” the whole “gay scene,” with its veneration of youth, physical beauty, and sexual gratification over emotional involvement. It’s problematic that Tolins focuses on one aspect of the larger LGBT community that, like the straight bar scene, most people move through on their way to adulthood. Nonetheless, The Last Sunday in June takes a hard look at the loneliness experienced by anyone who doesn’t measure up to our culture—and media-fueled standards of attractiveness. High notes for this production include nuanced performances by Dann Mead (Brad) as an unapologetic hedonist; David Borad (Charles) as a middle-aged man who understands all too well the premium placed on youth and beauty; and Daryl Clark (Scott) as a gym bunny who busts the stereotype. But the real gem is Susan (Maureen Gaynor, in a role usually played by Sandra E. Hill), an eyes-wide-open heterosexual woman quick to point out that gay men are not the only ones unsatisfied with the emotional options available to them. Moving in real time with no intermission, director Bill Zarriello gives the show
It’s summer: time for classic period comedies (set in picturesque eras)—some performed outdoors, some inside. The Chautauqua Playhouse (5325 Engle Road, Suite 110 in Carmichael; www.cplay house.org) hosts the first Shakespeare show of the summer, a one-weekend stand of Twelfth Night, mounted by Quest Theaterworks of Nevada County. Director Trish Adair has picked a World War I-Downton Abbey setting. Performances are daily from Wednesday, June 18, through Saturday, June 21, at 8 p.m.; and also Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15. The new Davis Shakespeare Festival, with two Actors’ Equity Association actors in prominent roles, begins on Thursday, June 26, and continues weekends through Sunday, August 3. It features several shows dealing with unlikely romances between lovers who tend to feud as often as they woo. The Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing is located in the California wine country during the 1940s, with swingera music. The small musical She Loves Me (by the creators of Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret) is set in the 1930s. The professional actors are Matt K. Miller (featured in many Sacramento Theatre Company shows) and Matt Edwards (two Broadway shows and numerous Off Broadway productions). The venue is the Veterans Memorial Theatre, 203 E. 14th Street in Davis. Ticket prices vary. Visit www.shakespearedavis.org, or call (530) 802-0998 for more information. And the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival (www.sacramentoshakespeare.net) presents Much Ado About Nothing (with another Downton Abbey setting) starting on Saturday, July 5, joined by The Three Musketeers on July 11. The outdoor venue is the William A. Carroll Amphitheatre (3901 Land Park Drive, next to Fairytale Town) in Sacramento’s William Land Park. Shows run on the weekends through August 3. —Jeff Hudson
Now playiNg
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Journey’s End
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The Submission
Playwright R.C. Sherriff’s war drama mostly leaves the fighting and dying offstage, but out of sight does not mean out of mind. Written and first performed 10 years after the end of “the war to end all wars,” this drama— well-acted and tightly paced in this California Stage production—is as gripping and pertinent now as then. F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 7/6. $15-$20. California Stage at the R25 Arts Center, 2509 R St.; (916) 451-5822; www.calstage.org. J.C.
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The Producers
FOUL
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Great Lawn, Nevada County Fairgrounds
FAIR
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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
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B Street Theatre’s regional premiere of Christopher Durang’s Tony Award-winning satire is based on—and pokes fun at—the works of Chekhov. While there are laughs aplenty, the production does veer from satire to farce. It’s directed by Buck Busfield, and stars B Street company members Greg Alexander, Jamie Jones, Stephanie McVay and Jason Kuykendall.
WELL-DONE
5 SUBLIME–DON’T MISS
Th, F 8pm; Sa 5pm & 9pm. Through 6/21. $23-$35. B Street Theatre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. K.M.
Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Kel Munger and Patti Roberts.
PhOTO COURTESy OF MUSIC IN ThE MOUNTAINS
THINK FREE.
Runaway Stage Productions does an excellent interpretation of Mel Brooks’ broad farce, in which a mismatched pair (Brent Null and Tyson Wheeler) discover that they can steal a lot of money if they produce a flop, with scene-stealing supporting performances by Matthew Rives as a Nazi playwright and Darryl Stroh-De Herrera as a flamboyant director. While it’s not for the easily offended, it’s chock-full of wink-wink, nudge-nudge humor. F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 6/22. $20. Runaway Stage Productions at the 24th Street Theatre, 2791 24th St.; (916) 207-1226; www.runawaystage.com. K.M.
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The Submission by Jeff Talbott tackles a number of fascinating issues, including race, gender and sexual-orientation stereotyping and discrimination; who gets to claim a valid victims’ “voice,” and who gets to play the most-oppressed-group card. Under the direction of Jouni Kirjola, this Big Idea Theatre cast adds depth to the story of two passionate people who believe strongly in each of their personal stories. Th, F, Sa 8pm. Through 7/5. $10-$20. Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd.; (916) 960-3036; www.bigideatheatre.com. P.R.
GRAND FIDDLER’S RALLY Saturday, June 21, 8pm Over 150 musicians, singers and dancers will take the stage for Alasdair Fraser’s fiddler rally. THE FAB FOUR: THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE Friday, June 27, 8pm “The best Beatles show in the world” LA Times A JOHN WILLIAMS SPECTACULAR Saturday, June 28, 8pm The MIM Orchestra and Chorus present an evening of Hollywood’s best soundtracks. HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA Thursday, July 3, 8pm Celebrate the good ol’ U.S. of A. with music, picnics on the lawn, fly-over, color guard and more!
Log on & Explore: MusicInTheMountains.org Tickets | Information: Purchase online or call (530) 265-6124 10% discount with purchase of 4 or more concerts
h av e y o u e v e r d r e a m t a b o u t f o o d f r o m y o u r f av o r i t e m o v i e ?
Konstantin Soukhovetski is pianist-inresidence for SummerFest 2014.
Stay classical, Sacramento
movie & dinner
If you’re into summer festivals and classical music, then check out Music in the Mountain’s SummerFest 2014 in Grass Valley. It began on June 11, and continues through Friday, July 4, at the Center for the Arts and at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Even though Music in the Mountains is an organization dedicated to classical-music performances and education, it’ll serve up a variety of genres at its festival. Highlights include Fiesta del Caribe (7 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, at the Center for the Arts), a dance party with Cuban jazz trio Gardenia Azul, Caribbean food and salsa-dance lessons; Young Geniuses (7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 22), featuring Elk Grove’s Ray Anthony Trujillo performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major; and Gershwin Extravaganza (7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1), featuring Konstantin Soukhovetski (pictured) performing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Get details at www.musicinthemountains.org/event/ summerfest.
enjoy the movie sex and the city while you dine on a three-course meal and mini cosmo! Sunday, june 22nd | 6:30pm | TickeTS: $25 (price includes 3 course meal + movie)
1615 J Street | Sacramento | 916.669.5300 tickets available at lucca or brownpapertickets.com
—Jonathan Mendick
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call for
artists
If so, SN&R wants to hear why you are the ultimate California State Fair fanatic.
the sn&r newsstand art project SN&R is seeking artists to transform our newsstands into functional art. To see how you can be a part of this project, please contact grege@newsreview.com
Send an email on why you’re the biggest State Fair addict in Sacramento to StateFair@newsreview.com with the subject line “State Fair.” We want to hear everything! The best responses will appear in an upcoming issue of SN&R. Deadline to submit is June 30.
SHOP LOCAL AND SAVE
SN&R READERS SAVE UP TO 50% OFF AT THESE LOCAL SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS ... Alley Katz: $20.00 for $10.00 California State Fair: $10.00 tix for $6.00 Foundation Restaurant & Bar: $25.00 for $15.00 Harv’s Car Wash: $26.00 for $13.00 The Melting Pot: $50.00 for $35.00 Crocker Art Museum: $10.00 tix for $5.00 The Vapor Spot: $20.00 for $10.00 Kupros Craft House: $25.00 for $12.50 M.A.R.K. Vintage: $40.00 for $20.00 Raez Bode Craze: $20.00 for $10.00 River City Comics & Games: $20.00 for $10.00 Ten 22: $25 for $15 Hooters: $50 for $25, $25 for $12.50 Rire Boutique: $35 for $17.50
... TIX ...
JUNE 20–JULY 13 Les Miserables @ Davis Musical Theatre: $18.00 tix for $9.00 JUNE 21
Sac City Rollers – Roller Derby: $12.00 tix for $6.00
JUNE 21
Tainted Love @ Harlow’s: $15.00 tix for $7.50
JUNE 22
Framing Hanley @ Assembly: $15,00 tix for $7.50
JUNE 26
Cultura Profetica @ Assembly: $20.00 tix for $10.00
JUNE 26–JULY 3
Davis Shakespeare Festival @ Veterans Memorial Theatre: $20.00 tix for $10.00
JUNE 27
Music in the Mountains – Fab Four @ Nevada County Fairgrounds: $32.50 tix for $16.25
JUNE 28
Louisiana Sue’s Gumbo Ya Ya @ Yolo County Fairgrounds: $15.00 tix for $7.50
JULY 11 – 27
California State Fair: $10.00 tix for $6.00
JULY 14
2014 World Beauty, Fitness & Fashion Sacramento@ Crest Theatre: $35.00 tix for $8.75
AUGUST 29
One Love One Heart Reggae Music Festival @ Rio Ramaza Marina: $89 3-day pass for $44.50
... AND MORE!
Concert listings for Ace of Spades are only available for review on our Sweetdeals website.
SN&R
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Empty, frustrating, tiresome The Rover From the title card that reads “Ten years after the collapse” to the opening images of stark wastelands and Guy Pearce’s weathered face, by Daniel Barnes David Michôd’s The Rover wants you to know that it is really, really dark. The film practically rolls around in a pile of its own self-important bleakness. It would like to be a cerebral, “slow cinema” take on apocalyptic Aussie films like The Road Warrior and Wake in Fright, but The Rover isn’t cerebral, just slow. It has more in common with the vacuous misery of last year’s Out of the Furnace, and feels like the work of a talented and ambitious filmmaker with nothing to say.
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Just put him out of his misery already.
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2 Fair
3 Good
4 Very Good
5 excellent
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The Australian native Michôd broke through in 2010 with the excellent crime drama Animal Kingdom, which featured Pearce in a supporting role. Kingdom painted a deeply disturbing portrait of a ruthless criminal family turning against each other, and it succeeded because even the vilest characters held a queasy fascination. Their corrosive relationships mattered, and the suffering that surrounded them was tragic, but the characters in Rover are quite dull, and suffering is just a pose. Michôd still shows a talent for dreamily unsettling images, shocking cuts, efficient storytelling, and incoherent soundtrack selections, and the first third of Rover has a morose sort of electricity. Pearce is an unnamed man in the post-apocalyptic Outback, a craggy and dead-eyed loner who doesn’t even bother to brush the bugs off his face. When he stops for a drink, a car full of criminals crashes outside, and they quickly escape with Pearce’s midsize sedan. Awoken from his stupor, Pearce chases after them, eventually leaving a trail of bodies in the wake of his relentless, Terminator-like pursuit. But when that chase starts to stall, so does the film, and after a tense opening act, Rover becomes enamored with its own navel. Pearce’s character is able to capture the brother of one of the criminals, a wounded and slow-witted Southerner named Rey who is played by Robert
Pattinson. Rey was left for dead back at the crime scene, and he’s just as eager to reunite with his brother as Pearce is to reclaim his stolen car, so he agrees to lead this gun-toting nihilist back to their lair. It would be easy and obvious to dump the faults of Rover on to Twilight punch line Pattinson, but Rover does completely crash once he appears, and his performance is very bad, so maybe there’s something to it. Pattinson was callow, wispy and overwhelmed in David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, and he’s callow, wispy and overwhelmed here. Few actors could survive something as drippy and perverse as the Twilight films, so that’s hardly a fair measure, but it’s another thing to flail under great directors. Most unfortunate then that Michôd’s screenplay requires Pattinson to perform a number of tasks for which he is hilariously unequipped—affect a Southern accent, play a “mentally challenged” man, carry long dialogue scenes and be “intense,” without the whole thing adding up to an open-mic impression of Karl Childers from Sling Blade. Pattinson’s oversized bag of actor’s tics would never fit into the overhead compartment of a commercial airplane, but he smuggles every single shuffle, sneer and slouch onto the screen. Once it becomes apparent that the story hinges on a burgeoning relationship between Pearce’s mysterious-man-pushed-toofar and Pattinson’s guileless youth, the drama becomes as barren and hopeless as the crucifixstrewn Outback. Michôd gives very little context for the “collapse” or backstories for his desperate characters, but those enigmatic aspirations fail to dissuade him from indulging in sledgehammerobvious social commentary. The film falls into a dreary rhythm, and as the characters reveal their inner lives, they come to feel less mythic and more underdeveloped.
It feels like the work of a talented and ambitious filmmaker with nothing to say. While empty, frustrating, and tiresome, Michôd’s movie also brings to mind director Steve McQueen’s second film Shame, which was a similarly bleak and stylized cinematic statement from a talented filmmaker with nothing on his mind but being important. McQueen followed up Shame with his for-the-ages Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave, so even if The Rover is a total dog, there is certainly hope for Michôd yet. Ω
by daniel barnes & JiM lane
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Alone Yet Not Alone
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2508 LAND PARK DRIVE LAND PARK & BROADWAY FREE PARKING ADJACENT TO THEATRE
In 1755 Pennsylvania, two white girls are taken captive by Indians. This faithbased historical drama is—there’s no gentle way to say it—embarrassingly bad. It’s like a small-town amateur pageant staged by weekend French and Indian War re-enactors, with special guest appearances by local merchants masquerading as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Sluggish pacing (by directors Ray Bengston and George D. Escobar) fails to enliven the lurching, episodic story, and a cast of unsteady unknowns can do little with the terrible dialogue, heavy with exposition (“As you well know …”) and stupid anachronisms (“OK!” “No way!”). Written by Escobar and James Richards, from Tracy Leininger Craven’s novel (supposedly based on the true story of one of her ancestors). The meager budget is painfully obvious. J.L.
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3
The Fault in Our Stars
Romance blossoms between two teenage cancer patients (Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort). Directed by Josh Boone and adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber from John Green’s wildly successful novel (124 weeks and counting on The New York Times Best Sellers list), the movie is Love Story for the 21st century—though that’s a bit unfair: Love Story—book and movie—was lousy. This one, book and movie, is artfully constructed— a dash of Holden Caulfield without the acid, enough character for good actors to sink their teeth into, yet generic enough to appeal to a maximum teen audience. It’s essentially a two-character show: Elgort is handsome and appealing, while Woodley continues her steady progress to stardom. Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Nat Wolff and Willem Dafoe pop in occasionally with sturdy support. J.L.
3
Finding Vivian Maier
The story of Vivian Maier is the stuff of juicy fiction—a peripatetic career nanny from 1956 until the mid-1990s, Maier was also secretly a masterful street photographer, a mordantly witty chronicler of humanity’s fringes. Maier left most of the hundreds of thousands of pictures she shot unexposed, and so her photographic brilliance went unknown until an auction junkie named John Maloof purchased her estate and exposed the frames. Maloof also co-directed this documentary, and while Finding Vivian Maier is of interest as an attempt to unite the strands of Maier’s deeply private life, there is also a queasy sense of ownership in Maloof’s aim to canonize and define a woman based on some starry-eyed assumptions. It’s a slick effort, but removed of any mercenary ambitions, Finding Vivian Maier offers little more than you would get from a Tumblr profile and a Wikipedia page. D.B.
2
THE
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Viking teenager Hiccup (voice by Jay Baruchel) returns with his dragon pal Toothless, this time forced to deal with a wicked warlord (Djimon Hounsou) who is recruiting an army of dragons to feed his lust for conquest and destruction. The first movie back in 2010 was a delightful surprise; this sequel, not so much. With around 100 minutes of movie strung out over 25 minutes worth of plot, writer-director Dean DeBlois resorts to cribbing elements from other movies—the Harry Potter series, the Star Wars saga, Pirates of the Caribbean, Japanese monster movies and so on. The first movie satisfied itself with cribbing the Aesop fable about Androcles and the lion, and it was more fun that way. DeBlois also
BEFORE
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NEWS
“AN UPLIFTING TALE.”
- Steven Rea, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
ROVER Ida
- Matthew Kassel, NEW YORK OBSERVER
words and pictures
WED: 12:00, 2:30, 7:00, 9:30PM STARTS FRI., 6/20 THUR: 12:00, 2:30PM FRI-TUES: 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, FRI-SUN: 11:10AM, 3:40PM 8:00, 9:50PM • NO TUES 9:50PM MON/TUES: 2:45PM
STARTS FRI., 6/20 FRI-TUES: 12:15, 2:35, 5:00, 7:25, 9:45PM
“A VIRTUOSO NARRATIVE.”
“IRRESISTIBLE...MOVING.”
“PERVERSELY UPLIFTING.”
LOCKE BELLE DUNE - David Rooney, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
- Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES
- Alan Scherstuhl, THE VILLAGE VOICE
JODOROWSKY’S
WED: 11:45AM, 4:25, 6:45PM WED/THUR: 5:00, 9:05PM THUR: 11:45AM, 2:05, 4:25PM FRI-SUN: 8:10, 10:00PM FRI-SUN: 1:25, 6:00PM MON: 7:35, 9:30PM•TUES: 9:30PM MON/TUES: 12:30, 5:15PM
How do you like our meta-drenched self-reflexivity?
4
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22 Jump Street
Sneaked into the March release slate without anything resembling expectations, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s TV adaptation and sortof spoof 21 Jump Street became a surprise 2012 hit. Although I enjoyed parts of that film, especially the ways that it explored genre role-play and undermined conventions of teenage identity, I also felt that the execution was clumsy and inconsistent. What an unexpected joy, then, that this seemingly pointless follow-up burrows even further into the rabbit hole of meta-drenched selfreflexivity, and emerges from the other end as the best pure comedy of the year so far. After the unexpected success of the Jump Street relaunch, buddy cops Schmidt and Jenko (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, an initially awkward pairing that has become a well-oiled comic machine) are recruited to do “the exact same thing,” and from there, the film becomes an anarchic, ZuckerAbrahams-Zucker-esque auto-critique of unnecessary sequels. D.B.
overdoes the 3-D flying scenes, as if he simply can’t think of any other way to kill the time. J.L.
5
Locke
A British construction foreman (Tom Hardy) drives from Birmingham to London late one night, spending the entire drive on his hands-free cellphone trying to explain to his co-workers why he won’t be there for an important job the next day, to his wife and teenage sons why he won’t be home for dinner that night, and to a needy, neurotic woman in London that he’s on his way. An hour-and-ahalf in a car with a guy on the phone—it sounds like a crackbrained stunt, but writer-director Steven Knight pulls it off brilliantly, thanks to his own riveting script, the wonderful solo performance by Hardy, and those of the unseen voices on the phone: Ruth Wilson, Ben Daniels, Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman. Haris Zambarloukos’ cinematography, despite the confined quarters on one “set,” is almost abstractly beautiful. J.L.
2
Maleficent
Disney’s 1959 Sleeping Beauty gets a do-over, this time from the viewpoint of the wicked fairy (Angelina Jolie). It turns out she’s the jilted girlfriend of King Stefan (Sharlto Copley), so it becomes the story of the revenge of a woman scorned. Writer Linda Woolverton’s feminist rewrite makes a hash of the animated original, and it doesn’t even make sense on its own terms. These revisionist fairy tales all tend to make the same mistake: The villain’s very wickedness is the reason he or she is so interesting. Making them wronged or misunderstood can only diminish their dramatic power. (Meanwhile, the movie makes King Stefan wicked without making him interesting.) Robert Stromberg, a visual-effects technician here promoted to director, is an example of the Peter Principle in action. Nice effects, though. J.L.
1
Million Dollar Arm
One of the businessmen in Craig Gillespie’s Million Dollar Arm refers to India as “the last untapped market.” It is intended to be a dig at global capitalists who worship money and treat humans like assets, but it’s more evocative of the mercenarymissionary strategy at the heart of this dogeared Disney sports film. Jon Hamm plays struggling sports agent J.B. Bernstein, and although this emotionally withdrawn huckster is right in his Don Draper wheelhouse, the film’s dewy-eyed sentiment is a bad look
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ENDS THUR., 6/19 WED/THUR: 11:40AM, 1:40, 3:40, 5:55, 8:00, 10:00PM
DRIVING MISS DAISY 6/18 @ 2PM • FED UP 6/19 @ 7PM THE PAST IS A GROTESQUE ANIMAL 6/19 @ 7PM • VERDI: LA TRAVIATA 6/24 @ 7PM
Belle
Almost every “costume drama” deals with the inequities of privilege, with the focus usually falling on class and gender divides. Amma Asante’s Belle adds racial inequality into the mix, and the wrinkle is almost compelling enough to forgive the superficial treatment it receives. Newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw is all big, pleading eyes as Belle, a biracial orphan left with wealthy white relatives and forced to live under a set of dehumanizing guidelines. This is where Belle should burrow into the intersecting and often contradictory concepts of power and privilege, but the film is content to skim the surface. Draco Malfoy himself (Tom Felton) is cast in the role of an invective-spewing rich bigot, just to prove that racism is bad. The courtroom drama subplot, which invokes a real-life case instrumental in dismantling the British slave industry, feels tacked on for the sake of a quasi-inspirational finish. D.B.
“A MASTERPIECE.”
“FASCINATING.”
- Joe Morgenstern, WALL STREET JOURNAL
STORY
EVERY THURSDAY.
REEL REVIEWS. YOU’RE WELCOME, FILM GEEKS.
on Hamm. J.B. launches the “Million Dollar Arm” talent competition throughout India, hoping to convert hard-throwing cricket players into pitchers. Once the film flies to Mumbai, we are treated to a half-hour of racial stereotypes, before returning to America for another hour of fish-out-of-water stereotypes. At one point, J.B. calls India “a study in extremes,” but Million Dollar Arm is a study in squishy middles. D.B.
3
Neighbors
3
Words and Pictures
A middle-class couple (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne) try to stay cool when a party-hearty fraternity (led by Zac Efron) moves in next door, but hard feelings sprout and escalate into an all-out war. This one goes straight onto the guilty-pleasures list. The script by first-timers Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien is short on logic, with important scenes apparently never written, never filmed or left on the cutting-room floor. Director Nicholas Stoller keeps the joke parade rolling but can’t iron out the script’s wrinkles. Rogen’s comic-schlub shtick is well-deployed, and Byrne shows a nice flair for comedy, while Efron’s earnest performance feels piped in from a different movie. Still, enough of the jokes land to make the movie pretty funny, even with enough misfires to put the “guilt” in guilty pleasure. J.L.
As damaged private-school teachers who connect over a war between art and literature, Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche possess real chemistry in Fred Schepisi’s Words and Pictures. After a string of playing dewy-eyed duds and stone-faced actioners, Owen gets a chance to indulge in the sort of fiercely intelligent roguishness that forged his fame, and while Binoche successfully sells her character’s brittle selfdenial, she can also power a small town with the beams that emanate from her smiling face. Unfortunately, the dialectic about the relative “honesty” of words vs. pictures is never as smart or inspiring as Schepisi and screenwriter Gerald Di Pego would like us to think, and the terrain gets more and more sludgy as the film’s heart starts to warm. Words and Pictures piddles along comfortably enough, but also shows an unfortunate fondness for shallow conclusions and unearned reconciliations. D.B.
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Not that kind of country The Foxtails prove that songs about girls and drinking fit almost any genre People are generally surprised when local singer-songwriter Erik Hanson tells them his band the Foxtails play country. Hanson isn’t exactly sporting by Aaron Carnes a 10-gallon hat or wearing a rhinestone belt buckle. He looks more like he’d be in a slacker indie-rock band such as the Shins or Modest Mouse. Then, of course, Hanson feels compelled to explain what kind of country the Foxtails play.
the
phOTO by STeven Chea
finishing touch
– eclectic handmade jewelry –
nectar
(lOcated inSide eaSt Sac mercantile)
3257 FOlSOm BlVd | SacramentO, ca
live MuSic
These Foxtails are good in your ears.
in june
june 20
city of trees brass band
june 21
Humble wolf
june 22
vagabond brotHers unplugged (2-5pm)
june 27
down tHe HatcH (70’s-current Hard rock cover band)
june 28
billy manzik
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 · 9:30pm · 21+ facebook.com/bar101roseville
42 | SN&R | 06.19.14
says. “It’s a slower song, and it’s quieter, but I think there’s still that fire and intensity.” In addition to new songs, the Foxtails also play some old Cassidys tunes, ones that tend to center on girls and drinking. That band started off with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek approach, but soon, its members realized the songs were actually pretty good and started to take the music more seriously. And, despite the seemingly country clichés heard in those songs, Hanson says that, at the time, drinking and girls were an honest expression of his life. Now, although he no longer drinks, Hanson says he feels comfortable playing those old tunes because they’re rooted in honest, painful emotions—a place he continues to write from. “Whenever you’re going through the hardest point in your life, that’s when you write your best shit. That’s true. It happens to me. Whenever I hit some wall, some obstacle that seems like I can’t overcome, I’ll just write this really cool song. They make for good country songs,” Hanson says. What matters most, he adds, is that the band feels what they are playing, even if it was written years earlier. They strive to bring that sense of earnestness to shows. “It’s never half-assed. I give it 100 percent every time. If anything, the audience is going to get an honest song out of the Foxtails from personal experience,” says Hanson. The one thing the Foxtails don’t put a ton of effort into is all the usual band-promotion activities. Yes, they get together and make music, but they don’t worry about sending out press packs or getting airplay.
Catch the Foxtails at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, at Old Ironsides, located at 1901 10th Street. Cover is $8.
“None of us listen to new country. We like Gram Parsons. We like Hank Williams. We like Buck Owens and Johnny Cash—that kind of country,” Hanson says. As much as the members are directly influenced by the older country greats—and they do boast a mean pedal-steel guitar—their rootsy, twangy sound actually comes off a bit dreamy and melancholy. Furthermore, the band members all profess an interest in ’80s and ’90s shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver, and Hanson sings like a gentle Elliott Smith. Joe Carlson, the band’s pedal-steel player and guitarist, explains it this way: “We’re not historical recreationalists. I really enjoy that, but I think we’re bringing contemporary stuff to the table, too.” The Foxtails formed four years ago out of the remnants of Hanson’s old band, the Cassidys. Carlson also played steel guitar and guitar in that band, and current Foxtails drummer Tom Proulx was its bassist. Now, to round out the current band, the Foxtails added Joe Gray on bass. The Foxtails play a melancholy, dreamy country that’s similar to the Cassidys’ sound— it’s just how Hanson writes—but now Gray joins Hanson on the vocals. The result is thicker vocals and a band that rocks just a little harder. “I don’t feel like we’re totally low-key. I feel like when we’re into it, we’re cooking,” Carlson
“ It’s never half-assed. I give it 100 percent every time.” Erik Hanson The Foxtails “Sometimes you go see a band, and there’s a sense of desperation. They’re working so hard at it. It’s almost exhausting,” Carlson says. “Man, music’s not supposed to be like that. It’s like, I’m 40 years old. I got two kids. I got a mortgage— what am I doing playing in a bar at 2 a.m.? It’s ’cause I have to [play]. Life without it would not be as good.” Ω
Pad Thai vibes Twenty-first century dues: Sacto emcee Century Got Bars just released a new album, 3, and the 14-song collection is a great, eclectic mix of hip-hop that roller coasters between sweetly tuneful, aggressively beat-tastic and smartly in your face. Recorded with Brian “AlienLogik” Baptista at Logical Alien Productions in Elk Grove, it features appearances from the likes of Mahtie Bush, James Cavern and DLRN, and the tracks here—all replete with Bars’ raw, fire-in-thebelly verbal throwdowns—touch on relationships, racism, classism, Tina Turner (respect) and ambition. That latter topic is key. Bars is, hands down, one of the hardest working musicians in the 916, but unlike some movers and shakers, she’s got killer talent to back up that hustle. Catch her album-release show on Thursday, June 19, at The Press Club (2030 P Street). Doors open at 9 p.m., and the cover is $5. There will also be performances from Element Brass Band, Derek “Dizz” Saastad and Grey Trip Matter. Check out more at www.centurygot bars.com.
Texas—another country, right?—she had never seen the majestic trees before. And being from California, we obviously walk through national forests daily. “This feels like a house show with Thai food,” she said, laughing. It did feel like a house show with Thai food. The packed patio at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen in Davis often feels that way, buzzing with camaraderie. And on this evening, college students gearing up to graduate. The mood really could not be beat. Williamson’s opening set of spirited, honest folk was met with enormous warmth. And, outside on the street, a crowd of 30 freeloaders started forming, waiting to hear—but not see—the headliner: Jolie Holland, an artist who seems way too famous and established to play such an intimate bar patio. In other words, Holland and Williamson just played a 500-person room at The Independent in San Francisco. And here I was, able to reach out and touch them if I wanted to be creepy. Holland is on tour for her latest record Wine Dark Sea, a stunning collection of experimental, moody roots music. Her solo career started in 2003 with Catalpa, famously recorded in a living room with zero intention of wide release. Since then, her sound has moved through more folksy, bluesy and jazzy styles, but it’s always been deeply moving. Wine Dark Sea makes new strides in her strange, ethereal anti-folk. In Davis, she wore all black with shiny threading, fishnet stockings and her wild hair swept to one side. She sang at times with rich soul, at times with twang—refusing to smile until the adoring crowd finally won her over. She and her four-piece backing band took frequent breaks to chat quietly and make sound adjustments, with no explanation. Holland wasn’t there to entertain. She was there to be a badass artist. Then her damn tour van almost ruined everything. The alarm sounded and everyone sneered until a bandmate said, “Is someone in our fucking van?!” The drummer jumped over the railing, off the balcony, and ran off into the night. Luckily, it was a false alarm. Holland shook her head and sighed. “Best. Show. Ever.”
Back in Sac: The members of Two Sheds moved south to Los Angeles a while ago, but they still come back to town every so often. The band, comprising Caitlin and Johnny Gutenberger, plans to release a new, as-yet-untitled album later this year, and it’s a lovely collection of atmospheric and jangly indie rock. Pretty sure the band will preview some of those tunes when it performs on Saturday, June 21, at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen (129 E Street in Davis) as part of the Davis Music Festival. (Other performers for the three-day event include John Vanderslice, G. Green and the Bottom Dwellers.) Individual tickets to that particular show, which starts at 9:30 p.m., cost $5, but if you want a deeper commitment to the fest, tickets range from $12-$25. For complete lineup and venue info, visit www.davismusicfest.com. For all things Two Sheds, go to www.ilovetwosheds.com. —Rachel Leibrock
rac he ll@ n ew s r ev i ew . com
Thai Dark Sea: Jess Williamson was all giggles. “So, do you guys go to the redwoods, like, all the time?” she asked Davisites last Thursday night. The sweet, poetic singer-songwriter was so, so excited to go to the redwoods that week. Being from BEFORE
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NEWS
—Janelle Bitker
jan el l eb @ne w s re v i e w . c o m
KARAOKE NIGHTLY IN OUR FRONT BAR PLUS AWESOME FOOD SPECIALS
WEDNESDAY JUNE 18 KNCI 18 & OVER COLLEGE WEDNESDAYS $2, $3, $4 DRINK SPECIALS
THURSDAY JUNE 19 $2 WELL & PBR 9-10PM FREE DANCE LESSONS 8:30-9:30PM LIVE BAND OR OPEN DANCE / DJ
FRIDAY JUNE 20 $2 PBR & $3 LONG ISLANDS 8PM - 9PM
SATURDAY JUNE 21 9PM - 10PM $4 JACK & $3 COORS LIGHT
SUNDAY JUNE 22 18 & OVER FREE DANCE LESSONS
1320 DEL PASO BLVD
STONEYINN.COM | 916.927.6023
2708 J Street Sacramento, Ca 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com - June 19 -
Coming Soon
tommy & the high pilots
- June 21 -
tainted love
fallen riviera
9pm • $15 adv
06/28 SambaDa / Nibblers 06/29 Hellbound Glory 07/03 Esau McGraw
7pm • $10
07/05 Midnight Players - June 25 -
southern culture on the skids
- June 20 -
matt sertich
06/27 The Brothers Comatose
noah clark & the homewrecking crew 7pm • $15 adv
karlee & connor
07/06 Beatles Tribute 07/09 Black Pussy / Mothership 07/11 Robert Francis & the night tides (early) 07/11 Fever the Ghost / Moran Delt(late) 07/12 Joy & Madness 07/15 The Infamous Stringdusters
6pm • $7
07/16 Eric Bibb 07/17 George Tandy Jr. - June 26 -
- June 20 -
netscape navigators the royal jelly, sea legs
ksfm 102.5 summer block party
07/18 Matt Schofield 07/19 ZuhG
07/20 Rakim with august alsina, adrian marcel & teeflii 07/21 People Under the Stairs 9:30pm • $21 07/23 The Hold Steady
9:30pm • $8
07/24 Sapient 07/25 Hot Buttered Rum
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20FRI
20FRI
20FRI
21SAT
Davis Music Festival
Cobalt Cranes
Crescent Katz
John Vanderslice
Various venues, 6:15 p.m., $5-$25
Witch Room, 8 p.m., $5
People don’t need to hop on a plane for Austin, Texas, to go venue-hopping and watch cool bands and drink way too much. The Davis FESTIVAL Music Festival—now in its fourth year—is set up like South by Southwest, and it’s a much smaller affair. This year, it’ll be three-days long with more than 50 bands. There will be local talent—including Charles Albright (pictured) and Darlingchemicalia on Friday, and Be Brave Bold Robot on Saturday—as well as national acts: indie-rock Americana group Dead Winter Carpenters, alt-rockers French Cassettes and funk band Cherry Royale. A $5 cover or DMF wristband will get you into Friday-night shows at RockBand University (720 Olive Drive, Suite H in Davis) and Third Space (946 Olive Drive in Davis). www.davismusicfest.com.
Shady Lady Saloon, 9 p.m., no cover
Los Angeles band Cobalt Cranes takes equal influence from feel-good ’60s garage rock as it does from dissonant, noisy ’80s postpunk. Led by bassist Kate Betuel and guitarist Tim Foley, the duo switches off on, and sometimes doubles up, on lead vocals—kind of like early Pixies, though less combative. The pair is backed by whoever it can get at any given time. It mixes surreal vocals, driving beats and lush guitars. It’s breezy sunny Cali pop with one foot planted firmly in the realm of out-there psychedelia. The ROCK single “Head in the Clouds” is an ethereal post-punk tune that takes a little time to build, but the payoff is well worth the investment. 1815 19th Street, www.cobaltcranes.com.
G Street WunderBar, 5 p.m., $10-$12
Crescent Katz has come a long way since forming as the house band at the Crescent Club a few years ago. It was one of the most popular bands at the 2013 Hot Jazz Jubilee. The quintet—led by Brandon Au (trombone and euphonium)—plays well-loved standards, JAZZ selections from the 1950s San Francisco jazz revival, and deep cuts from the ’20s and ’30s. The group will also throw in occasional originals, like “Carquinez Straitjacket,” by banjo player Greg Sabin. The rest of the group consists of tuba player Priscilla Ornelas, trumpeter Jeff Kreis, and Patrick Skiffington on a jazzy washboard and kazoo. It’s fun, good-time sounds by some jazz cats who know their stuff. 1409 R Street, www.facebook.com/crescentkatz.
—Aaron Carnes
—Trina L. Drotar
John Vanderslice is like a pocket-size Phil Spector, melding elegant warmth and adventurousness into analog symphonies and sprawling concept albums. The prolific Bay Area artist and producer released nine studio albums since 2000, balancing quirky, dramatic and melodic sensibilities. The fastidiously layered arrangements scream “bedroom taper,” but he’s found a less obsessive approach that’s grand but equally intimate. His storytelling’s similar to the music: richly detailed, evocative and earnestly odd. This combination of grace and humanity is his greatest charm, informing his stories of outcasts and dreamers. His latest, Dagger Beach, is INDIE perhaps his most seamlessly pretty and inventive effort. 228 G Street in Davis, www.johnvanderslice.com.
—Aaron Carnes
—Chris Parker
TOMMY DAVIDSON JUNE 21-22 SAT: 7/9:45 SUN: 7:00
THURS 06/19 // 8PM // $5
PRIME D // HALFWAY NOBLE FRI 06/20 // 9PM
YOU FRONT THE BAND LIVE KARAOKE
SAT 06/21 // 9PM // $5
PLAYBACK
PREMIER CLASSIC ROCK COVERS SUN 06/22
, OPEN MIC SHOWCASE SUNDAY AUDITIONS 8-12AM COMEDY 6-8PM // BAND FREE
TUES 06/24 // 8PM // FREE
GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD GREATFUL DEAD//BOB DYLAN REVUE WED 06/25 // 8PM // $5
BUMP DAY FEATURING: THE RESONATORS
DL. HUGHLEY JUNE 27-29 FRI 7:30/ 9:45 SAT 7/ 9:45 SUN 7:00
COCOA BROWN
JULY 17-20 THU: 7:30 FRI: 7:30/9:45 SAT: 7:00/9:45 | SUN: 7:00
GUY TORRY THU 7:30 FRI 7:30/9:45 SAT 7PM/9:45 SUN 7PM
COREY HOLCOMB AUG 8, 9 & 10 FRI 7:30/9:45 SAT 7PM/9:30/11:45 SUN 7PM
R SPECIAL 2 FO E T D 1 FOR SELECLY! SHOWS ON
UPCOMING SHOWS: 06/28 HOLLYWOOD TEXAS BLUES, HONYOCK, RED UNION BLUE
908 K STREET • SAC 916.446.4361 wwwMarilynsOnK.com 44 | SN&R | 06.19.14
916-608-2233 www.tommyts.com 12401 Folsom Blvd Rancho Cordova CA 95742
THINK FREE.
MISS MASSIVE SNOWFLAKE
21SAT
22SUN
23MON
26THURS
Warren G
Human Ottoman
Ingrid Michaelson
The Westwards
Ace of Spades, 7 p.m., $18
Blue Lamp, 5 p.m., $5
Southern California rapper and producer Warren G is best known for his single “Regulate” off the album Regulate…G Funk Era in ’94. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and featured his childhood friend and fellow rapper, Nate Dogg, who died in 2011. In his early career, Warren G formed and founded the group 213, named after the Los Angeles area code where he grew up, and included both Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg. The group fizzled once Warren G’s friends joined Death Row HIP-HOP Records, but the rapper would later move forward with solo records and dozens of collaborations with artists like Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre. 1417 R Street, www.warreng.com.
—Steph Rodriguez
Ace of Spades, 6:30 p.m., $20
Cello rock and string metal have been done. But polyrhythmic world metal? We’re less sure about that one. Human Ottoman hails from the WORLD/METAL funky college town of Eugene, Ore., and draws from metal, world and rock genres to create something excitingly engrossing. “Robespierre’s Crowning” is streaming on the band’s website, and it’s a great introduction to Human Ottoman’s gripping, avant-garde sound. The cello soars. The vibraphone—like a xylophone with a pedal—rounds out melodies. The drums bring power. Human Ottoman is on tour with Bustin’ Jieber, a funky, garage-jazz trio also out of Eugene. They both also play at Nicholson’s MusiCafe (632 E. Bidwell Street in Folsom) at 11 a.m. that day. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, www.humanottoman.com.
Fremont Park, 11:30 a.m., no cover
It’s been seven years since Ingrid Michaelson hit the charts with “The Way I Am,” and weddings and middle-school dances everywhere were infiltrated with the twee promise of “I’d buy you Rogaine / When you start losing all your hair / … ’Cause I love you more than I could ever promise / And you take me the way I am.” Sounds like some hypocrisy to me, but I suppose it’s the melody that counts. Michaelson writes INDIE POP infectious, sticky-sweet indie pop to be sure. Her second hit, “Be OK,” repeats “I just want to be OK” over and over (and over!), but it’s almost impossible not to sing along. 1417 R Street, www.ingridmichaelson.com.
The Westwards—comprising five young musicians from the Sierra Nevada foothills —create an organic indie-rock sound that shows off solid musical chops and songwriting. They’ve got one guitarist hitting big, open FOLK/INDIE chords (Stefan Sorgea); bass and backup vocals (Madi Sipes); texture from electric guitar and piano (Brian Dockendorf and Nick Cunning- ham); and straightforward, steady drumbeats (Mitch Gimenstein). Throw in guitarist Sorgea’s soulful vocals and varied pacing between intense and soft moments, and this makes for a budding band with promise. Catch them for free at the Hot Lunch Concert Series presented by Jerry Perry (it’ll pair well with Hot Italian pizza from across the street). 1515 Q Street, www.facebook.com/thewestwards.
—Deena Drewis
—Janelle Bitker
—Jonathan Mendick
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
EVENTS CALENDAR
E V E RY FRI & S AT 9 P M
JUNE 19 TH
3RD FRIDAY REGGAE
COUNTRY THURSDAYS $3 JACK
JUNE 20
Hosted by UrbanFire
LOVEFOOL
LONG BEACH REHAB
JUNE 20 TH
PARTY HITS FROM THE 80’S & 90’S TO TODAY / $5
A Sublime Tribute
JUNE 21
TERRY SHEETS @ 9PM
DJ RAY
Friday, 6/20 - 6pm-10pm
JUNE 21 ST
DANCE PARTY / $5
ROGUE
JUNE 27
LONG BEACH REHAB @ 8PM
JUNE 28
JUNE 22 ND
TRAGICALLY WHITE DANCE HITS FROM THE 60’S TO TODAY / $5
Saturday, 6/21 - 5pm-9pm
RADIO HEAVY
SKID ROSES 80’S COVER BAND / $5
Saturday, 6/21 - 2pm-5pm
ROCKABILLY & ROOTS AMERICANA - 6 Bands
NASCAR! $2 MILLER LITES!
EVERY THURSDAY
Sunday, 6/22 - 2pm-8pm
JUNE 23 RD
UNLIMITED GLOW-BOWL
OPEN MIC @ 8PM
EVERY TUESDAY
KARAOKE @ 8PM
DAILY
916.652.4007
JUNE 24 TH
WITH LIVE DJ! $15 INCLUDES SHOES / 10PM-1AM
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK FOR LUNCH AND DINNER
$1 TACOS ALL DAY LIVE TRIVIA @7:30PM
NEW BRUNCH MENU SERVING SAT. & SUN. 9:30AM TO NOON
HAPPY HOUR
HALFTIME BAR & GRILL I N S I D E S T RI K ES U NL I MI T ED
5871 Garden Highway (916) 920-8088 BEFORE
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NIGHTBEAT
THURSDAY 6/19
FRIDAY 6/20
ASSEMBLY MUSIC HALL 1000 K St., (916) 832-4751
List your event!
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.
BADLANDS
Saturday Boom, 9pm, call for cover
BAR 101
Karaoke, 7:30pm, no cover
CITY OF TREES BRASS BAND, 9:30pm, no cover
HUMBLE WOLF, 9:30pm, no cover
BLUE LAMP
WILDCARD, ILAM; 9pm, $10
THE GATLIN, MARVALESS, NOME NOMADD, CALI BEAR GANG; 8pm
(WANING), SPACEWASTER, COBRA LIGHT; 8pm, $5
THE BOARDWALK
TREED KUSH, JAB SKATEZ, MIZZLE,
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384
MIM FESTIVAL STRING QUARTET, MIM COWBOY JUNKIES, 8pm, $35-$40 FESTIVAL WOODWIND QUINTET; 7pm, $45
THE COZMIC CAFÉ
Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover
CHRIS ZANARDI & HIS HIGH BEAMZ, 8pm, $10
1016 K St., (916) 737-5770
CHRIS JONES, VINCE VICARI, GLENICE, AYANA SHAKIRA; 7pm, call for cover
DJ BILLY LANE, 10pm, call for cover
DIVE BAR
Deuling Pianos, 9pm, no cover
9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247 DEJON, CHUCK E, DB SHOTTUS; 8pm
594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481
1022 K St., (916) 737-5999
FACES
2000 K St., (916) 448-7798
Hey local bands!
Sin Sunday, 8pm, call for cover
Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover
1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400
FOX & GOOSE
THE MIKE JUSTIS BAND, 9pm, no cover
G STREET WUNDERBAR
TOTAL RECALL, 10pm, no cover
1001 R St., (916) 443-8825 228 G St., Davis; (530) 756-9227
HALFTIME BAR & GRILL
Mad Mondays, 9pm M Trivia, 6:30pm M, no cover; Open-mic, 7:30pm W, no cover
BUSTIN’ JIEBER, HUMAN OTTOMAN, Open-mic, 8pm M; A PIECE OF THE MOON MANTIS; 5pm, $5; Reggae, 9pm, $3 ACTION, 8pm Tu, $5; Trivia, 8pm W
SELF CENTERED, ABBY NORMAL, A SHOT HESSLER, SKIN OF SAINTS, BAD BOY AT ZENITH, ONCE AN EMPIRE; 8pm EDDY, GYPSY FLIGHT; 7:30pm, $12-$15
ZACH MYERS, JUSTIN MOORE, TRACK FIGHTER, MIKE KING; 7:30pm
NEAL MORGAN, SANDYCOATES, AARON ROSS; 8pm, $8-$10 DEAD WESTERN, HALFPENCE AND HAYPENNY, PALEO; 8pm, $5 LIL’ DEBBIE, 10pm W, call for cover
Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10
Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10
WEST NILE RAMBLERS, 9pm, $5
DRUMLORDS, CELESTIONS, BASTARDS OF YOUNG; 9pm, $5
SEA LEGS, 9pm, no cover
SPECIAL BLEND, 9pm Tu; TODD MORGAN & THE EMBLEMS, 9pm W, no cover
Dragalicious, 9pm, $5
Queer Idol, 9pm M, no cover; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5; DJ Alazzawi, 9pm W, $3 Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub Quiz, 7pm Tu; Northern Soul, 8pm W, no cover
LOVEFOOL, 9pm-midnight, $5
5681 Lonetree Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 626-6366
HARLOW’S
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 6/23-6/25
FRAMING HANLEY, DEVOUR THE DAY, STARSET, SAINT RIDLEY; 6:30pm, $15
Tipsy Thursdays, Top 40 deejay dancing, 9pm, call for cover
101 Main St., Roseville; (916) 774-0505
SUNDAY 6/22
KALIN AND MYLES, 6pm, $18-50; The Siren Show, 10pm, $15-$25
2003 K St., (916) 448-8790
DISTRICT 30
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.
SATURDAY 6/21
SLAVES, KYLE LUCAS, CEMETERY SUN, WRINGS, ALTESSA; 6pm, $13
Trivia night, 7:30-9pm Tu, no cover
2708 J St., (916) 441-4693
TOMMY AND THE HIGH PILOTS, FALLEN RIVIERA; 8pm, $10
MATT SERTICH, 7pm, $7; NETSCAPE NAVIGATORS, ROYAL JELLY; 10pm, $8
LEVEL UP FOOD & LOUNGE
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
Hip-hop and R&B deejay dancing, 9:16pm Tu, no cover
1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931
Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm, $2
DR HALL & THE BLUES PRACTITIONERS, LARISA BRYSKI, 8:30pm, $5 PROXY MOON, CLAY DOGS; 8pm
Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm M, $5-$20; Comedy night, 8pm W, $6
MARILYN’S ON K
MISS MASSIVE SNOWFLAKE, 8pm, $5
You Front The Band Live Karaoke, 9pm, call for cover
2431 J St., (916) 448-8768
LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR 908 K St., (916) 446-4361
MIDTOWN BARFLY
1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779
PLAYBACK, 9pm, call for cover
Panik: deejay dancing w/ Angels of Kaos, EDM Dance Party, 9pm-3am, $5 9pm-2am, $5
ACE OF SPADES SATURDAY, JUNE 21
WARREN G
ANDRE TRUTH - PLAYAH K & REIGN - RAE ROCK - EL CAPITAN - I80 PLAYAZ – GFN - DTR
MONDAY, JUNE 23
INGRID MICHAELSON TUESDAY, JULY 1
FUTURE QUE - RICO LOVE
SATURDAY, JULY 12
SONS OF N.W.A.
CALI BEAR GANG – WEDDOJANSON - CHERRY RED
SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS, NOAH CLARK; 8pm W, $15-$18
TAINTED LOVE, 10pm, $15-$18
Marilyn’s Talent Showcase, 6pm, no cover
Karaoke, 9pm M, no cover; Greatest Stories Ever Told, 8pm Tu, no cover
Goth, darkwave, industrial, electronic deejay dancing, 9pm-3am, call for cover
Swing dancing lessons, 7:30pm-midnight, Tu, $6; Salsa lessons, 7:30pm W, $5
1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95814 www.aceofspadessac.com
ALL AGES WELCOME!
THURSDAY, JULY 17
J BOOG
HOT RAIN - GAPPY RANKS
FRIDAY, JULY 18
THE POLYPHONIC SPREE SARAH JAFFE
SATURDAY, JULY 19
BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR
MILLIONAIRES - HALEY ROSE - LONELY AVENUE INTERNET FRIENDS - ZACH VAN DYCK
TUESDAY, JULY 22
RITTZ
TUKI CARTER - RAZ SIMONE - PENNY NO MUTINY CLIQ
COMING
SOON
07/24 Moonshine Bandits 07/25 Souja Boy 07/27 Soulfly 07/30 Swon Brothers 08/22 Common King 08/23 Y & T 08/28 Dustin Lynch 09/06 Tribal Seeds 09/27 Amon Amarth
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16
MKTO
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23
10/28 Airborne Toxic Eventa PHILTHY RICH, D-LO, KIDD SWAGG 10/29 Colt Ford
Tickets available at all Dimple Records Locations, The Beat Records, and Armadillo Records, or purchase by phone @ 916.443.9202
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THURSDAY 6/19
FRIDAY 6/20
SATURDAY 6/21
NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN 1111 H St., (916) 443-1927
PANDOVAL, DANNY BARRINGER, WIVING; 8:30pm, $5
JOSH LANE, KYLIE, STEFAN SORGEA; 8:30pm, $5
JULIE MEYERS, JUSTIN FARREN, THE SHOW PONIES; 8:30pm, $7
Jazz session, 8pm M; ALI K, LANCE MISHLEAU, BIDLOVE; 8:30pm W, $5
OLD IRONSIDES
Bluegrass jam, 7pm, no cover
Comedy roast, 9pm, $5
Fascination: ’80s new-wave dancing, 9:30pm, no cover
Karaoke w/ Sac City Entertainment, 9pm Tu, no cover; Open-mic, 9pm W, no cover
ON THE Y
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
THE ANDROMEDA PROJECT, CLEAT HERRIN, LOS PATRONES; 9pm, $5
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504 670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731
SUNDAY 6/22
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 6/23-6/25
Open-mic comedy, 9pm, no cover
Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover
THE PALMS PLAYHOUSE
Will Durst, 8pm, $20
PINS N STRIKES
Deejay dancing, 9pm, $10
SOLSA, 9pm, $10
THE KILLER QUEENS, 10pm, call for cover
THUNDER COVER, 10pm, call for cover
DANIEL CASTRO, 3pm, call for cover
ELEMENT OF SOUL, SPECIAL BLEND, GOOD SAMARITANS; 8pm W, $5
Top 40 Night w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9pm, $5
Sunday Night Soul Party, 9pm, $5
RIOT RADIO, BASS LINE BUMS; 8pm M, $6; MOS LIKELY, THE ENLOWS; 9pm W, $6
CRESCENT KATZ, 9pm, no cover
VINTAGE VANDALS, 9pm, no cover
DOUBLE P REVIEW, 9pm, no cover
DJ Shaun Slaughter, 9pm Tu, no cover; ARLYN ANDERSON, 9pm W, no cover
REBEL PUNK, DJ Populuxe, 9pm, call for cover
DISPOSABLE HEROES, BLOODY ROOTS; 9pm, 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
LONG BEACH REHAB, 6-10pm, $10
RADIO HEAVY, ROGUE, 2-9pm, $5
Rockabilly, roots and Americana festival, 2-8pm, $8
NECKBONE, 4pm, no cover; AC MYLES, 9pm, $7
Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; THE CRUX, 8pm, $5
13 Main St., Winters; (530) 795-1825 3443 Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove; (916) 226-2625
POWERHOUSE PUB
BRODIE STEWART, 10pm, call for cover
THE PRESS CLUB
2030 P St., (916) 444-7914
CENTURY GOT BARS, 9pm, call for cover
SHADY LADY SALOON
HOT CITY, 9pm, no cover
SHENANIGANS
Comedy Night and DJ Selekta Lou, 9pm, $5
614 Sutter St., Folsom; (916) 355-8586
1409 R St., (916) 231-9121 705 J St., (916) 442-1268
STARLITE LOUNGE
1517 21st St., (916) 706-0052
STONEY INN/ROCKIN’ RODEO 1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023
GEORGIA RAIN, 8pm, $5
SWABBIES
5871 Garden Hwy, (916) 920-8088
DAVE ALVIN, PHIL ALVIN WITH THE GUILTY ONES; 8pm W, $25
TORCH CLUB
X TRIO, 5pm, no cover; CHRIS ZANARDI, 9pm, $5
PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30pm, no cover; STEVEN ROTH, DC POWERS; 9pm, $8
WITCH ROOM
The Bodacious Bombshells Burlesque Revue, 8-11pm, $10
COBALT CRANES, SOFT SCIENCE, VISION, KING WOMAN, FOIE GRAS, KITTENS HAVING KITTENS; 8pm, $5 MOTHER ROOM; 8pm, $6
904 15th St., (916) 443-2797 1815 19th St., www.witchroomsac.com
Georgia Rain 8pm Thursday, $5. Stoney Inn/Rockin’ Rodeo Country
Ballroom dancing with Jim Truesdale, 6:30pm W, no cover
Karaoke, 9pm W, call for cover Comedy open-mic, 8pm M; Bluebird Lounge open-mic, 5pm Tu, no cover
ISLAND OF BLACK & WHITE, 8pm Tu, $5; RED’S BLUES, 9pm W, $5
SONNY & THE SUNSETS, THE MEMOAMATEUR HOUR, CHARLES ALBRIGHT, RIES, OPUS ORANGE; 8pm, call for cover 2014, SUSAN; 8pm Tu, $5
Rebel Punk with DJ Populuxe 9pm Friday, call for cover. Starlite Lounge Punk rock
All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES
1417 R St., (916) 448-3300
BEATNIK STUDIOS
THE BUMPTET, 7pm, call for cover
SHINE
FURSCHITZEN GIGGLES, HUMANITY TRIO, KERRY KASHIWAGI; 8pm, $5
723 S St., (916) 400-4281
1400 E St., (916) 551-1400
TOOMUCHFICTION, PUNCH-OUT, XOCHITL; 8pm, $5
WARREN G, ANDRE TRUTH, PLAYAH K, REIGN, RAE ROCK; 7pm, $18
INGRID MICHAELSON, 6:30pm M, $20
WOLFGANG VEGA, DENVER SAUNDERS, CLOUDSHIP; 8pm, $5
Jazz jam w/ Jason Galbraith, 8pm Tu; Poetry with Bill Gainer, 7pm W
1000 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
FOR TICKETS TO ALL SHOWS VISIT AssemblyMusicHall.com
For Rentals or Private Parties please contact AssemblyMusicHall@gmail.com
ASHER ROTH CEMETERY SUN, WRINGS, ALTESSA, OVERWATCH, IMAGINE THIS
FRI JUNE 20 @ 6:00PM
FAITH IN FICTION
MCKLOPEDIA, LA NOCHE OSKURA
M. BORN
SUN JUNE 22 @ 6:30PM
THURS JUNE 26 @ 7:00PM
SAT JUNE 28 @ 6:30PM
UPCOMING SHOWS JUNE 21 JULY 11 JUNE 15 JULY 17 JULY 18 JULY 19 JULY 29 AUG 02 AUG 05 AUG 08
TUES JULY 1 @ 6:30PM BEFORE
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MCKLOPEDIA, LA NOCHE OSKURA
GUEST COMEDIAN RICCODAGREAT
WED JULY 2 @ 6:30PM
SAT JULY 5 @ 8PM
FEATURE STORY
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THE SIREN SHOW LIPSTIXX REVIEW OK GO FOREIGN EXCHANGE BLEEDING THROUGH THE SIREN SHOW KEVIN GATES FOXY SHAZAM BALLYHOO PHORA
06.19.14
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AUG 10 AUG 16 AUG 19 AUG 17 SEP 20 SEP 27 OCT 4 OCT 12 OCT 18
SN&R
ISRAEL VIBRATION & THE ROOTS RADIC THE SIREN SHOW CHIMAIRA THE REAL MCKENZIES THE SIREN SHOW AARON CARTER ELOVEITIE TURQUOISE JEEP THE SIREN SHOW
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47
WHAT’S ON YOUR
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HORIZON NON-PROFIT COLLECTIVE 3600 Power Inn Rd Suite 1A Sacramento, CA 95826 916.455.1931
What about the bag, man?
Bring in any competitor’s coupon and we’ll beat it by $5 Must present competitor’s ad. Some restrictions apply.
High, Ngaio. I am a regular medical-cannabis user, and I visit collectives all over the state. My question is this: What should I do with all the baggies and bottles and cannabis packaging materials I have accumulated over the years? They are taking up more and more space in my house. —John Q. Manybags Good question. Lord knows I have a serious collection of bottles and doob tubes and little Mylar bags and EALUM B whatnot all over my house. I usually try to regift the IO A G N by doob tubes and bottles. The baggies are something else altogether. A few years ago, the folks at OrganiCann in Santa Rosa introduced a compostable’13baggie. I a s k420@ ne wsreview.c om think that’s a great concept, but I don’t think too many people have picked up on that idea. Up in South Lake Tahoe, the folks at Tahoe Wellness Cooperative use glass jars, and it has a program where patients get a $1 discount for every jar they return. “We had to do something,” said collective spokesman Cody Bass. “The little bags were showing up everywhere: ski lifts, you name it. So we got a commercialReaders, do you have any grade dishwasher and suggestions about how started the program. It’s going pretty good.” to repurpose those tiny My homey Rick baggies? I will publish Pfrommer over at Riverside the best ideas. Wellness Collective in Guerneville says they looked into a glass-jar program, but the costs would be prohibitive. “We are such high volume, we would have to hire someone full time just to wash the jars. Removing the labels is the hardest part. We are looking at going with compostable bags. It should be more of a burning issue for us. It will probably take us six months to a year to find a suitable alternative.” For now, I have no suggestions as to what to do with your plastic baggies. The Mylar ones are nonrecyclable. Sigh. Readers, do you have any suggestions about how to repurpose those tiny baggies? I will publish the best ideas. Are you aware of any worthwhile marijuana-advocacy groups in the Sacramento area that take volunteers? I have been trying my best to find a place where I could donate my time to help spread the cause. I want to put my newfound passion toward useful efforts, instead of simply sharing them on Facebook to a limited and aloof audience.
Ngaio Bealum
is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert. Email him questions at ask420@ newsreview.com.
—R. Dubs Way to go! We need more actual “boots on the ground” activism and not just the “Well, I posted a petition on Facebook, so I have done my part” activism. I asked Ron Mullins, Sacramento cannabisactivist extraordinaire, your question. He told me that SacNORML and Crusaders for Patients Rights are the most active right now. Heads up: The Crusaders are a faith-based cannabis-advocacy group (www.crusaders forpatientsrights.org). SacNORML meets the second Tuesday of every month downtown at Perko’s Farm Fresh at 925 Third Street. So you could be an activist and have a smoke and a pancake. Also, Americans for Safe Access has a lobby day where you can go lobby your state rep for better marijuana laws. The next one is on August 8. Thank you for getting involved. Ω
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F E AT U R E
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HOUSE OF ORGANICS
Doctor’S orDerS
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WHOLE NEW LINE OF $1 0 GRAMS JUST ADDED! COME CHECK IT OUT! EXP IRE S 06/2 5/14 . *SE LEC T CHO ICE, ONE PER PAT IEN T, WHI LE SUP PLIE S LAST.
FREE GIFT
FOR NEW PATIENTS
SPECIALS & D EALS FOR EVERYO NE!
10 TOP SHELF GRAMS
$
SUNDAY SPECIAL: 4G 1/8THS (ONE PER PATIENT) $
25 1/8THS SELECT STRAINS | $5 OFF ANY OF OUR WAX CONCENTRATES
Donate $3 for a Golden Ticket, get a free gift!
TINCTURES, HASH, CAPSULES, KIEF, EDIBLES
NEW PATIENT GIFTS
exp. 6/25/14
FREE ½ gram concentrate with any $40 min.don.
Benefiting UC Davis Cancer Center
Select choice, one per patient, while supplies last. New patients only. exp. 6/25/14
GOLDEN HEALTH & WELLNESS
4G 1/8THS ON ALL HIGHER TIERS
W
Fee D
r
N S
E
Joellis Way 160
OPEN Mon-Sat 10am to 9pm, Sun 10am to 6pm BEFORE
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Arden Mall
Dr
1220 Blumenfeld Dr, Sacramento I 916.564.1100
nfe ld
Way
me
Blum
enfe
ld D
r
★
Arden
1030 Joellis Way, Sac Arden Way
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916.646.6340
Monday–Saturday 10am–8pm Sunday 10am–6pm
80
Blu
Harv
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St
A.M.C. A.M
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FREE 1/8 s a t u R d a y
COlleCTi
Canc C Da er vis exp.6 Center /25 /14
Donate for a
goldEn tickEt! Be
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FREE GRAM
✂
hOTTesT
Dona a Go te $3 for lde get a n Ticket, free g Bene ift! fiting U
when you bring a friend ($50 min donation)*
Cannot be combined with other offers. Strain determined by HHWC.
closE to Folsom, FaiR oaks & RosEvillE
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with any $40 min donation
shingle
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TOP SHELF $ 10 GRAMS*
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buy any 2 edibles get 1 (free of equal or lesser value) all $50 1/8ths capped at $40 buy 3 top-shelf full melt for only $90 all bubble hash is only $15 per gram get a free joint with any $10 minimum donation 4 gram 1/8ths all day
Fruitridge
open monDAy – friDAy 10Am to 8pm • SAturDAy 10Am to 8pm • SunDAy 10Am to 6pm
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65th St Expy
4020 Durock rD, Ste 1 • Shingle SpringS, cA • (916) 757–0980
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6666 Fruitridge Road, Unit C Sacramento, CA 95820 916.476.4431 • www.916THC.com open 9:00am to 8:00pm 7 days a week
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DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO
2015 Q Street, 95811 • (916) 476-6142 OPEN Monday through Saturday 11am to 6pm • CLOSED SUNDAY valid through 07/15/14
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TS NEW PATIEN NS AND VETERA RECEIVE
10% OFF
YOUR #1 CBD SOURCE IN SACRAMENTO
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@southsacramentocarecenter
MUST HAVE FULL-SIZE DR. RECOMMENDATION LETTER & VALID CA ID
expires 06/26/14
expires 06/26/14
✯
N B Street
N 16th Street
Richards Blvd eet Str Sproule Ave h t 12
1506 Sproule Ave, Sacto, CA 95811
916.538.4216 OR 916.572.5215
OPEN MON-SAT 11AM-6PM
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T S E B
Buy 3 1/8ths get 1 FREE*
staff that helps me fi nd just the right product. I have
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TWO RIVERS WELLNESS
315 NORTH 10TH STREET SACRAMENTO 916.804.8975 TWORIVERSSAC.COM /TWO_RIVERS /TWORIVERSSAC
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 9am – 9pm BEFORE
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F E AT U R E
STORY
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any Donate r a t fo amoun icket, nT Golde h it! ’ll matc vis e w d an UC Da
A RT S & C U LT U R E
3015 H Street Sacramento, CA
ting Benefi r Center Cance
|
AFTER
916.822.4717
NEW HOURS: 9am–9pm everyday
*Doctor’s recommendation & CA I.D. required
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HYDROPONICS super store WeightMaxplant food
(De sig ned for bud hea vy & tig ht ) Weigh
tMax is the most complete flower comp actant that adds the most weight and oil to your crop. Guara ntee 100% customer satisfaction. Formulated in Holland. Made by Plant Lab of Canada.
EL DORADO’S ORIGINAL COLLECTIVE
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BUY Weighmax AND GET 1 set of
3pcs
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BIG BRAND NAME: GENERAL HYDROPONIC PRODUCTS (MICRO, BLOOM, GROW) FREE . BIGGER SIZE YOU BUY GET BIGGER FREE PRODUCT SET
530.677.5362 • Open: 12-7pm Mon-Fri • 10am-4pm Sat • 12-4pm Sun
e our We valum at... patients ti e
1000 W Grow Light Combo 3pcs complete set 99
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reg $39 0 per se t.
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58
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Donate for a Golden Ticket Benefiting UC Davis Cancer Center
Text CloudNine to 71441 for a FREE GIFT when you become a member of our collective! ON A BUDGET? We have $5 budget grams and $10 grams that fit every budget! COME IN AND SEE WHY OUR PATIENTS KEEP COMING BACK:
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fruitridge rd
florin perkins rd
KY Wholesale
improve o t s i n o i s s i Our m ents’ quality of life our pati
5711 FLORIN PERKINS RD | SACRAMENTO | 916.387.8605 | 10AM–8PM 7 DAYS A WEEK
BEFORE
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GRAND OPENING
TanTric Massage ❤
SWEDISH • DEEP TISSUE REFLEXOLOGY • SHOWERS STEAM ROOM • GIFT CERTIFICATES WALK-INS WELCOME
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8075 GREENBACK LANE 916.726.0451
Massage at Land Park
WWW.MASSAGEALWAYSPERFECT.COM
Lulu
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3401 FREEPORT BLVD 5 SACRAMENTO CA 95818 916-326-5600
30
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one coupon per customer. cannot be combined with any other offers.
9aM-9pM Daily
10am - 10pm daily
$80+
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916.722.7777
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These are m
This is a model
2860 Florin road Sacramento 95822 daily 9am-9pm 916.231.9498
new
staff!
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nOw HIRInG
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Flamingo Massage 2264 Fair Oaks Blvd #102 Sacramento 95825 (916) 646-1888
A1 Feeling
Free Dry Sauna & Showers Available
Magnolia Massage
6024 San Juan Ave., Citrus Hts. • 916.726.5499
NEW STAFF!
5 OFF
1116 24th St
Midtown Sacramento, 95816 Between K St. & L St.
60
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Certified Massage Practitioner Maggie Actual CMT Not a model
GOOD DAY SPA 916.395.7712
Sacramento 95823
7271 55th St. #D
All Credit Cards Accepted
May Spa
These are models
3110 Arden Way • Sacramento, 95825 (on the side of Office Max, facing Morse Ave) 916.333.4463 • 10am–10pm daily
BESgTe! massa
3210 Fulton Ave
916.487.8241 / oPen 9AM-10PM
OpeninG 5 OFITF Grand Asian Spa 1ST VIS
$
THESE ARE MODELS
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the
ads are
STILL
FREE!*
*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.
*this is a model
9am - 9pm 7 days/week 1601 Fulton Ave #11, Sacramento, CA 95825 916-475-0096
Morse Ave
w
This is a model
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
• 7 Days a Week 10am–10pm • Sauna & Shower Available • Free Chinese therapies • Reflexology • Deep Tissue • Swedish
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Watt Ave
Violet Massage 3260 J St #A Sacramento 95816 (916) 442-1888
M-F 9am-9pm Sat/Sun 11am-9pm Closed Wednesdays
Offer Exp. 7.10.14
Accupressure Deep Tissue sweDish
Fashion Massage
Combination Massage Open Daily 10am - 10:30pm Walk-Ins & Couples Welcome
• Gift Certificates Available
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11275 Folsom Blvd. #201 • Rancho Cordova
Massage Therapy
MASSAGE • Thai • Swedish • Showers Available • Walk-ins Welcome
Spa & Body Shampoo private jetted Spa
NEW MASSEUSES! 916-851-1118
one hour
Orient Massage 916.338.3848 5800 Madison Ave #U2 Sacramento 95841
MASSAGE THERAPY
/60min
ANNA
Golden Massage 916.481.3388 4783 Manzanita Ave Carmichael 95608
odels
/30min
35
$
❤ Antelope
Ann, CMt #
Full body massage • Deep tissue • Swedish • Hot stone • Hot oil • Back walking 9am-10pm 7 days a week
$
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May Blossom Spa 916.967.8887 | 4408 San Juan Ave. Suite 2 (Same plaza as round Table)
10am-10pm DAILY | Fair Oaks, 95628
Africa, Brazil Work/Study! Change the lives of others while creating a sustainable future. 6, 9, 18 month programs available. Apply today! www.OneWorldCenter.org 269-591-0518 info@OneWorldCenter.org (AAN CAN) $1,000 WEEKLY!! MAILING BROCHURES From Home. Helping home workers since 2001. Genuine Opportunity. No Experience required. Start Immediately www.mailingmembers.com (AAN CAN) Wanted Older Guitars! Martin, Fender, Gibson. Also older Fender amps. Top dollar pay. 916-966-1900
Male Massage Massage Therapist Years of exp. Deep tissue, sports, athletic, men’s spa. Midtown location. 916-583-2459
Be touched! She puts the Mmm in Sensual Massage. Upper thigh massage included. Daily/Nightly appts until 3am 916-256-7093
Vernon’s Computers Sales & Service. Repairs, upgrades, virus removal, etc. 24/7, low prices. 916-339-3738
The Cabin
*IN THE MOOD* Hot Oil Desires Pleasurable & Irresistible Massage. Softest hands ever. Strawberry blonde 33 yr old, 5’6” 135 lbs, slender, caucasian, very pretty CMT. 4pm-10pm Incall/Outcall Bailey 916-910-8907 by appt. Mon-Fri
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$40 1-hour
Chinese full body massage. Natomas area (916-706-4890) appt only.
Oriental Magic Hands
Jason Shimomura CMT 601-1292 (9am-9pm daily)
Notice of caution to our Readers! Whenever doing business by telephone or email proceed with caution when cash or credit is required in advance of services.
Private Connections Try it free! 1-708-613-2101 Normal LD Applies 18+
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15
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Sac City Kitty is hiring! New, high end escort company is looking for beautiful sexy women. 18+ 916-243-0615
$3 addition for multi-grade oil Good at Fulton location only Most vehicles savings of $7 1700 Fulton at Arden Way, Sacramento
30
00
OFF
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2579 GAY & Bi LOCALS
(916) 340.1414
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M-F 7:30 -5:30 Sat 8 -4 sacsmog.com Bring in any competitor’s smog check coupon and we will match it - plus give you an additional $5 OFF
BEFORE
|
USE FREE
CODE
2579
GAY & Bi LOCALS
916 554-6471 2000 16th St Sacramento
NEWS
|
FEATURE
Use your smart phone QR reader for more specials
STORY
|
WITH AD!
Cit , Carson City,
Nevada
4 miles East of 395
Camille
Totally Nude now hiring dancers, waiTresses and secUriTY
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$
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diamonds
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more adult online
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SENSUAL TOUCH
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PHONE ENTERTAINMENT
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adult
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MELLOW MASSAGE
Sacramento
(916) 340.1414 For other numbers call:
1-888MegaMates
TM
ARTS&CULTURE
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|
new dancers
N0 STAGE FEES 1 MONTH!!
Longest tabLe dance
songs in town!
Must present ad to receive discounts. Discounts may be discontinued without prior notice. 851 Richards Blvd, Downtown Sac // 916.447.4475 Open 365 days per yr // Sun-Thu 6pm-3am // Fri-Sat 6pm-4am Convenient location: 5 mins from SLEEP TRAIN ARENA, 10 mins from sac international airport, SACRAMENTO 5–10 mins from all major downtown hotels facebook.com/clubfantasysac // www.gentlemensclubfantasy.com
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GET ON TO GET OFF
www.Goldclubcenterfolds.com
REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN
lunch specials WeD June 18th – Sat June 21st
great food
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valid after 6pm. not valid with other discounts or specials
916.480.6215 naughty couple tuesdays 2 for 1!
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store signing fri & sat 6-8pm amateur contest/auditions every monday
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friendly attractive dancers hired daily call 858-0444 for sign up info
free admit w/ad $5.00 value
WARNING HOT GUYS!
valid anytime With Drink Purchase
25,000 adult dVds $0.49 - $9.99 birthdays:
Sacramento
916.340.1414 Davis
(530 530 53 30) 760.1011 760 76 60.1011 0..10 0 1011 011 1
free admission, drinks & vip + – 5 DaYS OF BirtHDaY
We BuY uSeD aDult DvDS BacHelOr / DivOrce PartieS 916.484.4774 Full Service reStaurant OPen 7 DaYS a WeeK
SPOrtS actiOn On Our Giant Screen tv
Sacramento News & Review
858-0444
For other local numbers call:
M-Th 11:30-3 • Fri 11:30-4 • Sat 12-4 • Sun 3-3 Gold club centerfolds is a non-alcohol nightclub featuring all-nude entertainment. adults over 18 only.
|
SN&R | 06.19.14
FREE CODE :
11363 Folsom Blvd, rancho cordova (Between Sunrise & Hazel)
62
FREE to listen & reply to ads!
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by shoka
ARIES (March 21-April 19): If you were
alive 150 years ago and needed to get a tooth extracted, you might have called on a barber or blacksmith or wigmaker to do the job. (Dentistry didn’t become a formal occupation until the latter part of the 19th century.) Today, you wouldn’t dream of seeking anyone but a specialist to attend to the health of your mouth. But I’m wondering if you are being less particular about certain other matters concerning your welfare. Have you been seeking financial advice from your massage therapist? Spiritual counsel from your car-repair person? Nutritional guidance from a fast-food addict? I suggest you avoid such behavior. It’s time to ask for specific help from those who can actually provide it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “My
music is best understood by children and animals,” said composer Igor Stravinsky. A similar statement could be made about you Tauruses in the coming weeks: You will be best understood by children and animals—and by all others who have a capacity for dynamic innocence and a buoyant curiosity rooted in emotional intelligence. In fact, those are the types I advise you to surround yourself with. For now, it’s best to avoid sophisticates who overthink everything and know-it-all cynics whose default mode is criticism. Take control of what influences you absorb. You need to be in the presence of those who help activate your vitality and enthusiasm.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
“Nikhedonia” is an obscure English word that refers to the pleasure that comes from anticipating success or good fortune. There’s nothing wrong with indulging in this emotion as long as it doesn’t interfere with you actually doing the work that will lead to success or good fortune. But the problem is, nikhedonia makes some people lazy. Having experienced the thrill of imagining their victory, they find it hard to buckle down and slog through the gritty details necessary to manifest their victory. Don’t be like that. Enjoy your nikhedonia, then go and complete the accomplishment that will bring a second, even stronger wave of gratification.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Boston’s
Museum of Fine Arts has a collection of Japanese art that is never on display. It consists of 6,600 wood-block prints created by artists of the ukiyo-e school, also known as “pictures of the floating world.” Some are more than 300 years old. They are tucked away in drawers and hidden from the light, ensuring that their vibrant colors won’t fade. So they are well-preserved but rarely seen by anyone. Is there anything about you that resembles these pictures of the floating world, Cancerian? Do you keep parts of you secret, protecting them from what might happen if you show them to the world? It may be time to revise that policy. (Thanks to Molly Oldfield’s The Secret Museum for the info referred to here.)
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the next two
weeks, I hope you don’t fall prey to the craze that has been sweeping Japan. More than 40,000 people have bought books that feature the photos of hamuketsu, or hamster bottoms. Even if you do manage to avoid being consumed by that particular madness, I’m afraid you might get caught up in trifles and distractions that are equally irrelevant to your longterm dreams. Here’s what I suggest: To counteract any tendency you might have to neglect what’s truly important, vow to focus intensely on what’s truly important.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Writing at
Fast Company, Himanshu Saxena suggests that businesses create a new position: chief paradox officer, or CPXO. This person would be responsible for making good use of the conflicts and contradictions that normally arise, treating them as opportunities for growth rather than as distractions. From my astrological perspective, you Virgos are currently prime candidates to serve in this capacity. You will continue to have special powers to do this type of work for months to come.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In accordance with the astrological omens, you are hereby granted a brief, one-time-only license to commit the Seven Deadly Sins. You heard me correctly, Libra. As long
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Olga Molotilova, head coach of the Sacramento Synchronized Swim Team (right), smiles next to swimmers (right to left) M.J. Schoel, Noelle Song and daughter Nicole Meza.
as you don’t go to extremes, feel free to express healthy amounts of pride, greed, laziness, gluttony, anger, envy and lust. At least for now, there will be relatively little hell to pay for these indulgences. Just one caveat: If I were you, I wouldn’t invest a lot of energy in anger and envy. Technically, they are permitted, but they aren’t really much fun. On the other hand, greed, gluttony and lust could be quite pleasurable, especially if you don’t take yourself too seriously. Pride and laziness may also be enjoyable in moderate, artful amounts.
PHOTO by SHOka
by Rob bRezsny
For the week of June 19, 2014
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio
novelist Kurt Vonnegut rebelled against literary traditions. His stories were often hybrids of science fiction and autobiography. Free-form philosophizing blended with satirical moral commentary. He could be cynical yet playful, and he told a lot of jokes. “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over,” he testified. “Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can’t see from the center.” He’s your role model for the next four weeks, Scorpio. Your challenge will be to wander as far as you can into the frontier without getting hopelessly lost.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
“Make a name for the dark parts of you,” writes Lisa Marie Basile in her poem “Paz.” I think that’s good advice for you, Sagittarius. The imminent future will be an excellent time to fully acknowledge the shadowy aspects of your nature. More than that, it will be a perfect moment to converse with them, get to know them better, and identify their redeeming features. I suspect you will find that just because they are dark doesn’t mean they are bad or shameful. If you approach them with love and tenderness, they may even reveal their secret genius.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pet
mice that are kept in cages need to move more than their enclosed space allows, so their owners often provide them with exercise wheels. If the rodents want to exert their natural instinct to run around, they’ve got to do it on this device. But here’s a curious twist: A team of Dutch researchers has discovered that wild mice also enjoy using exercise wheels. The creatures have all the room to roam they need, but when they come upon the wheels in the middle of the forest, they hop on and go for prolonged spins. I suggest you avoid behavior like that, Capricorn. Sometime soon you will find yourself rambling through more spacious places. When that happens, don’t act like you do when your freedom is more limited.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It’s
transition time. We will soon see how skilled you are at following through. The innovations you have launched in recent weeks need to be fleshed out. The creativity you unleashed must get the full backing of your practical action. You will be asked to make good on the promises you made or even implied. I want to urge you not to get your feelings hurt if some pruning and editing are required. In fact, I suggest you relish the opportunity to translate fuzzy ideals into tidy structures. Practicing the art of ingenious limitation will make everything better.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s always important for you to shield yourself against our culture’s superficial and sexist ideas about sex. It’s always important for you to cultivate your own unique and soulful understandings about sex. But right now this is even more crucial than usual. You are headed into a phase when you will have the potential to clarify and deepen your relationship with eros. In ways you have not previously imagined, you can learn to harness your libido to serve both your spiritual aspirations and your quest for greater intimacy.
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.
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STORY
Pruny skin and noseclips Little svelte legs of three 10- to 11-year-olds jut straight up out of the pool’s blue surface and begin to scissor and bend with more force than a guillotine. The kids are part of the Sacramento Synchronized Swim Team, practicing at the Mira Loma High School pool, and head coach Olga Molotilova oversees from the pool’s deck. Born and raised in Moscow, Molotilova was terrified of water as a little girl. So her mother took her to the pool for swimming lessons, and the 6-year-old “loved the appearance” of the synchronized swimming coach and convinced the coach to take her on. Molotilova racked up gold and silver medals at national competitions in Europe, and at 16 she began traveling to perform professionally in Morocco, Taiwan, China, France (at Disneyland Paris, no less) and Malaysia. She eventually found herself in Sacramento and has been coaching the team of 28 girls, ages 6-18, since 2006. And thanks to her living abroad, she speaks four languages, but does still retain a charming Russian accent.
How is the synch swimming here different than in Russia? It’s really, really different. First of all, Russian synchronized swimmers are first in the world, like almost 16 years. They dominate this sport … because there’s a lot of support from government, and there is big selection of the swimmers. It’s a very popular sport, so the synch swimmers, they are famous people there. They work very hard, they have unlimited access to the pool. For example, if I want to come and spend 10 hours practice in the pool, it’s no problem, you can do that. Here, you can’t. The swimming pool is very expensive and to find good pool is very, very hard. And the funding is very, very high price, so that is why it is a very expensive sport here, and why many people cannot afford it and not |
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very popular. ... I’m little bit upset about it, because it’s a beautiful sport for the girls. … But it’s different mentality here. ... In the United States, what I notice is a lot of kids try a little bit of everything: “This month I will do soccer, next month I will do gymnastic, I will do basketball or volleyball”—but if you want to be successful athlete, you have to be able to concentrate on only one sport.
The government funds the program? Yes. For example, there is no monthly dues— [at] some of the pools there are monthly dues, but not so many. If you go to competition, it’s sponsored by government, and when you reach Olympics or national team, you will get paid. So the government pays you salary, because that’s what you do, that’s your job. But here, if you get to the national team, you still have to fundraise and pay something to be on that team and compete.
Do you still swim? Yes. We have an annual show that’s coming up on August 23, [and] we have routine, like mother and daughter, because my daughter, she is swimming. ... She’s 10. So she’s doing synchronized swimming, and she’s member of the national team of USA. And last year we swam together [in our show]. ... I swim sometimes. Not very often, but I do swim.
When you were training, did you always have pruny skin? Yes! I always smelled [of] chlorine. I remember in Moscow, we took an underground subway after practice, and couple of the girls, [our] hair smells like chlorine, and the people were like (sniffs), “What’s that smell?” next to us.
Are those noseclips uncomfortable? Oh, it was like my skin. It was my life, because I was always wearing noseclip. [It’s] absolutely comfy, people don’t realize that.
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What else would people be surprised to learn? The people think synchronized swimming is about being beautiful, glitter, and just beautiful costumes and smile. ... I want people to realize that the girls, for a month of the practice, two hours, three hours, they don’t touch the wall. They tread the water. They don’t touch the bottom of the pool, they don’t rest. … And when we perform, it’s three minutes, and out of the three minutes it’s probably like a minute under the water just holding the breath.
Are you competitive in other ways? I’m very competitive with my kids. When we go to the competition, I’m feeling like I’m swimming. [When] the girls winning, I’m the happiest person on Earth. ... I can’t say I’m competitive [otherwise]; I don’t do other sports. I go barely to gym, because I think I did my dues (laughs). Twenty-five years of synchronized swimming! I paid my dues!
You practice outdoors year-round. Does it ever feel like torture? Absolutely. When it’s pouring rain ... and I could be wet. Even my underwear— sorry—could be wet. So I feel miserable. And they—in the pool, because the pool is heated—they just don’t care. They’re already wet. ... So, yeah, I feel like it’s torture to myself, not to them.
Do you go back to Russia? Yes. I was there in September. My daughter, she was practicing there with the team there in Moscow [for a month]. …. We’re competing with the best teams in the United States, in Santa Clara, Walnut Creek, the best teams who produce Olympians. It’s very hard to compete with them, because they have like hundred-something people and so many resources. … On the last regional competition, we actually beat them, so we’re going to nationals in Seattle on June 27. Ω
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