SN&R 2016 01 07

SACRAMENTO’S NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 38

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

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NEWSREVIEW.COM

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JANUARY 7, 2016 | VOL. 27, ISSUE 38

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STREETALK LETTERS NEWS + BEATS FEATURE STORY ARTS&CULTURE SECOND SATURDAY NIGHT&DAY DISH + OFF MENU STAGE FILM MUSIC ASK JOEY THE 420 15 MINUTES

COVER DESIGN BY HAYLEY DOSHAY COVER PHOTO BY DARIN SMITH

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Blow it up Go Kangz! That’s been my NBA jam for 25 years. But this year’s lineup, whoa: possibly the most disappointing squad ever.

Dismantle it. Now. I won’t say rebuild, because that implies recent success. Kings suuuck.

It starts with DeMarcus Cousins.

Adios, Boogie. Ship him off to Boston, or wherever. Get young talent and future first-round picks. Get a deal! But, foremost, get him out of Sacramento.

I’m not a remarkable judge of character, but it’s pretty clear that, during his six years here, players aren’t thrilled to go to battle with Cousins. He’s wildly gifted—but not when it comes to that Vlade Divacskill of unifying a team and making it better. Instead, he’s poisoned the locker-room well. Bye-bye.

Next, deal Rajon Rondo. Sure, he’s putting up all-star numbers. But he clearly will be moving on next year to another team.

See if you can get something, anything, for Ben McLemore. (Hell, maybe trade him for some Pizza Guys?)

I never understood Rudy Gay’s latest contract, and I’m still not a fan.

The dude needs the rock too often— too much usage—and he’s prone to lazy spells. Shop him.

I hope to see Divac stick around.

The carousel of Kings basketball management—the past decade—is a sad carnival. Let’s see what Divac the GM can do with Cousins finally out of the picture.

And, lastly, keep George Karl. Yeah, he’s rambling like Eric Musselman and cashing checks like Paul Westphal.

But the dude is a Hall of Famer. Give him players who will actually try— hustle!—and who fit in his system.

Keep George as a King. Let’s see what he can do with Divac.

The rest of it? Blow it up.

—NICK MILLER nic k a m@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

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01.07.16 | SN&R | 3

“The kids Would like To go back, buT noT me.”

ASked At del PASo boulevARd And FoRReSt StReet:

When was the last time you saw snow?

RobeRt SchneideR

AdAM engl And

co-owner, Taber Furniture Co.

manager, So-Cal Speed Shop

About two weeks ago, for our 31st anniversary, my wife and I went to the snow. We put on snowshoes and hiked around. We opened a couple bottles of Champagne and sat on a log out in the middle of the forest. Snow was here, so we took advantage of it.

It has been three years.

I took family to Tahoe to see it. It was cold, so we came home. It was a family outing. I took my kids to see the snow for the first time. We did some tubing and we had a good time.

I don’t miss it. I think the kids would like to go back, but not me.

RobeRt MoRden

bR Andon AMRhein

retired

PhilliP AMRhein

scientist

As we came down from the Donner Pass, [Interstate] 80, about an hour-and-a-half ago. There is a lot of snow up there, but they got it cleaned up very nice. The road conditions were real good. I could see where, if you got caught in the snow up there, it could be bad.

artist

Two years ago, when I went snowmobiling with my grandpa. I figured I should do this a couple of times before he is not with us anymore. He took us out and we tried not to break his snowmobiles. I am not too overzealous with it, but I felt like I was going pretty fast a couple of times.

I can’t remember when I saw snow last. I am a valley person. I am not an outdoorsy person. I just like to go in the studio and work. I turn the radio on and get focused on working. I don’t have chains to go to the snow, even if I was asked to go.

MiMA begovic gallery owner

Fifteen years ago. I haven’t been to the Sierra lately.

I lived in the mountains of Germany and, basically, we lived in snow six months out of the year.

I don’t miss it, though I was a skier. I do wish it would snow a little bit at Christmastime, because you would have a sense of “winter wonderland.”

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EMAIL LETTERS TO SACTOLETTERS@NEWSREVIEW.COM

A Sac 3.0 breakdown Re “Grinches of the year!” by SN&R staff (SN&R Feature Story, December 24): How is The Mill at Broadway any different, or hipper, than any other housing development? You still have a mortgage, and have bought into your parents’ concept of home ownership. Plus, the homes are ugly, stucco-heavy lame takes on Craftsman and Tuscan style homes. The marketing is so offbase it’s hilarious! The Creamery billboard is also so bad it’s good!

Dane Henas Sacramento

Witnessing the homeless raid Re “Holiday campout” by Nick Miller (SN&R News, December 17): My teenage son and I had just arrived at the homeless protest when the police started showing up. There were maybe two dozen people at the occupation. What were we doing there? My son had recently started volunteering to feed the homeless at the Community Dinner Project, and he saw the notice of the raid on their Facebook page. We were bundled up against the cold. Other people had shown up to help. We were offered warm socks, food, blankets. The cops announced that people who were camping would be cited. The protesters did try to do what the authorities asked.

People walked around, shaking souls awake in the freezing cold and biting wind. One sleeping figure didn’t respond. People yelled “Police! We need medical assistance!” No reaction; the homeless had to call 911 themselves. Cops in riot gear with bully sticks faced off with the homeless and the other people brave/kind enough to be there. A helicopter circled. How many people—our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers—could have been helped with the money spent that night?

Big Short, big yes Re “The Big Short” by Daniel Barnes (SN&R Film, December 24): The movie The Big Short does a decent job of presenting a difficult subject in an entertaining way. It doesn’t deserve a

AARON GREEN S acr am e nt o

next-to-the-worst rating. I don’t care how it measures up to the history of movie-making. We should be encouraged to see it.

Rich Davis Citrus Heights

Not the way Re “Club solitary” by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R News, December 17): I’m sure what originally happened is that those in charge were concerned that people with disabilities would be unsafe in the general population. The better solution would be to create a separate public area where those people can socialize when they are not in their cells.

I know prisons are crowded, but they still have to deal with inmates in a way that keeps them mentally healthy. And locking them perpetually in cells is not the way.

Therese Shellabarger North Hollywood

ONLINE BUZZ

ON THE NEARLY 50 COPS WHO RAIDED HOMELESS PROTESTS OUTSIDE OF CITY HALL: Way to go KJ (and some officers without scruples in the Sac PD), pick on those society already picks on and beats down.

@SacNewsReview

S ARTURO NAJERA-ORIHUELA Tough, complicated situation; maybe Sacramento needs a refugee tent city on the edge of town with services & help available

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

MARCY BOYD

@SacNewsReview

Stay strong occupiers!!!

NATHAN SANDS

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

They are gearing up fir the new arena. Shame on Kevin Johnson and his rich posse!

SHARON RODRIGUEZ

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01.07.16

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SN&R

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Lawrence Blacksmith is one of the many activists protesting anti-homeless laws out in front of City Hall.

PHOTO BY EVAN E. DURAN

Welcome to the occupation Police raid on homeless protest at City Hall escalates conflict

by Nick Miller

On January 1 just before midnight, the 24th day of the homeless protest out in front of City Hall, nearly two-dozen activists received an unexpected New Year’s Day visit: More than four dozen Sacramento police officers marching toward them, threatening arrests.

“We ended with a total of 52 cops, some of them in riot gear,” said L.R. Roberts, a legal observer with the local National Lawyer’s Guild chapter who witnessed the police raid.

6 | SN&R | 01.07.16

She spoke to SN&R the morning after police attempted to break up the City Hall protest and says she was baffled by what she referred to as an excessive show of force.

“If I’m laughing, it’s because it was so stupid,” she said.

Police marched in single-file lines toward the protesters, she and other witnesses explained.

“They basically boxed us in, and stepby-step tried to push us away” from the

nic k a m@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

occupation, explained a homeless activist who would only give the name “Miami.”

Miami videotaped the entire police raid on New Year’s Day, which lasted into the next morning. “They told us to sit down. And once people sat down, they started getting arrested. They used excessive force. One individual was pulled out of a tent,” Miami said.

By 3:19 a.m. on January 2, four homeless activists had been arrested

and jailed, on various charges including resisting arrest and illegal camping, according to a police spokeswoman.

Three additional homeless protesters were cited with misdemeanor illegal camping and released. Two protesters voluntarily went to a warming shelter.

The police kept out of the 30-degree chill during the operation by using the inside of City Hall as a staging area.

“They were using the lobby … sort of like a mini-jail,” where they searched and booked those who were detained, Roberts said.

Protest organizers James “Faygo” Clark and David Andre were among those arrested.

Roberts said police approached activists and asked if they were protesting or camping. “‘You’re not protesting, you don’t have enough signs,’” the legal observer said she heard one officer tell a man. She also said she also witnessed police using unnecessary force, including throwing Andre to the sidewalk.

She likened the sound of him hitting the cold concrete to a bag of rocks dropping to the ground.

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negLeCT and debT ‘sTarTing To insPire PeoPLe’ The police raid on New Year’s Day was the first effort by the city of Sacramento to crack down on the homeless protest at City Hall since it began on December 8. On that first Tuesday evening just before the weekly city council meeting, activists placed foldup tables on a muddy lawn, served free food as part of the ongoing Community Dinner Project and even commissioned a truck to deliver a portable toilet in front of City Hall.

(It was removed by the city the next day.)

Despite media reports otherwise, activists have not left the occupation since it began—and vow that they will remain on the strip of lawn adjacent to Ninth Street until city council repeals laws they say discriminate against homeless people, including ordinances that disallow sleeping or camping and the possession of sleeping bags, and public feedings.

“The anti-camping ordinance criminalizes individuals who have no place else to go,” protester Clark told SN&R on the first night of the occupation.

Police spokeswoman Traci Trapani told SN&R this past weekend that, after distributing fliers in an effort to educate protesters on the laws and housing options, they will continue to enforce the camping ordinance under the direction of the city manager. She deferred questions to the city manager’s office.

After multiple requests to discuss the protest and the police response, city spokeswoman Linda Tucker emailed a 400-plus word statement on Sunday, January 2, to SN&R and other media outlets. It stated that, while generally the protesters have been compliant and orderly, “some members of the group took up overnight camping and did not take up any offers for services or shelter the last few evenings.”

The statement continued: “After numerous warnings and offerings of services since December 8, police were forced to arrest four people and cite three in violation of the City’s camping ordinance” on the morning of January 2.

Police have returned to the protest site each night and early morning since—but in smaller groups. Before dawn on Monday, January 4, activists say just six officers came and arrested Mohammed Abughannan for illegal camping.

Abughannan says police injured his arm and hands during the arrest. He’d been protesting at City Hall since December, and told SN&R last month that cops had earlier tried to get his name. “They tried to intimidate people by telling them they were

Steinberg joined forces with his former going to execute a raid, by going through state Senate colleagues inside an apartment their belongings and enforcing the law,” he building for low-income Sacramentans. The said on December 30, six days before his occasion was the announcement of the first arrest. initiative of the 2016 legislative session: a Shahera Hyatt, with the local California bill that would fund construction of thouHomeless Youth Project, decided to stay sands of affordable and workforce housing overnight in front of City Hall in solidarity units throughout California. with the protesters, after reading about “The problem of homelessness is the New Year’s Day raid. “I wore all my actually getting worse,” Steinberg told the warmest clothes and couldn’t stay warm,” audience inside Mercy Housing on H and she said. “Sleeping bags aren’t camping Seventh streets. And he said these issues paraphernalia, they’re survival gear.” are not exclusive to downtown Sacramento.

Two more protesters were arrested on “It’s Land Park, it’s Carmichael.”

Monday evening just before midnight, The solution, he argued, is to focus on a bringing the total to 10 cited or arrested as housing-first approach to getting people off of deadline. In 2014, police issued 1,030 the streets by financing the construction of citations for illegal camping. (SN&R has more low-income housing. requested 2015 statistics.)

At the event, Steinberg and lawmakers The bulk of the budget for homeless from both political parties flanked state services in Sacramento comes from the Senate Pro Tem Kevin De Leon of Los county, but the city of Sacramento says it Angeles as he introduced the spends more than $13.6 million plan conceived by his each year to address homepredecessor. Called “No lessness issues. This Place Like Home,” year alone, council the initiative would approved spending “We ended with a total use monies from $2.4 million on of 52 cops, some of them in Proposition 63’s shelter programs, tax on millionaires and housing and riot gear. If I’m laughing, it’s to help pay for employment because it was so stupid.” new housing. services for The details the poor.

L.R. Roberts aren’t yet ironed The city wrote legal observer with the local National out, but the idea is to in a statement that Lawyer’s Guild chapter take a small percentits anti-camping age of Prop. 63 revenue ordinance was recently and leverage it into $2 upheld by the California billion worth of grants, which Third District Court of will be doled out to counties to pay Appeal. But local attorney Mark for the housing.

Merin plans to challenge this ruling, under Steinberg is hopeful that this new money the claim that the law uniquely discrimiwill give cities the actual housing resources nates against homeless people. to get people off the streets and into socialNationally, a recent Department service programs. “This is a spark,” he told of Justice opinion argued that antiSN&R after the meeting. camping ordinances like the one here The mayoral candidate said in his in Sacramento are cruel and unusual speech that California needs to approach punishments. homelessness solutions in a “humane and Clark agrees that the law is inhumane. cost-effective way,” but he did not criticize “People need to realize that we’re actually the city’s approach to enforcing the antihere to help. Not only do we have food and camping ordinance. “We can’t have people warmth, but we have compassion,” he said. camping in the streets,” he said.

“We’re starting to inspire people.”

De Leon, who held a similar press The homeless activist says that, after the conference at L.A.’s skid row district earlier police raid on New Year’s, activists will that day, responded differently to a quesbe doubling-down on their civil disobedition about the criminalization of homeless ence—and he personally kicked off a people: hunger strike this past Tuesday.

“It’s nonsensical the way law enforcement has executed some of these laws.” Ω

sTeinberg’s new PLan

This past Monday at 4 p.m., just a few blocks from the protesters and TV cameras at City Hall, mayoral candidate Darrell

Elected officials received an eye-opening report last month about how fines are assessed and—sometimes—collected throughout unincorporated Sacramento County.

A staff report to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors says that the Department of Community Development considers administrative civil penalties “one of the most effective enforcement tools” for redressing code-enforcement nuisances that threaten public health and safety, “particularly for rare and serious cases,” and doesn’t want to see any changes to the county’s nuisance code.

Yet most of these fines go uncollected, according to figures tabulated by the community development department. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 3015, code enforcement officers meted out $632,110 in fines to housing- and zoning-code violators, as well as to those who ran afoul of the county’s Rental Housing Inspection Program.

Resolving those fines—through collections or reversals—can be a slow process, taking until the following fiscal year, the staff report says. Only $155,549 in fines was collected last year, with another $56,670 reversed. That makes it look like 66 percent of the fines still have to be resolved, but doesn’t reflect the collections and reversals that have carried over from previous years.

To get a better grasp at the actual success rate, county officials considered figures over four years. Of the approximately $1.9 million in fees that code enforcement officers assessed between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2015, the county collected north of $773,000 and reversed nearly $231,000, leaving about 48 percent of the cases unresolved.

Examining code enforcement cases by zip code illustrates a map of the unincorporated county’s most neglected areas.

“South Sacramento has the highest amount of penalties per square mile,” the staff report notes. The two zip codes belonging to the south county have been cited 87 times, and average almost 52 penalties per square mile, according to one breakdown.

According to a separate invoice provided by the county, there are actually 89 south county code enforcement cases, 43 percent of which have been referred to the county Department of Revenue Recovery, which “can negotiate and adjust penalty amounts in the interest of settlement,” the staff report says.

In all, 160 (36 percent) of the county’s 448 code enforcement cases are closed, while 216 (48 percent) have been referred to the Department of Revenue Recovery.

At their December 15, 2015, meeting, supervisors were being asked to order quarterly updates of these figures. According to online meeting notes, the board continued the matter to February 9. (Raheem F. Hosseini)

an aPP for THaT Yes, but will fare-dodgers use it?

On Monday, the Sacramento Regional Transit District unveiled a free mobile application to purchase, save and use fares for its network of buses and light-rail trains.

Available for download on Apple and Android products, “ridesacrT” will be pilot-tested for six months, after which it will transition to a permanent mobile app with additional features, a release states.

Developed by mobile payment provider Passport, the app initially offers basic and discount single-ride and daily passes. The former is valid up to 90 minutes once activated. The app also allows people to buy and store rT passes until June 30. (RFH)

01.07.16 | SN&R | 7

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“Going to the ballot has been ruled out,” one had said, just two days earlier. They are concerned that any measure would get lost in next year’s ballot, which is likely to be crowded with propositions. Instead, they would prefer to get a bill through the Legislature with bipartisan agreement and to the governor’s desk.

By one Capitol estimate, state and local roads need some $14 billion annually in maintenance and upgrades, and fall short of that amount by nearly $8 billion. The price tag for new construction and with the federal roads thrown in is tenfold larger.

Estimates vary wildly, but the numbers are daunting: Caltrans has a $59 billion backlog of deferred road maintenance, and an annual shortage of about $5.7 billion in its highway operations and protection program, according to statistics compiled by road-improvement advocates. More than two-thirds of California roads are congested, more than half of the local bridges need renovation or replacement, as do some 58 percent of state roads.

Of the five cities in the nation with the worst road conditions, four are in California.

The issue is a nagging one: In 2013, California was ranked 47th among the 50 states for the efficiency and performance of its roads, according to a University of North Carolina study.

Last year, California was 45th, according to the Reason Foundation. During the past 15 years, it has ranked consistently in the bottom 10.

But will the Legislature and governor come up with the money? Would the voters?

“We’re hopeful,” said DeAnn Baker, who represents the California State Association of Counties. “That $14 billion to maintain the state and local systems is a big number. We’ve got an $8 billion-a-year shortfall.” The coalition is “hoping to get some kind of revenue increase to address the shortfall,” she said. Ω

Caltrans has a $59 billion backlog of deferred road maintenance.

ƻĶ ŘǼ NJsǼ ÞĶ ˓ NJsŘǼ Ķ ʿ NjǼ ˓ ŘǼÞLJȖsǣ NJsŘǼ Ķ ʿ ǢsNjɚÞOs ʿ ǻsŎƼŸNj Njɴ rɚsŘǼ NJsŘǼ Ķ

2nd one of equal or lesser value

Six months after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a special session of the Legislature to fix the state’s crumbling roads, the potholes are just as deep, the motorists are just as irritated and the multibillion-dollar cost is just as high.

“There are a lot of discussions going on behind the scenes,” said Jim Earp, of the Alliance for Jobs, which represents builders and workers, part of a coalition that includes cities and counties pushing for road improvements with, at a bare minimum, a $6 billion annual price tag.

“But it’s not as if everybody is sitting around a big table staring at each other. A lot of individual conversations are going on. We had hoped to queue something up before the end of the month for January,” although it was uncertain whether that goal can be met, he added.

Lawmakers want to act on the issue. “The negotiators are reporting back that legislators in both parties think something needs to be done,” said Chris McKenzie of the League of California Cities, also part of the coalition.

The goal is to offer a package in 2016 to improve the worst of the state’s 50,000 miles of state-run roads and 13,000 bridges, and provide new capacity in freight-clogged zones and provide a regular source of funding over time.

The sticking point—not surprisingly—is money, since any combination of new taxes and fees will require bipartisan support in the Legislature to achieve two-thirds majority votes.

Another difficulty: There is concern among environmentalists about tapping large amounts of money from cap-and-trade auctions and diverting it to highway infrastructure.

Gov. Jerry Brown said while traveling in Paris after the international climate-change talks that he was considering going to this year’s ballot— a presidential election year—for infrastructure funding, but how much and for what purpose was left hanging.

His comment caught negotiators in Sacramento by surprise.

This story originally appeared at CapitolWeekly.net.

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NorthernPotter’s California Sacramento Group

Art by Fire’s Annual

Arrested developments The 87 homicides recorded last year are the most since 2008

BY RAHEEM F. HOSSEINI

r aheem h@ n e w s re v i e w . c o m

Authorities arrested seven homicide suspects in 19 days in Sacramento County, including a man thought responsible for leaving a bullet-riddled corpse in a field.

On December 17, 2015, detectives arrested Scot Douglas Sequeira, 28, of Sacramento in the Stanislaus County city of Newman, according to a release from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities believe Sequeira knew Matthew Caquelin, the late 26-year-old whose body was discovered by a work crew in a field not far from Sacramento International Airport. They also now think the fatal shooting occurred at that rural spot, but don’t know what led up to it.

Sequeira was arraigned and appointed a public defender on December 28, 2015, online Sacramento Superior Court records show. He has an otherwise clean local record.

The same goes for 19-year-old Marcus Gammage, arrested Saturday for the New Year’s morning homicide of 23-year-old Darien McLaurin, who was shot shortly before 2 a.m., following a dispute outside a small house party in Rancho Cordova, a sheriff’s release states. Gammage, whom detectives apprehended in Tracy, was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Authorities believe a physical altercation caused the death of 32-year-old Brice D. Stewart, found on the floor of his apartment the morning of December 31, 2015, following an anonymous 911 tip. Authorities believe Stewart was the victim of an assault earlier in the day at the hands of James Lee Hill, 34, who was apprehended that evening during a traffic stop in Vallejo.

A 16-year-old male being held at juvenile hall on weapons and drug charges was charged with the December 12, 2015, homicide of 26-year-old Jonathan McKenzie, who was found in his Carmichael apartment with a fatal gunshot wound. And Sacramento city police arrested three men last month for the stabbing murder of a neighbor, 55-year-old Carlos Rios.

In an email, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tony Turnbull said he wasn’t “privy to the investigative techniques the detectives used to solve their cases.” But in a previous interview, he described homicide investigations as a complex process that relies on forensic evidence like ballistics, phone records and DNA. He also told SN&R that determining motive was crucial to both identifying a suspect and building a successful prosecution.

“Motive gives you the narrative for why someone got killed,” he said. “That’s what jurors are going to want to hear.”

In 2014, 80 homicides were recorded in Sacramento County with 58 cleared through arrest, according to the California Department of Justice. That equals a 72.5 percent success rate, though that figure doesn’t account for arrests in cold cases that occurred in prior years. The 87 homicides recorded last year are the most since 2008. Ω

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Run, Roger, run!

Why I’m urging Roger Dickinson to enter the city council race by jeff vonkaenel

Please join me in supporting former Sacramento County Supervisor and former member of the California state Assembly Roger Dickinson in his race for Sacramento City Council.

There is just one problem: Roger is not running for city council.

I have never spoken with him about running for city council. However, I am writing this column because I believe that Sacramento would be a better place with Roger on the council. Here is why: We in Sacramento are moving out of the Kevin Johnson era and into the (hopefully) Darrell Steinberg era of city government. This new era will be marked by regional cooperation instead of noncooperation, government transformation instead of public relations. And I anticipate that we will be able to more effectively solve critical issues.

We face challenges with homelessness, transportation and economic growth, and we need to develop community-wide programs that reform our criminal justice system and expand the region’s mental-health programs. I anticipate improvements, in part because we will have a new and very experienced mayor. But regional cooperation will require more than just changes in the city government.

In Sacramento, our biggest regional county, we already have new leadership.

With the addition of Patrick Kennedy to the board of supervisors, which already includes Phil Serna and Don Nottoli, we have a working majority of knowledgeable, progressive board members. They have already been making an impact.

We’ve seen other impressive regional changes. The new president of Sacramento State, Robert Nelsen; the new CEO of Greater Sacramento Area

je ffv @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

Economic Council, Barry Broome; and the new President and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, Peter Tateishi, are all moving their organizations forward. Sacramento Area Council of Governments, led by Mike McKeever, has already received nationwide recognition for its work.

Having a Sacramento City Council with knowledgeable, hardworking members is critical to finding effective regional solutions to our many problems. And government is complicated. It takes years of study to develop any real understanding of the issues. Some elected officials, even after years of service, never develop this understanding.

However, in his 16 years as a county supervisor and his four years in the Assembly, Roger demonstrated both a deep knowledge of the issues as well as an ability to get things done.

While on the board of supervisors, he was a key player in the transition of McClellan Air Force Base to a successful business park, the construction of a new primary health-care center for the county and the conversion of county vehicles to run on clean fuels.

We need Roger on the council. It would be understandable that a former state Assembly member would not want to run for city council. But we’ve got the former head of the state Senate running for mayor. And public service is public service. Just because you are not the starting quarterback does not mean you should not suit up to be the wide receiver.

So please join me in supporting Roger Dickinson. What do you say, Roger? Ω

What do you say, Roger?

10 | SN&R | 01.07.16

Jeff vonKaenel is the president, CEO and majority owner of the News & Review.

BAG BE GONE

+ 2,016 ILLUSTRATION BY SERENE LUSANO

HOT KARL

+ 1,156 BAD GAS

RIP SWAYZE

Three weeks and counting for rising gas prices in Sacramento. Due to “maintenance issues” at multiple California refineries, the local price average jumped three cents from last week to $2.57. That number is below the state average, but remains drastically above the national average of less than a $1.99 per gallon. Again, this is our problem to grin and bear?

California Highway Patrol Air responded to a man in North Sacramento firing his three firearms into the air in his backyard on New Year’s Eve. He was arrested for reckless discharge, colloquially known as the Johnny Utah offense.

He must have just seen that remake Point Break abomination.

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GO TO WWW.NEWSREVIEW.COM AND SIGN UP TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN

The Sacramento Kings had never won a game in Oklahoma City.

Never in eight years. And yet, Monday they catapulted their head coach, George Karl, past Phil Jackson (No. 5) on the all-time coaching wins list with a dominant performance over the Thunder.

Congrats, Coach!

SN&R IS OFFERING FREE STUFF, CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS

want free stuff?

Welcome to an environmentally conscious Sacramento in 2016!

This means no more single-use plastic bags at grocery stores, markets, large pharmacies and convenience stores. Paper bags cost 10 cents. But the point: bring your own canvas bag, so that unwanted plastic bag vests on ducks becomes a fad of the past.

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photos by DARIN SMITH

by Raheem F. Hosseini raheemh@newsreview.com

From struggling single mom to mayoral candidate, can Councilwoman Angelique Ashby distance herself from K.J. and overtake Darrell Steinberg to become Sacramento’s next mayor?

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The Starbucks on Ninth and I streets bustles

with a morning rush of potential voters: the businesswoman who talks too fast and laughs too loud, the guy who takes one look at the snaking line and gulps “nope,” the young professional whose friend lends her cash for a beverage, the homeless man with a scraggly beard who keeps rising to offer his seat. Regular folks.

Constituents. Everyday Sacramentans.

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The candidate walking past outside will need their support if she wants to become the next mayor of Sacramento.

And by all accounts, District 1 Councilwoman Angelique Ashby really, really wants the job.

“I’m poised to step in right now.

There’s no learning curve for me,” she said, a not-so-veiled dig at her main rival, Darrell Steinberg, a onetime councilman who served most recently at the state Capitol. “I don’t have to figure out who’s in charge of what in the city or who’s been working on what.

“I’m not a bureaucrat from the state.

Rather, I’ve been out here, hustling hard in the city of Sacramento, fighting for our region.”

Councilwoman

Angelique Ashby “I’m a day-one-ready mayor.”

Ashby’s rise from a broke, 20-yearold single mom to a 40-year-old mayoral candidate is the stuff of stump-speech gold. But not many outside her Natomascentered district, where Ashby evolved from a well-liked community activist to a well-liked elected representative, know it.

Her campaign is an opportunity to redress that, as well as to extract herself from the long and complicated shadow of Mayor Kevin Johnson, with whom she was closely aligned until his star imploded over resurfaced sexualmisconduct allegations. And until Ashby pre-empted K.J.’s announcement that he wasn’t going to run again with her own mayoral bid.

Others contend that Ashby is rewriting the past out of convenience, and because she can.

“I get the sense that she is trying to distance herself from the mayor, but there is a record,” said Heather Fargo, Johnson’s predecessor and a Steinberg supporter. “Because she’s not that known citywide, I think she’s able to create an image that she wants to create, to make

herself. She’s introducing herself to the city in a lot of ways.”

To that end, Ashby detractors contend that she’s a provincial politician who hasn’t performed outside of suburban Natomas. That she’s unfit to lead a city on the comeback.

The councilwoman has a retort: “I think the inference is that I’m: (A) outmanned by a person who has more money than me, (B) has been in politics much longer than me, and (C) has more political connections because of his duration in politics,” she said. “My pushback is this: I just refuse to accept the notion that the mayor’s office is for sale, and that politicians get to decide whose turn it is.”

Origin of a candidate On this windswept December morning, Ashby's people have arranged for the two-term councilwoman to meet this reporter at a coffee chain across the street from Cesar Chavez Plaza. But when she appears outside, doing a legit walk-andtalk with her mom on the line, Ashby beckons to follow her down the sidewalk and through the revolving door of the adjoining Deloitte accounting office.

This is her secret meeting place, she jokes, sinking into one of four love seats surrounding a broad coffee table.

Ashby’s personable in a way that doesn’t feel preprogrammed. She refers to mornings as her “nemesis” and warmly teases this interviewer’s disorganization: “What the hell, is this your system?”

She’s gifted with the capacity to remember names, marvels Brian Rice, an Ashby supporter and president of the Sacramento Area Firefighters Union Local 522, where the councilwoman announced her candidacy on a Wednesday in October. “If you have to walk from point A to point B with her, you better be prepared for a 20-minute walk,” he said. “And, for me, it’s like you’re watching a leader here.”

An Oregon native whose family relocated to Roseville when she was 10, Ashby first got acquainted with Sacramento as a commuting student at Sacramento High School. After graduation, she says she was a little rudderless.

Her parents had divorced, and Ashby was living in the Greenhaven neighborhood and attending classes at American River College. Before her second year, she became pregnant. After she and her boyfriend split, Ashby says she buckled

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down, juggling single motherhood, work and her course loads at UC Davis and, then, the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, where she obtained her degree in 2003. Home for her and her son was a low-income apartment complex in south Natomas.

When Ashby married an emergency room nurse in 2002, the family moved to a new home in north Natomas.

She got involved with the Creekside Neighborhood Association and opened a consulting firm with her dad.

Then, the financial crisis hit.

Businesses and residents fled Natomas.

Ashby didn’t, says Natomas Chamber of Commerce President Danielle Marshall.

In 2009, Ashby challenged incumbent Councilman Ray Tretheway for his District 1 seat and won with 51 percent of the vote.

Steven Maviglio was part of Ashby’s campaign then and said it “wasn’t easy to topple” the connected incumbent.

“Nobody works harder on her campaign than Angelique,” said Maviglio, who also spearheaded K.J.’s successful mayoral bid in 2008. “She’s a firestorm of activity.”

Marshall says the raised stature didn’t dilute Ashby’s attentions. When Comcast pulled up stakes on a local call center in 2012, displacing at least 300 workers, Marshall says Ashby was instrumental in recruiting a hodgepodge of small businesses to make up the lost jobs and put Natomas back in the black the following year. The yeoman effort occurred with Natomas frozen in a development standstill, due to the building moratorium that the federal government instituted in late 2008, due to the area’s low levies.

The moratorium was finally lifted in April, which Ashby has made a central part of her résumé.

“I’m not a bureaucrat from the state,” she said, another jab at Steinberg.

“Rather, I’ve been out here, hustling hard in the city of Sacramento, fighting for our region. I fought our community’s way out of a building moratorium.”

Not quite, says Councilman Steve Hansen, a Steinberg endorser who says credit for lifting the moratorium belongs to Rep. Doris Matsui and Sen. Barbara Boxer. But Hansen says Ashby should get props for helping craft an agreement on new building plans for Natomas, which can be implemented now that the moratorium is lifted.

“I admire her grit. She’s a very smart person,” he said. “She’s ably represented

“Reinventing Angelique” cont i nue d on p ag e 1 4 01.07.16

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Natomas. But can she represent the whole city?”

Her supporters believe she can.

Restaurateur Patrick Mulvaney met Ashby five years ago, when she was running that first campaign.

Before she took office, Mulvaney invited Ashby to join a Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce “study mission” to Seattle.

At the end of the week, during the wrap-up meeting, Mulvaney recalled a room full of tired local business leaders taking turns saying nice things about the Emerald City. Then Ashby stood up and flipped the script, saying Seattle was nice and all, but she wouldn’t swap it for Sacramento.

“In essence, she gave a Winston Churchill ‘We will fight them in the air, we will

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Angelique Ashby held a meeting with various business and public office leaders last week.

“Reinventing Angelique” c o nt i n u ed fro m pa g e 1 3

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fight them in the sea, we will fight them on the beach’ speech,” Mulvaney said.

“It’s clear that she really cares about the city.”

Outside of Natomas, supporters and detractors alike give Ashby props for spearheading 2014’s successful Measure B, which raised money for the Sacramento Library through a $12 annual increase to the city’s parcel tax.

And then there’s the everyday work that her supporters say goes unnoticed.

Rachelle Ditmore and her husband met Ashby two years ago. They were attempting to expand the reach of their Oak Park nonprofit ministry, City of Refuge, which provides faith-based services to victims of sexual exploitation. Ditmore recalls that someone told her to contact Ashby. She sent an email, not expecting much. Within 30 minutes, she got a call

01.07.16

“She’s ably represented Natomas.

But can she represent the whole city?”

Councilman

Steve Hansen

back from Ashby, who connected her to “the right people,” she said. “I’m not even in her district!”

She says that is Ashby’s strength: identifying community assets, whether people or places, and nurturing them to their full potential. “She definitely does not lead from 10,000 feet above,” Ditmore said. “I believe she needs to be the next mayor.”

The challenges ahead There will be plenty of tests for the next mayor: Reducing homelessness and poverty, spurring housing and development, expanding civic amenities and balancing the city’s increasingly red ledger all crowd a growing agenda.

On many of those topics, Ashby points to efforts already

underway and says her job will be to continue the momentum.

The arena is coming, there’s a plan for the railyards and the city has added units to its downtown housing initiative, which now calls for approximately 13,000 residences over the next decade, 30 percent of which will be designated affordable. Coupled with Ashby’s hope to finally develop the riverfront, she contends that pouring investor money into the city will have a trickle-down effect for the most vulnerable, not push them further outside the margins. “That’s how you address homelessness.

That’s how you address civic amenities,” she said.

Some find those projections a little too rosy.

“Sacramento is still in a very, very fragile point in its recovery and it needs capable leadership,” Hansen said.

The issue is unfunded post-retirement health benefits for city workers, a nut

that stands at $452 million, according to city-finance officials. Because these post-employment benefits aren’t offset by “significant” investments, like the city’s pension plan, exponentially mounting costs will eventually cut into “vital services,” officials project.

Other than the $3 million to $4 million that has been squirreled away in a relatively new trust fund, Hansen said, “There is no down payment on that.”

Fargo believes the city council will have to make some hard cuts. “People are probably going to lose their jobs,” she predicted.

Whether Ashby can break ranks with the police and fire unions that have provided her their weighty endorsements—and political-action committee donations—will be a big issue this election, especially since the next mayor will have to pull the city back from the edge of the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

As of June 30, 2015, Ashby had $67,711.70 in cash donations spread between two campaign accounts, $2,500 of which came from the firefighters’ PAC and $9,400 of which came from developers and holding companies. But those groups likely will give much more; her stated goal is to raise $1 million for the race.

“Because of their support, I think it’s going to be a challenge to deal with the operating deficit and pension reform,” Fargo said.

Not everyone agrees. Kerri Asbury, president of the Democratic Club of Sacramento, noted that while Ashby does have the support of public-safety unions, Steinberg has fought to protect pensions as a legislator. “I wouldn’t foresee a significant difference in comparing the two on that issue,” she said.

And Rice, who thinks the unfunded liabilities issue is overstated, credits Ashby with bringing him along on this issue. His union agreed to cap retirement benefits on new hires and require firefighters to contribute to the post-retirement savings account. “[She] really pushed us to look at it and be ready for it,” he said.

The police union has yet to agree to similar concessions. But Ashby might be able to sweeten the pot in one way: She believes the city needs to renew Measure U, the half-cent sales tax that’s set to sunset in March 2019. Ashby didn’t support the voter-approved measure in 2012, because she didn’t like that it was sold as a temporary tax, she says. But she advised Rice “behind the scenes” on how public agencies could make the case to the whole city, he said, by spreading the wealth to other city services.

“That’s one where she got us to look outside of ourselves,” he said.

Ashby supporters and detractors differ on some of her other stated accomplishments, including the development of citywide ethics reforms, a process Ashby says she succeeded in driving home to a reluctant council.

“Most of the council didn’t want any kind of ethics commission,” she said. “And I felt it was necessary.”

Maybe in an alternate universe, scoffs Eye on Sacramento President Craig Powell. He was part of a 23-member coalition that called for

an overhaul of the city’s ethics and transparency regulations, organizing forums in each council member’s district. He said Ashby was the only one who didn’t attend.

It’s not like there weren’t gaffes to address. Both Johnson and Councilman Allen Warren had been the targets of recent sexual harassment allegations, while Ashby is currently fending off a former employee’s wrongful termination claim. Additionally, the city’s quick-trigger policy for deleting its own emails has become a flashpoint for those calling for more transparency at City Hall.

Powell says Ashby “has been an energetic advocate for her district, but she can’t claim the mantel of leadership [on good government],” he said. “In reality, she has been the No. 1 adversary and executioner of real ethics reform and transparency.”

Ashby calls the city’s ethics framework a beginning point. “We started with what I thought I could get my colleagues to agree with,” she added. “So, yeah, absolutely it will evolve. In fact, it’s a failure if it doesn’t evolve.”

Her role on this issue is crucial to her campaign, as ethics is one of two legs she has used to distance herself from both Johnson and Steinberg, who presided over a scandal-plagued Senate in his final years. The other issue is her gender.

“I’m the only female on that council,” she said. “I think most people see me as—and at one point I even had the label of, I think it was intended somewhat negatively—the ‘mom from Natomas,’ right? I am a mom with three kids.

I’m the only person in the history of the city of Sacramento to give birth while in office.”

That Ashby is one of only a handful of women in Sacramento politics is a distinction she raises often. Maviglio thinks it could be an effective strategy. “Break up what is essentially a male-dominated city … and run a ‘change’ campaign based on just that,” he said.

A viable ethics commission, not gender, will be among the topics that the Democratic Club of Sacramento County explores before its approximately 60 voting members decide which, if any, candidate deserves their endorsement next month, said Asbury. Also

on the list: big-box stores, strong-mayor initiatives and whether Measure U sales tax monies are being spent as promised.

With regard to the first two issues, Ashby and the local Democratic Club are on opposite sides. Ashby voted with the majority to ease big-box restrictions in the city and supported Johnson in his four failed bids for expanded mayoral powers.

That’s not to say Ashby is incapable of winning over the left.

She earned the respect of local Black Lives Matter leader Christina Arechiga, which is no small feat considering the pair’s introduction.

“The first time I met the president of Black Lives Matter was when I had her remanded into custody at a city council meeting,” Ashby recalled.

Arechiga doesn’t hold that against Ashby. The West Coast regional coordinator for the National Association Against Police Brutality said Ashby was the only councilperson to reach out and listen.

“She did something that no one else on the council did,” she said. “I want to be treated the way Angelique Ashby treats me.”

Winner take all?

It wouldn't be a local City Hall election without a few tantalizing conspiracy theories.

For this story, SN&R contacted nine political insiders, many of whom agreed to speak frankly about the race on the condition of anonymity. They represented mostly Democratic causes, and two officially supported Steinberg, though one leaned toward Ashby, while others were undecided or unsupportive of both candidates.

Six reported hearing the same behind-the-curtain chatter that Steinberg is only interested in keeping the mayor’s seat warm for two years, and will use the $1 millionplus war chest he’s accumulated to run for state office in 2018.

“He just needs something until he runs for a state office,” one political insider said of the speculation.

For its part, Steinberg’s camp has told supporters the candidate is in this race for keeps. So, too, is

Ashby, who announced her candidacy before K.J. settled his.

“From everything we’ve heard, she’s wanting this,” said a member of a group whose endorsement both candidates are seeking. “If she was such a close ally, I don’t think she would be willing to take on the mayor.”

Whatever the long-term intentions of the candidates, insiders say not to count out Ashby this go-round.

“At first blush, many insiders think it is Steinberg’s race to lose,” conservative political consultant Tab Berg wrote in an email, “but with at least three (maybe more) candidates, he’ll be hard-pressed to win outright in June; especially in such an unsettled election cycle.”

the only woman on the council, Fargo was elected to the first of her two terms as mayor in 2000. “She needs to be taken seriously. She’s a serious candidate,” she said. “I think there is a real race here.”

Albeit an uphill one for Ashby, thinks Maviglio. Does that mean Ashby will have to go negative to close the gap?

She’s got the personnel to do so. Her campaign manager is Josh Pulliam, a childhood friend who has orchestrated aggressive statewide campaigns, like the one that attacked then-Senate candidate Roger Dickinson for problems at Sacramento County Child Protective Services. In 2010, Pulliam also admitted manipulating the photo of a state Assembly

“She needs to be taken seriously. She’s a serious candidate. I think there is a real race here.”

Heather Fargo

former Sacramento mayor

Prognosticators have Ashby polling well in the northern part of the city, where there are upward of 160,000 votes at play. And if she can pull half the city’s female voters and 30 percent of Republicans, some say she could eke out a victory. With Hillary Clinton vying on the same ballot to be the Democratic presidential nominee, there could be an increased turnout among women, which would benefit Ashby the way that Barack Obama’s election in 2008 benefited Johnson, a Steinberg supporter added.

“There is some sort of path to victory for Ashby,” a Democratic strategist said.

Fargo, for one, isn’t counting Ashby out. She’s been where Ashby is: a north area representative and

candidate to make it look like there was a glass of champagne in her hand for the purpose of a campaign mailer. “He doesn’t pull any punches,” Maviglio said of Pulliam, who he described as a friend. Maviglio thinks attacking the likable Steinberg would be tricky.

But if Ashby chooses to, he said, “She’s got the right guy.”

Back in her “secret” meeting place, Ashby hints at what may come by flipping the argument that Steinberg is more experienced. “I can’t do anything about the fact that I’m younger than my opponent,” she said. “I actually think that’s to the benefit of Sacramento, right? I have a lot of energy. I think I represent the future.”

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Asian Pearl Restaurant 6821 Stockton Boulevard, Suite 165; (916) 391-8881

Happy Garden 5731 Stockton Boulevard, (916) 456-0581, http://sachappygarden.com

Hong Kong Islander 5675 Freeport Boulevard, (916) 392-3388, www.hongkongislander.com

King Palace Restaurant 5829 Stockton Boulevard, (916) 456-8888

New Canton Restaurant 2523 Broadway, (916) 739-8888

illustrations by hayley doshay

char siu bao

taste for yourself

BUNS, BABY

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siu mai

ham siu gok

It’s kind of like Spanish tapas—instead of alcohol, you consume tea—with lots of small plates meant for sharing. For what feels like an extravagant feast, you’ll probably spend $10 to $15 per person.

The Sacramento region has quite a few dim sum restaurants, and everyone seems to be highly opinionated about their favorite.

In order to determine which dim sum truly ranks supreme, we tried the same 10 dishes at five popular spots.

The most expensive and beautiful spot, Hong Kong Islander, was hit-and-miss. The cheapest restaurants, Happy Garden and King Palace, boasted huge dining rooms and decently English language-friendly staff. But, overall, the food tasted significantly lower in quality. New Canton and Asian Pearl sat somewhere in the middle expense-wise, and despite their more drab aesthetics, delivered the most consistent, delicious dim sum. Read on for the breakdown, as well as a primer on classic dishes.

har gow

C

art after cart stops by the table, showcasing bamboo baskets, plump dumplings, various fried things and other mysteries. This is dim sum, the Chinese alternative to brunch that’s way more fun, interactive and affordable.

Two pork buns are staples at dim sum: the fluffy, white steamed bao and glossy, golden baked version.

We judged the baked ones, solely because of personal preference.

At their best, the buns are soft and slightly sweet, with a sticky glaze on top. Inside, hunks of barbecued pork seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce and shallots. The most common pitfall is a poor bread-to-filling ratio, so the whole thing ends up dry. You also don’t want to see a creepy, artificial-looking bright pink filling—a deeper mahogany or scarlet is a better indicator of deliciousness. New Canton and Asian Pearl do them right.

PURITY

D U AL M E A T S

FRIED AND GLUTINOUS

The quintessential, simple and delicate dim sum dish. Shrimp— possibly mixed with bamboo shoots—are locked inside thin, translucent and slightly chewy wrappers made from tapioca and wheat starches. The more pleats on this dumpling, the more dexterity in the kitchen. Look for at least eight folds. New Canton and Hong Kong Islander both offer plenty of folds and round, plump shrimp.

Essentially a pork-and-shrimp meatball hugged by a thin beige wrapper. Sometimes, there are bamboo shoots, water chestnuts or black mushrooms inside as well.

Hopefully not too much, though— you want to taste that shrimp.

On top, bright orange crab roe or yellow salted egg yolks give a nice color contrast. New Canton’s siu mai exhibited just the right flavor and texture.

Texture, texture, texture. These little egg-shaped bulbs are made of glutinous rice flour, filled with pork and deep-fried. The result is a crisp, light exterior with a pleasing mochi-like chew. Inside, there’s a little mound of sweetsavory ground pork, gravy and scallions—but also plenty of air to keep them from feeling heavy.

As long as they’re freshly fried, these dumplings are truly delicious anywhere. Asian Pearl was particularly tasty, though.

ENDLESS ART

See SECOND SATURDAY

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ANYONE? ANYONE? See NIGHT&DAY

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ALL THE HEALTHY STUFF See FOOD STUFF

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CACTUS PETE! See 15 MINUTES

lo bak gou

GIMME A RIB These pork spareribs are somewhat unrecognizable to most Americans after being sliced and hacked into 1-inch, bone-in cubes. They take a bit of work, but the morsels of extracted meat are rich, juicy and tender, steeped with fermented black beans and ginger.

Unfortunately, when they’re bad, they’re really bad: gristly, fatty, tough, bland. That said, I recommend one place and one place only: Hong Kong Islander.

gao choi goa

cheong fun

pai gwat

NOT ACTUALLY TURNIP

ROL L -UPS The closest you’ll get to pasta at dim sum. Cheong fun are large, handmade rice noodles wrapped around filling: whole shrimp, barbecued pork or, sometimes, crispy Chinese doughnuts. We sampled the most traditional offering—shrimp—and found silky-smooth rolls at every Sacramento restaurant. The flavor—accented by a light, sweet soy sauce—varied much more though, and New Canton and Hong Kong Islander had the best.

Compared to some of the more delicate dishes on this list, lo mai gai gets you a lot of bang for your buck. Look for deep green lotus leaves wrapped into two rectangular packets, which contain glutinous rice steamed with bits of meat for flavor. The rice should be sticky, sweet and savory. Shredded chicken is the most common accompaniment, but the excellent version at Asian Pearl contains slices of Chinese sausage and chunks of cured egg yolk as well.

dim sum pro tips BRING YOUR FRIENDS, BE PATIENT AND REMEMBER IT’LL ALL BE OK

That first dim sum experience can be a little intimidating.

It’s fast-paced. Loud. Chaotic. Servers often don’t speak English well and can’t tell you much about what’s happening inside that dumpling wrapper. That’s OK. It’ll all be OK.

CHEWY CHIVES There are a few variations on the chive dumpling, but if you can have it steamed, then pan-fried, why wouldn’t you? The translucent, wheat starch-based wrapper is usually supple yet chewy, while the filling might contain some shrimp, egg or water chestnut. Still, the zingy garlic chives dominate. I found no perfect version in Sacramento, but liked them best at Asian Pearl.

SWEET ENDINGS

dan tat

lo mai gai

STICKY MESS

For some reason, everyone calls these little squares “turnip cake.” In fact, there’s no turnip at all. It’s actually radish, grated into rice flour with chewy, meaty bits.

The cakes are steamed, thinly sliced and pan-fried. They greatly vary around Sacramento: some aren’t pan-fried at all, some are served hot, others are served cold, some contain Chinese sausage, some contain dried shrimp or black mushrooms. The most satisfying came from Asian Pearl, with a smooth, porridge-like center, crispy edges and studs of pork sausage.

There are lots of desserts in dim sum, and no, you don’t have to wait until the end to order them. These individual-sized egg custard tarts are particularly popular, with a just-cooked filling of eggs, evaporated milk and sugar.

They might be served hot or cold, inside a puff pastry or shortbread-like pastry. In Hong Kong, the puff pastry ones are held in higher regard for their buttery, flaky goodness. Try them at King Palace or Happy Garden.

... ?

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Dim sum can make for a sad experience alone, if for no other reason than that you can only try a couple of dishes.

Now is the time to gather everyone you know—or at least three others.

Lines can be long, particularly on Sundays. Try going before 11 a.m. to snag one of the first tables, because once big groups sit down, they often take their time. Some bring newspapers.

When you do sit down, someone will ask you, “Tea?” That’s not a yes-or-no question. It’s dim sum. Of course you’re getting tea. Instead, respond with your preferred brew: floral chrysanthemum, earthy pu-erh, roasty oolong or light-tasting green tea.

If you just say “yes,” you’ll most likely get jasmine. Want more hot water in your tea pot? Pop the lid.

Someone will be over soon.

Servers pushing carts will start to swarm your table. Just point to whatever you want. Sizes of each dish vary, but you can expect to finish having ordered two to three per person.

If you don’t see your desired dish, place a special order from the kitchen with a server. Or, you can ask the ladies pushing around dim sum carts—they’ll send the cart carrying that dish your way. If you don’t know the Cantonese name, pull up a photo on your smartphone.

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You should be getting it once a week.

Sacramento’S newS and entertainment weekly. on StandS every thurSday. n e w S r e v i e w.c o m

18 | SN&R | 01.07.16

JANUARY PICKS BY SHOKA

PHOTO BY TATE PHOTOGRAPHY, GABRIELLE FONSECA JOHNS

“Shirtology” by Jérôme Bel, 2012 © Tate, 2012.

And they don’t stop If anyone in Sacramento is still doubting that Verge Center for the Arts is where to CONCEPTUAL experience the most dynamic art in town, let its first exhibition of 2016 put those thoughts to rest.

Billed as the “longest-running exhibition ever,” do it began in 1993 in Paris by a trio of artists who never wanted to see this train stop.

There are 250 written or drawn instructions total as part of do it, and artists at each venue execute these, so each time they are followed,

the outcome is different. Verge has chosen 20 of these instructions for its continuation of the exhibition that will be carried out by Felix GonzalezTorres, Stephen Kaltenbach, Amalia Pica, Yoko Ono, Rirkrit Tiravanija and others as objects, performances or public engagement.

Where: Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S Street; (916) 448-2985; www.vergeart.com.

Second Saturday reception: January 9, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Through March 20.

Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

Patina slides

Where: B. Sakata Garo, 923 20th Street; (916) 447-4276; www.bsakatagaro.com.

Tomas Nakada’s metal sculptures look like they may have been assembled by crows—but that is meant in the best way possible GROUP SHOW (as if crow sculptors wouldn’t do an amazing job). They are delicate, with a twiggy-organicfound-object feel with a whisper of industrialism. Nakada’s paintings also have a hint of industrialism and machinery, but on a very focused level. The San Francisco-based artist’s two-dimensional abstract work “Deadly Sweet” by Tomas Nakada, acrylic on looks like well-worn metal with outwood, 2005. standing patinas. Some even look like microscopic slides of something one would have studied in a science course if one chose biology as one’s major over art, but, ahem, we may never know.

Also showing with Nakada is Jane Dickson and Joe Lewis.

Second Saturday reception: January 9, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Through

Where: Artspace1616, 1616 Del Paso Boulevard; (916) 849-1127; www.facebook.com/artspace1616.

“Entrance” by Ryan M. Reynolds, oil on panel, 2015.

Suspended breath The quietness of Ryan M. Reynolds’ paintings is one of of suspended breath, whether his subject is a woman having a private moment in her space, or breakers gently rolling onto an Irish shore. Reynolds, PAINTING an assistant professor at Santa Clara University, recently completed an eight-week fellowship at Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ireland in the fall of 2015. He has a skill for taking passing moments vs. life’s headlining ones, like a woman buckling her shoe in his series (In)habited, and highlighting the action’s

grace. He also breaks up some of his images into panels, reflecting how choppy our memories—and slow digital files—download.

January 30.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.

Second Saturday reception: January 9, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Through February 10.

Hours: Thursday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or by appointment.

01.07.16 | SN&R | 19

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50 BROADWAY

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5 B. SAKATA GARO 923 20th St., (916) 447-4276, www.bsakatagaro.com

6 CAPITAL ARTWORKS 1215 21st St., Ste. B; (916) 207-3787; www.capital-artworks.com

7 CUFFS 2523 J St., (916) 443-2881, www.shopcuffs.com

8 ELLIOTT FOUTS GALLERY 1831 P St., (916) 446-1786, www.efgallery.com (916) 905-4368, www.enemspace.com

10 FLOPPY’S DIGITAL COPIES AND PRINTING 2031 J St., (916) 446-3475, www.floppysdigital.com

1 ART OF TOYS 1126 18th St., (916) 446-0673, www.artoftoys.com

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2 ART STUDIOS 1727 I St., behind Easy on I; (916) 444-2233

3 ARTFOX GALLERY 2213 N St., Ste. B; (916) 835-1718; www.artfox.us

4 ATELIER 20 915 20th St., (209) 988-3630, www.facebook.com/Atelier20

11 HARMONY ROGUE INTERIORS 2317 J St., (916) 432-0443, www.harmonyrogue interiors.com

12 INTEGRATE SACRAMENTO 2220 J St., (916) 541-4294, http://integrateservices sacramento.blogspot.com

13 THE IRON MONKEY TATTOO STUDIO AND FINE ART GALLERY 1723 I St., (916) 476-5701, www.facebook.com/ theironmonkeytattooandartgallery

14 KENNEDY GALLERY 1931 L St., (916) 716-7050, www.kennedygallerysac.com

15 LITTLE RELICS 908 21st St., (916) 716-2319, www.littlerelics.com

16 MIDTOWN FRAMING & GALLERY 1005 22nd St., (916) 447-7558, www.midtownframing.com

17 MY STUDIO 2325 J St., (916) 476-4121, www.mystudiosacramento.com

18 RED DOT GALLERY 2231 J St., Ste. 101; www.reddotgalleryonj.com

19 SACRAMENTO ART COMPLEX 2110 K St., Ste. 4; (916) 476-5500; www.sacramentoartcomplex.com

20 SACRAMENTO GAY & LESBIAN CENTER 1927 L St., (916) 442-0185, http://saccenter.org

21 SHIMO CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2117 28th St., (916) 706-1162, www.shimogallery.com

22 SPARROW GALLERY 2418 K St., (916) 382-4894, www.sparrowgallery. squarespace.com

23 TIM COLLOM GALLERY 915 20th St., (916) 247-8048, www.timcollomgallery.com

24 UNION HALL GALLERY 2126 K St., (916) 448-2452

25 THE URBAN HIVE 1931 H St., (916) 585-4483, www.theurbanhive.com

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Let go and groove to the exotic tones of San Kazakgascar and the Crocker’s DJ-in-Residence Larry Rodriguez. Belly dance your way into the starry night with UNMATA or discover your fortune by tarot, palm or tea leaf.

Be wowed by an interactive photographic performance by Jesse Vasquez, and create a spirit mask with Beatnik Studios. Capture your night at the photobooth by Etsy sensation Sasha Soukup.

Enjoy food and drink discounts during happy hour from 5 – 6 PM and $5 drink specials all night.

Crocker Art Museum is the place to be on the second Thursday of every month for Art Mix. Get your tickets on Sweetdeals!

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27 WKI 2 STUDIO GALLERY 1614 K St., Ste. 2; (916) 955-6986; www.weskosimages.com

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2015 J St., (916) 441-2341, www.viewpointgallery.org

37 WAL PUBLIC MARKET 1108 R St., (916) 498-9033, www.rstreetwal.com

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38 ARCHIVAL FRAMING 3223 Folsom Blvd.,

28 ARTHOUSE ON R 1021 R St., second floor;

(916) 278-8900, www.capradio.org

(916) 455-4988; www.arthouseonr.com

29 ARTISTS’ COLLABORATIVE GALLERY 129 K St., (916) 444-7125, www.artcollab.com

30 AXIS GALLERY 625 S St., (916) 443-9900, www.axisgallery.org

31 CROCKER ART MUSEUM 216 O St., (916) 808-7000, www.crockerartmuseum.org

32 E STREET GALLERY AND STUDIOS 1115 E St., (916) 505-7264

33 LATINO CENTER OF ART AND CULTURE 2700 Front St., (916) 446-5133, www.lrpg.org

34 NIDO 1409 R St., Ste. 102; (916) 668-7594; www.hellonido.com

35 SMITH GALLERY 1020 11th St., Ste. 100; (916) 446-4444; www.smithgallery.com

36 VERGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS 625 S St.,

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39 CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO 7055 Folsom Blvd., 40 CAPITOL FOLK GALLERY 887 57th St., Ste. 1; (916) 996-8411

41 FE GALLERY & IRON ART STUDIO 1100 65th St., (916) 456-4455, www.fegallery.com

42 GALLERY 14 3960 60th St., (916) 456-1058, www.gallery14.net

43 JAYJAY 5520 Elvas Ave., (916) 453-2999, www.jayjayart.com

44 WHITE BUFFALO GALLERY 3671 J St., (916) 752-3014, www.white-buffalo-gallery.com

OFF MAP I ACAI GALLERY & STUDIOS 7425 Winding Way in Fair Oaks; (916) 966-2453, www.acaistudios.com

II ARTSPACE1616 1616 Del Paso Blvd.,(916) 849-1127, www.facebook.com/artspace1616

III BLUE LINE GALLERY 405 Vernon St., Ste. 100 in Roseville; (916) 783-4117; www.bluelinearts.org

IV BON VIDA ART GALLERY 4429 Franklin Blvd., (916) 400-3008

V THE BRICKHOUSE ART GALLERY 2837 36th St., (916) 457-1240, www.thebrickhouseartgallery.com

VI CG GALLERY 2900 Franklin Blvd., (916) 912-5058, www.facebook.com/CgGallery

VII DEL PASO WORKS BUILDING GALLERIES 1001 Del Paso Blvd.

VIII DELTA WORKSHOP 2598 21st St., (916) 455-1125, www.deltaworkshopsac.com

IX GALLERY 625 625 Court St. in Woodland, (530) 406-4844, www.yoloarts.org

X GALLERY 2110 1023 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 476-5500, www.gallery2110.com

XI SACRAMENTO FINE ARTS CENTER 5330 Gibbons Blvd., Ste. B, in Carmichael; (916) 971-3713; www.sacfinearts.org

UArt Sacramento 2601 J Street 916-443-5721

UniversityArt.com

(916) 448-2985, www.vergeart.com

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INTRODUCING OUR NEXT

LEGENDARY LINEUP THURSDAY

FRIDAY

JULY 21, 2016

TO BE ANNOUNCED

SATURDAY

JULY 22, 2016

TYLER FARR

JULY 23, 2016

CHASE RICE

KIP MOORE

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MUCH OBLIGED TO OUR SPONSORS

22 | SN&R | 01.07.16

FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 7

Now You’re Cooking!

With Elaine Corn SATURDAY, JANUARY 9 So your resolution for 2016 was to learn to cook and you’ve already mastered the recipe for Cup Noodles. Now what? Elaine Corn leads this threesession Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op class on the basics of becoming a whiz in the COOKING kitchen. The class is broken up into practical sections such as “Chop like a TV Chef” and sautéing, but also delves into the potentially philosophical topic of “Know When It’s Done.” $195; 9 a.m.-noon, January 9, 16 and 23; at 1900 Alhambra Boulevard; www.sacfoodcoop.com.

—DEENA DREWIS

Sengoku Megagame SATURDAY, JANUARY 9 Last year, Sacramentans participated in the first ever Sengoku Megagame. It’s back and even more mega this time. Sengoku is just the GAME right kind of activity to rise to the level of caliber that the word “mega” might suggest.

It’s an interactive game that takes places in the Japanese Sengoku period—the second half of the 16th century—and it’s all about military, political and social upheaval. It’s a game that operates on many different levels and can include as many as 100 players at once. West Coast Megagames organizers promise that this year’s Sengoku will have a new design with improvements. $30-$35, 10 a.m. at Pagoda Building, 429 J Street; www.pagodaevents.com.

—AARON CARNES

FILL UP ON FILM h, mid-January. That time of year when we are finally free of having Michael Buble Christmas songs forced upon us and everyone around us is too busy talking about their social-media detox to pay much attention to the fact no one cares. Is now the time for quiet reflection? Or manic vision-boardmaking to ensure everything you ever wanted happens this year thanks to the power of positive thinking? We’ve all got big plans, sure. But if you’re going to tune into the cosmos and all that, consider this: From what we can tell, the city really wants you to spend this week doing nothing but watching movies. Behold: Over at the Crest Theatre (1013 K Street) on Friday, January 8, at 7:30 p.m., they’ll be showing the ’80s classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Is there any better endorsement for “living in the moment” or “investing in yourself” than this masterpiece on the art of slacking off? Tickets are $8-$10. The next evening on Saturday, January 9, at 7:30 p.m., the Crest

A

is showing Gone With the Wind as part of the second annual “Eat on K” event. Dine at a participating restaurant beforehand and bring your receipt so you can watch Rhett Butler not give a damn for free.

Or, if you are the type to give a fiddlesticks about things, don’t miss the Art on Film series presented by the Crocker Art Museum (216 O Street) one night earlier, Thursday, January 7, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10-$15. The series is a showcase curated by local film buffs and this week’s selection is Hal Hartley’s 1990 indie classic Trust starring the late Adrianne Shelley along with Martin Donovan and a preSopranos Edie Falco. It’s the story of a knocked-up teen drop-out and what happens after she breaks the baby news to her family. Local filmmaker Jenny Stark will introduce the film and host a Q&A after.

The film is stripped down and the vibe moody but also a little bit funny. Culture!

—DEENA DREWIS

State of Downtown: Urban Kinesis TUESDAY, JANUARY 12 Everyone wants to know what’s going on with Sacramento’s downtown scene these days, and guess what—now you can have a front seat to the conversation. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership holds its annual breakfast in which plans for the city are discussed at COMMUNITY length. This year’s theme is “urban kinesis.” The keynote speaker will be Ron Blatman, the executive producer of the upcoming TV series Saving the City: Remaking the American Metropolis.

Examples of successful and unsuccessful urban development will be discussed. $30-$85, 8 a.m. at Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street; www.sacramentomemorialauditorium.com.

—AARON CARNES

Art Mix: Mystique THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 There’s never a bad time to bust out your inner witchy woman/Stevie Nicks, but it’s rare that there’s an occasion as perfect as the upcoming Art Mix: belly dancing, fortune tellers, a ART photographic performance by Jesse Vasquez, spirit-mask-making and a photo booth with vintage-clothing sorceress Sasha Soukup. Live music and drink specials abound, per usual. $5-$10, 5 p.m.9 p.m. at 216 O Street; www.crockerartmuseum.org.

—DEENA DREWIS

01.07.16 | SN&R | 23

IllustratIons by serene lusano

Roll-it-yourself hand rolls, Fish FaCe poke bar Fish Face Poke Bar gets a lot of love for its DIY poke bowls, but its sushi is pretty genius as well. A few hand rolls ($4) are always ready to go. I love the FF Rainbow, with alternating bites of tuna, salmon and Passmore Ranch sturgeon. The Lomi is also excellent. Instead of Hawaiian lomi-lomi’s traditional tomato, chili oil gives salmon a red sheen.

Two make for an amazing desk lunch that leaves you feeling light and alert. The genius part? You roll them, which keeps the nori crisp. The packaging looks confusing, but there’s a video tutorial on Fish Face’s website. With enough fumbling, you’ll be fine. 1104 R Street, www.fish facepokebar.com.

—Janelle bitker

A silky jolt CoConut latte, sun & soil JuiCe CoMpany IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

The holy trinity

by Janelle Bitker

Time travel: The team behind the RailBridge Cellars winery and Strings Urban Kitchen is prepping to launch RailBridge Cellars & Co., a full-scale restaurant with a focus on international wines. It’s got a motto: “Grounds.

Grapes. Grub.” And despite months of delays, it’s finally got a new estimated date of arrival: February 10.

RailBridge Cellars & Co. is expected to serve breakfast, lunch and happy hour fare. No menu yet, but it’ll probably be simple stuff. The main draw will be its grand setting. The restaurant occupies the ground floor of the Elks Tower (921 11th Street), a beautiful, historic building and favorite downtown wedding venue, which 24

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also hosts the RailBridge Cellars penthouse tasting room. With vintage decor and a swingin’ vibe, owners say they hope diners will feel like they’ve traveled back to the 1920s.

Beyond the streets: Chef Keith Breedlove had a pretty huge 2015. He appeared on multiple national television cooking shows—most recently Spike’s Bar Rescue—and he became the official chef of the California State Fair. His food truck, the Culinerdy Cruzer, went from popular to insanely popular.

Now, he’s hoping to raise $20,000 via Kickstarter to open a brick-and-mortar version of his truck.

01.07.16

The Culinary Kitchen would offer all of the Cruzer’s favorites—the cubano, with pastrami instead of the usual ham; the Dammit Jim, a burger with bacon, pancetta and beer and blue cheese fondue; and flash-fried Brussels sprouts on the side—but in one, easy-to-find location. Probably in Elk Grove, where Breedlove lives.

Mobile fans need not worry: He told the Sacramento Business Journal that opening the Culinary Kitchen wouldn’t result in the closure of the Culinerdy Cruzer.

Important ’cue news: Food truck Smokers Wild BBQ makes some seriously tasty sauce. In the fall, the team announced it would start bottling its barbecue sauces and dry rubs, and it set out for a distribution company.

That reality is coming soon—early 2016—so keep an eye out.

Internal expansion: Ever wander into Midtown cafe the Mill, hoping to linger with a latte for hours, and find that every single seat is taken? Maybe you’ve already written the Mill off as, simply, too popular for such lazy afternoons? Well, the owners added more tables and stools. Enjoy. Ω

Sun & Soil Juice Company is beloved for its cold-pressed raw juices and inventive smoothies but they also do warm. On a recent trip I wanted a caffeine boost, so the staff suggested its coconut latte ($2.50) off the “secret menu.” It’s simple: pourover black coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil (which supposedly has antibacterial properties) and splash or two of date water. The result is a justsweet-enough, creamy beverage with a texture so silky smooth you’ll probably forget it’s java-powered. But it is. Most definitely. 1912 P Street, http://sunandsoiljuice.com.

—raChel leibroCk

Get defensive Mandarins This time of year, citrus trees and markets are loaded with mandarins. These easily peeled fruits are smaller than oranges, making the trees more drought tolerant.

You know that vitamin C is good for you, but did you know that satsuma mandarins are extremely high in decongestants? The USDA confirmed in 2008 that satsumas are high in synephrine, a natural defense against colds and allergies. Buy mandarins in bulk now, juice them and freeze the delicious medicine for allergy relief come springtime.

—ann Martin rolke

Extremely good enough

Get fit

by Garrett Mccord

Shabu extreme tea House and restaurant

The milk teas might be one of the bigger pulls here. Plenty of options from slushy ones to brownsugar infused teas and milk teas are available, and brewed with varieties like oolong and winter melon black tea. Add-ins such as grass jelly and boba are available and should be indulged. One 213 E Street, Suite A, in Davis; (530) 746-2239; particular item of note is the sea salt cream tea www.facebook.com/ShabuExtremeDavis ($4)—essentially a tea topped with a float of sweet Dinner for one: $20 - $50 cream laced with a hint of salt. The sweet-salty Good for: Japanese fondu and interactive eating combo is popular, and if you’re the type who likes Notable dishes: sea salt cream tea and Taiwanese pork buns it in your caramel, you’ll adore it in your creamfloated tea.

On to the shabu: It’s served either à la carte or all you can eat, and the prices vary based on the Remember when it was the ’90s and everything protein you choose (à la carte, $15 or $17; all you was extreme? X-treme X-Men. G.I. Joe Extreme. can eat, $30 or $35).

Back then, Trix Yogurt was even branded as To build the shabu, pick a broth, a protein extreme(ly chemical laden). Yet, none of it was and a carb. The lot is then delivered with a plate extreme in the least. Often the most extreme thing of vegetables and a few dipping sauces, and you about a brand was the font, which is why marketing proceed to do your fondu. firms have left the term behind.

The broths are where you’ll find most of Yet, Shabu Extreme Tea Bar and Restaurant in the flavor. Except for the hot ’n’ spicy broth, Davis seems to have missed the memo. Is anything which bubbled crimson with chiles and Szechuan about it extreme? The wait staff is pleasant and peppercorns. There is no flavor. Only pain. The informative. The décor is inoffensive. The food solid sukiyaki broth—a mixture of soy, Mirin and enough, though to call it extremely unique or sugar—offered a perfect counterpoint to extremely fantastic would certainly be a it, and I found myself mixing the two ’90s stretch of the term. There are a few for a more balanced option. The points of novelty, certainly, but not miso broth had an earthiness that Fish-fried tofu EXTREME!!! novelty. mingled best with the proteins, The only thing extreme arrived piping hot while the meaty rib bone broth might be the prices for a meal I and with a deep, brought out the umami flavors of essentially cooked myself (shabu, the vegetables. savory flavor we for all intents and purposes, is The meat variety includes Japanese fondu) and could have found addicting. boneless pork and lamb, scallops accomplished at home for a fraction and clams.

They’re fresh and that’s of the price. about all you want from shabu proteins This isn’t to say I’m giving Shabu you’ll likely boil into oblivion. Frankly, Extreme a poor review. I had a fine enough you’re best bet is ordering tofu and mushrooms, time, was pleased with the food and left full. It’s which take on the broths and sauces best. getting a solid three-and-a-half star rating, which Carb-wise, there’s rice, udon or vermicelli. All translates to better-than-good-but-not-great. of them greedily absorb the liquids and make for So let’s begin. the most substantial part of the meal. After having Before you skip to the shabu there are a few good cooked to your desire, dunk it all into a sandy bites to be had. The Taiwanese pork buns ($6) were and unappetizing Vietnamese BBQ sauce, a nutty soft and pillowy. Their spicy-sweet sauce contained sesame sauce or a ponzu that overwhelms all but granulated sugar that offered a unique textural grit the spicy broth. Ω that was appreciated and all-together surprising.

HHH

Fish-fried tofu ($6) arrived piping hot and with a deep, savory flavor we found addicting.

Time to be real for a moment. Most of us gained a little holiday pudge. Many of us have New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, go to the gym more often or finally pick up a yoga habit. Consider attending the Total Health & Fitness Expo, taking place Saturday, January 9, and Sunday, January 10, at Cal Expo (1600 Exposition Boulevard). It’s probably the city’s biggest health- and fitness-related event all year, stocked with seminars, competitions, live demos and performances. On the food side, there will be nutritionists offering advice and information about gluten-free, Paleo and other diets.

Protein shakes? Supplements? Definitely, as well as super-healthy eats from the likes of the Granola Girl Food Truck and Honey Hill Farms. Tickets cost $7 for general admission and $4 for seniors over 55. Kids 12 and under get in free. Learn more at http://thetotalhealthfitexpo.com.

—Janelle bitker

A taste for house cats?

by SHoka ALF had eight stomachs and a taste for house cats. What does that have to do with the Vegan Chef’s Table dinner on Sunday, January 17? It’s a five-course gourmet meal whipped up by chefs from 58 Degrees & Holding Co., Blackbird., Capitol Garage, and Thai Basil for humans with one stomach who want not a trace of kitten on their plate—Mittens is preferable alive than masticated, you 1980s sitcom puppet. The event is a fundraiser for the Alchemist

Community Development Corporation, a Sacramento nonprofit that helps provide local organic produce to low-income community members.

There will also be juicery sorcery (cocktails, that is) by Metro Kitchen & Drinkery. The venue is Blackbird.

(1015 Ninth Street), and tickets, available at www.alchemistcdc.org, are $55—and rest assured that this vegan chef collaboration won’t leave your third or sixth stomach craving filet Mr. Kitty.

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Treasure hunt Sometimes it’s the play, and sometimes it’s the casting that makes the play. The Sacramento Theatre Company will offer a string of potential gems in the coming months. I’m most looking forward to Driving Miss Daisy, the Pulitzer-winning play by Alfred Uhry. Janice Stevens stars in the title role—and you can’t beat that. The production opens this Saturday, January 9, and runs through February 14.

—J.C.

—P.R.

t a e r T n Froze acramento!

26 | SN&R | 01.07.16

Even as they celebrated the holiday season, SN&R’s theater critics paused to think about everything they’re looking forward to seeing in early 2016.

Their top picks for the coming season include innovative productions, screen-and-symphony collaborations and a few classics, too.

Finally, The Book of Mormon. Sacramento audiences are getting a chance to see the irreverent, clever, funny, and at times surprisingly touching production about young Mormon missionaries. It’s gathered boatloads of awards including nine Tony Awards and a 2011 Grammy. It runs March 9-20 at the California Musical Theatre and will be sure to sell out quickly.

Learn more at www.californiamusicaltheatre.com/ events/book-of-mormon.

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Something old, something new After last year’s wonderful production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, the Sacramento Theatre Company proved it’s possible to find an enthusiastic audience for the classics. They’ll have the chance to demonstrate that once again with an upcoming staging of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The play opens February 24 and runs through March 20. More information at www.sactheatre.org.

Meanwhile, the folks at Capital Stage continue to introduce new, thought-provoking works to the Sacramento area via participation in the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere program. As a result, there will be four new Sacramento premieres in the coming months as part of its appropriately dubbed “Brave New World” series.

—B.S.

Silver screens, concerts and RIP There are several upcoming events at the Mondavi Center that combine classic cinema with live music: Friday, January 15, at 8 p.m., the 1928 French silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc will be accompanied by a cappella singing from the Orlando Consort, a five-voice group that performs music from the 1400s. Then, Wednesday, February 10, at 8 p.m. the 1920 German silent classic The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari will be screened with improvised music by the flashy Cameron Carpenter. Tickets for these and other similar events are available via www.mondavi arts.org or by calling (866) 754-2787.

And, lastly, a farewell to veteran actor Mitch Agruss. Though best remembered locally as Cap’n Mitch for his long-running gig hosting kids’ TV shows, his lengthy acting career involved much more. Early on, he appeared on stage in Back East with Thornton Wilder, Katharine Hepburn and Bert Lahr, and worked in New York during the age of live TV drama. He later moved to Sacramento to raise a family and eventually returned to the theater.

Buck Busfield of the B Street Theatre wrote multiple roles for Agruss, who died in November. He will be missed.

—J.H.

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by Daniel BaRnes

@barnesOnFilm

morally corrupt trapping company. When Glass gets ripped to shreds in a horrifying bear attack, he’s left for dead in the snowy wilderness by a ruthless co-worker, but recovers enough to pursue a relentless When it comes to guitar players, I generally prefer path toward vengeance. maestros of sweet riffs and solid pop hooks over the Tom Hardy plays Glass’ treacherous adversary, endless, filigreed soloing of self-styled “guitar gods.” and with his wild bug-eyes, bushy mustache and Play the song, pal, don’t torture it to death. over-the-top accent, he might as well be playing That same personal preference for excellence Yosemite Sam. In fact, no matter how grotesque the within context over groove-killing grandstanding also film gets, it’s so consistently ridiculous (at one point, extends to the world of cinematographers. My favorite Glass literally goes over a waterfall) that it plays like contemporary directors of photography, from John Seale an R-rated Looney Tunes short stretched out to 156 to Roger Deakins to Bradford Young, integrate their minutes. distinct personal styles into the rhythm and tone of the Although abetted by special effects, DiCaprio film, rather than overshadowing it. clearly suffers for his art here, whether Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life, submerging himself in ice cold water Gravity, Birdman), on the other hand, is or climbing inside of a horse the Joe Satriani of cinematographers— carcass for warmth. It’s impresno matter how much I objectively No matter how sive as a stunt, but that doesn’t admire his technical prowess, as grotesque the film make it good acting—it should well as the polish and beauty of take more than some Super his images, the results always gets, it’s so consistently Dave-style peril to win a major leave me cold. All I can see when ridiculous that it plays acting award.

I watch a Lubezki-lensed film is like an R-rated Looney The film works as a visceral Lubezki—the film itself becomes experience, yet on the whole The secondary to the swooning imagery.

Tunes short.

Revenant is a frustrating mess.

Lubezki’s oppressive style There is a change jar of messages finds the perfect partner in Alejandro regarding the pitiless beauty of nature González Iñárritu, a hopelessly heavyand the savagery of man, but Iñárritu only handed director who never met a scene he knows how to lay it on thick, so it amounts to a lot couldn’t suffocate. Much like their previous collaboraof puffed-up finger-wagging. More than anything, tion, last year’s Best Picture winner Birdman, the Iñárritu excels at hectoring and exhausting his audigruesome adventure The Revenant is heavy on visual ence, and The Revenant is no exception—he’s good gimmickry and pulses with an aggravating energy, but it at grinding you to a nub, and not much else. Ω also feels strangely empty and unnecessary.

Leonardo DiCaprio is getting the usual Oscar buzz for his highly physical lead performance, but like Lubezki’s cinematography, it falls more into the “neat trick/who cares” category. DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, Poor Fair Good Very excellent a mostly silent single father working as a guide for a Good

1 2 3 4 5

BY DANIEL BARNES & JIM LANE

fiLm CLiPS

NOIR NIGHTS

2

The Big Short

Director and co-screenwriter Adam McKay (Step Brothers) bungles a great opportunity to savage the architects of the 2008 financial crisis in The Big Short, wasting an A-list ensemble cast in the process. Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling play various tenuously related members of the finance industry, men who made made a killing by betting against the housing market, which at that point had superficially swelled to record highs.

All of the elements are in place for a lacerating satire, but almost every aesthetic choice in the film is bad, from the U-Turn-era Oliver Stone visuals to Carell’s sketch-comedy performance to the cheeky cutaways where Selena Gomez and Anthony Bourdain explain complex financial concepts. After a brutal opening half, it finally settles into a groove, and there’s a queasy charge in watching a credit-drunk America walking towards that cliff’s edge, but not enough to save the film. D.B.

3

Concussion

In this blandly efficient biopic from writer-director Peter Landesman (Parkland), Will Smith dials down his energy level to play Bennet Omalu, the Nigerian-born forensic pathologist (and current UC Davis professor) whose groundbreaking study on long-term brain trauma in football players got challenged and suppressed by the NFL. On a purely thematic level, Concussion fits nicely with the documentaries Happy Valley and The Hunting Ground as the final third in a football-is-the-root-of-all-evil trilogy, but as a drama it’s dead-eyed and unresponsive. Smith gives a fine lead performance, peeling away his usual affectations to expose his natural charm, but Omalu never becomes a fully developed character. The wonderful Gugu Mbatha-Raw is totally wasted as Omalu’s wife, but there are solid supporting turns from Albert Brooks and David Morse, among others. D.B.

2

Daddy’s Home

A straight-arrow, earnest and well-meaning but slightly dull stepfather (Will Ferrell) finds his cozy life turned insideout when his wife’s freewheeling bad-boy ex-husband (Mark Wahlberg) blows into town, dazzling the kids and making stepdad look even duller. The visit escalates into a testosteronepowered pissing contest, with each man trying to out-alpha-male the other. The script by Brian Burns, John Morris and director Sean Anders has promise, and Anders grapples with a good cast (including Linda Cardellini as Ferrell’s wife, Thomas Haden Church as his boss and Hannibal Buress as a freeloading handyman). There are a few good laughs scattered about, but with these stars it should have been a lot funnier—and Thomas Haden Church shouldn’t have gotten most of the funniest lines. J.L.

2

The Danish Girl

Director Tom Hooper and writer Lucinda Coxon present a measured adaptation of David Ebershoff’s novel, which fictionalized the true story of Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne)—born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener—who in 1930 became one of the first persons, maybe the very first, to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

The movie focuses on the understandably complex relationship between Wegener/Elbe and his/her wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander), and Redmayne and Vikander share an earnest screen rapport. Hooper and Coxon honor Elbe (who died in 1931 from complications of her fourth and final surgery) as a pioneer of the transgender movement, but reverent as the movie is, it’s also rather dreary—the kind of embalmed, oversolemn opus where the actors whisper their lines slowly, one word at a time. J.L.

5

Friday January 15th 6:00-7:00 - Speakeasy Soiree 7:00 - Touch Of Evil 9:15 - Mildred Pierce (35mm) Saturday January 16th 5:00 - The Killing 7:00 - Out Of The Past 9:15 - Leave Her To Heaven (35mm)

The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino’s masterful Western/ murder-mystery hybrid The Hateful Eight is getting a lot of attention due to its limited, “road show” presentation, a three-hour theatrical experience projected on 70 mm film, with

"You're not supposed to wear Santa hats after New Year's Eve."

4

Carol

Directing his first feature film in a decade, director Todd Haynes returns to the era of his 2004 success Far from Heaven for another story of repressed love, only this one’s a little less Douglas Sirk and a little more Ranier Werner Fassbinder. A methodical, beautiful and often chilly film adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel, Carol stars Rooney Mara as Therese, a 1950s shopgirl who locks on to the seductive gaze of lesbian divorcee Carol (Cate Blanchett, absolutely ravishing). While watching Sunset Blvd., one character remarks, “Right now I’m charting the correlation between what the characters say and how they really feel,” and you could make your own flow charts for Carol. The music, cinematography, costumes, sets and overall design are flawless, and the film as a whole is utterly exquisite. Maybe a little too exquisite—Carol is so painstaking, I felt like I was watching it from behind a velvet rope. D.B.

an overture of Ennio Morricone’s score and a 12-minute intermission. Therefore, audiences may be surprised that the widescreen photography in The Hateful Eight is much more focused on the contours of a single interior space than on wide-open exterior spaces. Long-time Tarantino leading man Samuel L. Jackson stars as Major Marquis Warren, a merciless bounty hunter in post-Civil War-era Wyoming waiting out a blizzard with a den of scoundrels (including Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and Bruce Dern), all of whom seem to be concealing a secret. The first half is nearly perfect, a slow build of pinprick tension, and while the second half gets a little repetitive, it’s also where the brilliant Jennifer Jason Leigh is at her no-holds-barred, bloodsoaked best. D.B.

2

Joy

Yikes. Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle director David O. Russell reassembles much of his stock company (Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro) and most of his stock mannerisms (Scorseseian camera moves and song cues, nonsensical exuberance) for this extremely loose biopic about the inventor of the Miracle Mop. Joy is all forced smiles—it feels like an album made by a band that should have broken up years ago, just a rambling and incoherent series of unmotivated actions and overemphatic gestures. Everyone gets points for gusto, especially Lawrence as a single mother holding together her wacky family while navigating a booby-trapped business world, but every scene feels like an undirected rehearsal, so the actors are left to screech their way through two hours of face-palming embarrassment. I never imagined I could dislike Isabella Rossellini in anything, but here we are. D.B.

1

Point Break

An FBI trainee (Luke Bracey) calls upon his past as an extreme-sports athlete to infiltrate a gang of thieves executing a series of ultra-daredevil robberies. Yet another remake that nobody needed, this one rehashes the 1991 movie that starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Like its predecessor, it’s just as awful as it sounds. Back in ’91 director Kathryn Bigelow made the best of a bad situation (i.e., a

birdbrained script); this time, Kurt Wimmer’s script is even worse, and as for director Ericson Core—well, he’s no Kathryn Bigelow. There are more and bigger action scenes than before, but they’re not better. The surfing and skydiving the first time around may look tame in 2015, but in 1991 at least we knew somebody actually did it. Nowadays, CGI has made us all jaded, and we can’t be so sure. J.L.

2

Sisters

Two adult sisters, one caring and reliable (Amy Poehler) while the other (Tina Fey) is scattered and devil-may-care, go home to clean out their old room when their parents (Dianne Wiest, James Brolin) sell the family home—and decide to recreate the wild parties of their youth, inviting all their old high school pals for one last blowout. Paula Pell’s script is like a distended Saturday Night Live skit, overworking one lame joke: what if a bunch of 40-somethings threw the kind of party you only see in movies about hormonal teenagers? Still, Fey and Poehler are always fun, and the movie is so completely over-the-top that frequent laughs are inevitable, in an I-can’t-believe-I-just-saw-that sort of way. J.L.

4

Star Wars: Episode VII– The Force Awakens

“Luke Skywalker has disappeared.” With those four words, judiciously chosen by director J.J. Abrams to begin the opening crawl of his hotly anticipated Episode VII, the Star Wars franchise reorients itself in the land of things that people give a rat’s ass about. There’s nothing about trade embargoes or tariffs, nothing about filibusters in the Galactic Senate. No parliamentary procedure bullshit at all, just a terse and mysterious plot setup largely focused on characters you care about. This is not a groundbreaking approach, but it’s sensible, which is groundbreaking in its own way compared to the nightmarish self-absorption and fan disservice of the prequels. The infantile fussiness of the prequels flattened the Star Wars universe to the point of discouraging imagination, but The Force Awakens turns it back into a tactile and dimensional cinematic world. It’s a real Star Wars movie; it’s just not a great Star Wars movie. D.B.

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The Hall of Fame Class of 2016 results are in: - EVELYN ASHFORD, 4-time Olympic Track and Field Gold Medalist - LARRY BOWA, 5-time All-Star Professional Baseball Player - JERRY MANUEL, Professional Baseball Player and Manager - JERRY ROYSTER, 16-year veteran of Major League Baseball - URIJAH FABER, Mixed Martial Arts World Champion

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It’s not just one sound, however. The band also sprinkles in elements of just about every Jamaican subgenre, including ska, dancehall, skinhead reggae and a little bit of roots.

The group formed about five years ago with just Mike B. and vocalist Ras Matthew. The former had a long history with the music, having played in the local group Steady Ups between 1994 and 2002. Matthew, meanwhile, was recording dancehall songs—the ’80s-era sound that incorporates an Don’t just stand there, hit the dance floor. electronic, hip-hop vibe.

Originally, the plan was to start a dancehall project, but one that used live instruments. Then Mike B. learned that Matthew could not There are probably few folks locally who know as only rap, but could also sing. This motivated him to much about Jamaican music as the members of the instead build the band around the rocksteady sound, Scratch Outs, a Sacramento-based seven-piece—even which often includes three-part harmonies. Currently if no one in the band is actually from the Caribbean Matthew, Robertson and keyboardist Minh Quan take island nation. the vocal duties, trading off on lead, but often singing If you asked the band’s members, they’d together. probably explain that reggae is a broad term for The band is rounded out by Kurt Gardenhire on Jamaican music that’s evolved over the last several drums, Jeremiah Keller on bass and Andrew Bauer decades, and that their band is mostly influenced on guitar. Now, even though the group’s by one period of reggae in the late ’60s. members say they aren’t trying to be One that is quite different than the a 100 percent authentic rocksteady ’70s roots reggae sound made band, they do take up the tradition famous by Bob Marley. of playing versions of nonreggae “Most Jamaican people “It’s love songs.

It’s songs that aren’t note-for-note our age don’t really listen to covers. music that you want to the kind of music we play. If “We’re not a cover band. you ask a Jamaican what we go out and dance to.”

We’ll take these classic play, they’ll say, ‘Oh, you rhythms and Shannan or Matt Shannan Robertson play oldies,’” guitarist Mike B. will write different lyrics for singer, the Scratch Outs explains. them. If they’re still [from] our “There are two different own creativity, we’re not copying kinds of reggae scenes,” he adds. somebody else,” says Bauer.

“There’s the rude boy, short hair Although the band’s roots are decidreggae scene, and there’s the dreadlock edly American, the members of the Scratch reggae scene.”

Outs take their adopted musical genre very seriously.

The Scratch Outs fit mostly into the short hair “We all do our homework. We all listen to the reggae scene, focusing on the rocksteady subgenre music. It’s not like a passing interest. I’ve got 20 that dominated Jamaica for a short period in the late ’60s. The sound is upbeat and driven by vocal harmo- years’ worth of records,” Mike B. says.

Still, he adds, it’s not all serious. “We’re more a nies, and features mostly pop-oriented songwriting. party band,” he says. “People go and they drink a bit “[The Scratch Outs are] rocksteady,” says and they want to dance and have a good time.” Ω singer Shannan Robertson. “It’s love songs. It’s music that you want to go out and dance to. You want to grab your sweetheart and have a good Check out the Scratch Outs at 8 p.m. Saturday, January 9, at Blue Lamp, night out.”

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30 | SN&R | 01.07.16

SOUND ADVICE

Hits, misses, shout-outs Cultural, political, spiritual: Sacramento shows are a homecoming of sorts for Karega Bailey, an emcee who previously lived in town and then spent many years teaching in Washington, D.C. And while he recently relocated to Oakland with his wife, Bailey still manages to get around the country touring.

On Sunday he brought his amazing Sol Development troupe to Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub.

For the uninitiated, Bailey’s hip-hop fare is steeped heavily in cultural and highly spiritual beliefs with topics that include accountability and humility as well as unnecessary police aggression, seasonal depression and much more. Unlike other emcees who seem to have a limited vocabulary or a band to provide emotive musical swells, Bailey knows how to use his countless years of education—he was also a teacher at a public charter school— with great effect.

Bailey was in particularly good spirits and brought out more than 100 people—no small feat for a show booked less than two weeks beforehand. Then again, as he roamed the stage, it was wholly evident he likely knew at least 99 percent of those in attendance.

After a short intermission, Bailey returned with his band for a more somber and faith-based set. The night culminated in a group circle including nearly everyone in the entire club.

Aided by a rotating cast of wonderful female background singers, a small horn section, guitar, bass, keys, violin and live deejay, Bailey’s set showcased a band ready for anything.

Bravo.

—EDDIE JORGENSEN

Coming to a screen near you: Deftones fans rejoiced this holiday season—the band’s long-lost documentary was finally going to see the light of day. Sacramento native Andrew Bennett announced that he’d release Entertain Me: A Film About Deftones, originally filmed 15 years ago, on December 26. Well, that didn’t quite happen, but we’re still expecting the film to make its way online any day now.

Entertain Me gets up close and personal with the Sacramento band.

According to Deftones zone, a fan site (www.facebook.com/defzone site), Bennett was inspired by the Radiohead documentary Meeting People is Easy: real, raw honesty. So why did Entertain Me get shelved?

It might have been too raw, too honest.

“The reason behind the wait always baffled me,” Bennett told Deftones zone. “The band always seemed pleased with the final cut, but I think, let’s just call them the powers that be, were scared off.”

At press time, Bennett had these cryptic words on his website: “Despite the unlawful action placed on my legal film, it will be available very, very shortly. Again, you waited 15 years, a couple of more days while I fight the Man won’t hurt.”

Look for the movie on www.entertainmefilm.com.

Downloads will cost $10.

Big props: The onslaught of end-of-year lists is finally over, and at least two Sacramento artists got significant nods in the national media.

Doom band Chrch’s debut Unanswered Hymns made it onto at least five best metal albums lists, including those from Noisey and Stereogum. Noisey metal editor Kim Kelly ranked Unanswered Hymns at No. 6, with extremely high praise: “Cosmic, crushing doom that elevates and amazes; the first time I saw them, I knew I was witnessing something special.” From Stereogum: “Chrch feels bigger, greater, more in ways that can’t be defined or measured, like describing vertigo or the vestiges of a dream.”

Meanwhile, rapper Mozzy’s Bladadah landed at No. 22 on Rolling Stone’s list of best rap albums of the year. Rolling Stone called Mozzy “one of the genre’s true shooting stars. … His words are artful, his language creative, his slang unique, his lyrics full of unexpected twists and turns, his verses full of rigorous discipline that never allows for a wasted line. Perhaps his core talent is to convey violence in a way that feels honest, which makes his competition seem mediated, dishonest, even exploitative.”

—JANELLE BITKER jan el l e b @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

DISCOUNT TICKETS TO THE BEST SHOWS IN TOWN. UPCOMING EVENTS Art Mix @ Crocker Art Museum: $10 for $2.50 Club Fantasy Admission: $20 for $8 Crest Theatre Admission & Concessions: $10 for $5 & $13 for $6.50 Laughs Unlimited: $20 for 410 Powerhouse Pub Admission: $15 for $3.75 Jelly Bread: Here There & Everywhere Release Party @ Harlow’s (01/15): $10 for $6 Noir Nights Film Festival (01/15-01/16): $35 for $17.50 Tainted Love @ Harlow’s (01/22 & 01/23): $15 fro $9 Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame Celebration @ Thunder Valley Casino (01/30): $90 for $45 Foreverland: A Michael Jackson Tribute @ Harlow’s (02/13): $15 for $9 Valentine’s Soul Jam @ Thunder Valley Casino Resort (02/13): $80.76 for $40.38

Check out our website to get great deals on concerts at Ace of Spades, Goldfield Trading Post and Harlow’s.

NO SERVICE FEES!

W W W. N E W S R E V I E W.C O M 01.07.16

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09 SAT

10 S UN

10 S UN

10 S UN

Haunted Summer

Alexander String Quartet

The Okee Dokee Brothers

The Tara Novellas

THIRD SPACE ART COLLECTIVE, 8 P.M., $5

MONDAVI CENTER, 2 P.M. AND 7 P.M., $27.50-$55

Haunted Summer’s sound is way too weird to be considered dream pop. But it’s dreamy.

And pop, in the loose sense of the word. Think ethereal vocals, electronic textures and psychedelic experiments. Sometimes, listening to Haunted Summer conjures up images of forest nymphs prancing DREAM POP through sun beams. Other times, kind of creepy mystical beings—but mystical all the same. The Los Angeles duo is made up of Bridgette Eliza Moody and John Seasons, but they perform live with a rotating cast. Note that this is an all-ages, alcoholfree event. 946 Olive Drive in Davis, www.facebook.com/HauntedSummermusic.

MONDAVI CENTER, 3 P.M., $6-$32

Classical gatherings have long been considered a high-brow affair. However, the insinuation couldn’t be any more insulting to the performers and their fans. Patience and listening skills—and, of course, a ticket—are all one needs to experience San Francisco’s talented quartet. They’ll be playing two shows featuring an original work titled “Adaptive Species,” Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Op. 80; Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95; and Beethoven’s CLASSICAL Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Major with pianist Roger Woodward joining the fray.

One Shields Avenue in Davis, www.asq4.com.

—JANELLE BITKER

—EDDIE JORGENSEN

BLUE LAMP, 8 P.M., NO COVER

For parents of young kids these days, it seems like only yesterday you were aimless and young and Nirvana was playing the Cattle Club, no? Now you’re constantly listening to terrible ditties because it’s “good for your kid’s development” or whatever.

Hopefully, your little one is hip to the Okee Dokee Brothers, a duo from Denver that plays rootsy Americana.

AMERICANA Sure, the lyrics aren’t aimed at you (though I imagine “Can You Canoe?” is like the hipster-baby version of “Do you even lift, bro?”), but the Grammy Awardwinning music is highly palatable and sing-alongable. One Shields Avenue in Davis, www.okeedokee.org.

Four-piece indie band the Tara Novellas bring an unfettered, youthful expression of what they like to call “songwriter jangle folk rock” down from Portlandia INDIE as they tour the West Coast this month. The cherubic vocals of frontwoman Tara Velarde will strike a chord with fans of Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, while the band’s overall sound keeps it folksy, yet light and airy—the sonic equivalent of the Head and the Heart having a pillow fight.

The three-year-old group released a fourtrack EP in 2014, so expect to hear some new material; Banjo Bones and Caroline Alegre are also on the bill. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, www.thetaranovellas.com.

—DEENA DREWIS

ACE OF SPADES SUNDAY, JANUARY 10

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

ALL AGES WELCOME!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29

TRIBAL SEEDS

GRANGER SMITH

THE STEPPAS - THE SKINTS

DREW BALDRIDGE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

MARIANAS TRENCH THURSDAY, JANUARY 14

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

BONE THUGSN-HARMONY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3

STICK FIGURE

TRIVIUM

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16

2 CHAINZ SATURDAY, JANUARY 23

NEVER SHOUT NEVER

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5

THE WHITE BUFFALO FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12

MICKEY AVALON & DIRT NASTY

OM3N - RICHARD THE ROCKSTAR

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ALL DIMPLE RECORDS LOCATIONS AND ARMADILLO RECORDS 32 | SN&R | 01.07.16

—DEENA DREWIS

COMING

SOON

02/13 02/15 02/17 02/18 02/20 02/21 02/22 02/24 03/01 03/05 03/06 03/10 03/11 03/21 03/31 05/12 07/23

Geoff Tate’s Operation” Mind Crime Strfkr / Com Truise Keys N Krates Brian Fallon & The Crowes Cradle of Filth The Word Alive Neck Deep / State Champs Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys Children of Bodom Mute Math Mike Stud Born of Osiris Silverstein Tonight Alive & Set It Off Ciara Tech N9ne Julietta Venegas

“CAN YOU CANOE?” IS LIKE THE HIPSTER-BABY VERSION OF “DO YOU EVEN LIFT, BRO?”

13 W ED

14 T HU

14 T HU

14 T HU

Ghostplay

San Kazakgascar

Stick Figure

Brzowski

POWERHOUSE PUB, 8 P.M., NO COVER Local post-punk group Ghostplay leads its listeners through a dark passageway of ethereal tones that echo with layers of reverb, synth, keys and intricately timed guitar melodies. Leticia POST-PUNK and Jason Hess, recently married, make up the band along with beat keeper Armando Gonzales. In July of last year, the group released 33, featuring songs like “Science,” which lends a more post-punk feel, while “New Monday” emits a more pop-oriented vibe. Hear both tracks live at this 98 Rock Local Licks showcase that also features Epsilona and Death Party at the Beach. 614 Sutter Street in Folsom, www.ghostplaymusic.com.

CROCKER ART MUSEUM, 5 P.M., $10

ACE OF SPADES, 7 P.M., $15

San Kazakgascar will be at this month’s Art Mix: Mystique to add mystical ambiance with sprawling musical landscapes harkening back to ’60s classic psychedelia with some Middle Eastern/Indian flourishes that make the music both entrancing and danceable. Earlier this year, San Kazakgascar did some of PSYCHEDELIC its own inner exploration and growth with a new 7-inch featuring two instrumental songs in a snappier, jazzier direction that still maintains chanting vocals and forward-propelling beats. 216 O Street, www.facebook.com/ San-Kazakgascar-216473365058798/?fref=ts.

—AMY BEE

BLUE LAMP, 9 P.M., $5

Set In Stone, Santa Cruz reggae group Stick Figure’s sixth album, is the first after it became a live act. The last, Burial Ground, was recorded while Scott Woodruff was hanging around San Diego making albums in his bedroom, and to his surprise, it became a hit in reggae circles. Offers poured in to hit the road—so he put a band together.

Despite this, Woodruff recorded Set In Stone the same way as his other records: all by himself. He makes good use of REGGAE electronics and synths, creating a reggae album that is trance-inducing and mesmerizing. But live, the group gets that classic-roots groove going. 1417 R Street, www.stickfiguremusic.com.

—STEPH RODRIGUEZ

Is Portland, Maine, on your rap radar?

No matter the answer to that question, Brzowski is an underground lifer RAP who’s been cutting his teeth since 1993 through the days of cassette swaps to demo CD-Rs, and he now maintains an elusive relationship with the digital realm. In the case of Brzowski, you just have to show up. “Progressive” and “dark” signify his rap pedigree, which are sonic textures that have always lurked within our region’s sound. He’s traveling with Oakland’s DJ Halo and R&B singer Corina Corina, and this is the second stop on their West Coast tour. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, www.milledpavement.com/ brzowski.html.

—AARON CARNES

—BLAKE GILLESPIE

2708 J Street Sacramento, CA 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com

Dancehall & saloon amazing fooD NFL FootbaLL pLayoFF speciaLs ReseRve youR tabLe FoR the big game suNday Feb 7th pbR is iN towN Feb 5th & 6th with uLtimate pbR aFteR paRties at stoNey’s both Nights!

1/7 7PM $10

1/14 7PM $12ADV

4TH ANNUAL NON DUMMER DRUM OFF 1/8 5:30PM $15

ELVIS AND THE EXPERIENCE

CORY MORROW BUCK FORD

1/15 6PM $8ADV

IRISHPALOOZA:

FEATURING WHISKEY AND STITCHES, THE PIKEYS, ONE EYED REILLY

spazmatics FRiday JaNuaRy 15th FRidays b 92.5 couNtRy Night wedNesdays KNci 18 & oveR coLLege Nights

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Stoneyinn.com | 916.927.6023

1/13 7PM $12ADV

THE LIL’ SMOKIES MIKE DILLON BAND

1/16 9:30PM $20ADV

DEAD PREZ

COMING SOON 01/16 Stu Hamm Band 01/17 JD Mc Pherson/HoneyHoney 01/17 The Luniz 01/22-23 Tainted Love 01/24 Chicano Batman 01/29 Night of Flamenco 01/29 Abney Park / Diego’s Umbrella 01/30 Mania: The Live Beatles Experience 01/30 Peace Killers 02/02 Kyle 02/03 The Motet 02/05 Joy & Madness 02/06 Steelin’ Dan 02/06 Some Fear None 02/12 Glen Phillips 02/12 Crywolf 02/13 Foreverland 02/19 ALO 02/23 The Infamous Stringdusters 02/26 David Lindley

01.07.16 | SN&R | 33

THURSDAY 1/7

FRIDAY 1/8

SATURDAY 1/9

#TBT and 5-card stud, 8pm, call for cover

Fabulous and Gay Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

Spectacular Saturdays, 9pm, call for cover

SPARE PARTS, 9:30pm, call for cover

DANIEL PETTY, 9:30pm, call for cover

Moe’s Hip-hop Glo Party, 9pm, call for cover

WEST LORDS, TROUBLEMAKER, SCRATCH OUTS, 8pm, call for cover

THE BOARDWALK

HAIL THE SUN, PLOTS; 6:30pm, $12-$14

UP IN SMOKE, INFINITE SLEEP, OCULOUS, WITHOUT HOPE; 6pm, $10-$12

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

WinterDance 2016, 7pm, $14-$17

WinterDance 2016, 1pm, $14-$17 CHILLBILLIES, 8pm, $18-$22

COUNTRY CLUB SALOON

OLD TOWN BOYS, call for time and cover

SIMPLE CREATION, 9:30pm, call for cover

THE COZMIC CAFE

Ched Drol Healing Ritual with Gaden Shartse Monks, 7pm

Sand mandala-making workshop, 1pm, $20

BADLANDS

2003 K St., (916) 448-8790

BAR 101 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.

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

BLUE LAMP

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

SHORTY EARL, MADD; 8pm, call for cover

9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384 4007 Taylor Rd., Loomis; (916) 652-4007 594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481

SUNDAY 1/10

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/11-1/13

Sunday Tea Dance and Beer Bust, 4pm, call for cover

Big Mondays happy hour all night, M; Karaoke, Tu; Trapicana, W Trivia Night, 6:30pm M, no cover; Open-mic night, 7:30pm W, no cover

THE TARA NOVELLAS, CAROLINE ALEGRE, BANJO BONES; 8pm, call for cover

JOHN MCCUTCHEON, 7:30pm, $20-$35

SAM PHILLIP’S PROTOCOL, 7:30pm W, $22-$24

Dharma Talk: Green Tara, 7pm Tu; Green Tara Empowerment, 7pm W

DISTRICT 30

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770

FACES

Everything Happens dancing and karaoke, 9pm, call for cover

Absolut Fridays dance party, 9pm, $5-$10

Party Time dance party with Sequin Saturdays drag show at 9:30pm, $5-$12

FOX & GOOSE

MARTY COHEN AND THE SIDEKICKS, 8pm, no cover

HOT CITY, SACTOWN PLAYBOYS; 9pm, $5

HONEY B. & THE CULTIVATION, SACTO SOUL REBELS; 9pm, $5

Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub quiz, 7pm Tu; All Vinyl Wednesdays, 6pm W, no cover

GOLDFIELD TRADING POST

Line dancing lessons, call for time and cover

KENNY FRYE BAND, 9pm, $5

Country DJ dancing, call for time and cover

Open-mic night, M, call for time and cover

ESSEX, 9pm, $5

INNERSOUL, 9pm, $5

Trivia night, 7:30pm Tu; Bingo, 1pm W

ELVIS AND THE EXPERIENCE, 7pm, $15

CHUCK RAGAN, 8pm, $10-$15

THE LIL’ SMOKES, MIKE DILLON BAND; 7pm W, $12-$14

2000 K St., (916) 448-7798

Hey local bands!

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.

1001 R St., (916) 443-8825 1603 J St., (916) 476-5076

HALFTIME BAR & GRILL

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

HARLOW’S

2708 J St., (916) 441-4693

4th annual Non Drummer Drum Off, 8pm, $10

Sunday Mass with heated pool, drag show, 2pm, no cover

THE HIDEAWAY BAR & GRILL

Record Club, M; Cactus Pete’s 78 RPM Record Roundup, 8pm Tu

2565 Franklin Blvd., (916) 455-1331

LUNA’S CAFE & JUICE BAR 1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931

MIDTOWN BARFLY

1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779

EDM and karaoke, 9pm M, no cover; Latin night, 9pm Tu, $5

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

SURFACE TENSION, 7pm, $5

JFC Mythology Cafe, 5pm; YUBA RIO HOT CLUB, 8pm, $5

Midtown Moxies Burlesque: On the Big Screen; 8pm, $15-$20

Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm M; Open-mic comedy, 8pm Tu, no cover Salsa Wednesday, 7:30pm W, $5

FRI, Jan 8th

5-8PM • Matt Rainey & Dippin Sauce 9pm • Old Town Boys

Sat, Jan 9th 9PM • Simple Creation

Every nfl gameday $250 Bud Lt & Coors Pints • $7 Pitchers $4 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Pints $4 Jameson, Muerto, Smirnoff

40 BEERS ON TAP,OVER 40 WHISKEYS ON HAND Horshoes, Corn Hole and Giant Jenga!

916.652.4007

4007 Taylor Road, Loomis, CA countryclubsaloon.com 30 | SN&R 34 SN&R | | 01.07.16 01.07.16

LIVE MUSIC

VOTED BEST BAR IN ROSEVILLE! 2015 -PRESS TRIBUNE

JAN 08 JAN 09 JAN 15 JAN 16 JAN 22 JAN 23 JAN 30 FEB 05 FEB 06 FEB 12 FEB 13 FEB 19 FEB 26

SPARE PARTS DANIEL PETTY SKIPPY & THE BOWL JUNKIES THE HILL IN MIND BRIAN ROGERS DENVER J LEGAL ADDICTION SCOTTY VOX LIZANO CALLIE CROFTS & ROBERT GILLIES

HEARTBREAK TIME MACHINE STILLWOOD SAGES ISLAND OF BLACK & WHITE

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THURSDAY 1/7

FRIDAY 1/8

SATURDAY 1/9

NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN

THE INITIATIVE, MEMORIES OF TOMORROW; 8:30pm, $5

THE INTERLOPERS, WILDWOODS, BRAVE SEASON; 8:30pm, $5

PINE STREET RAMBLERS, CHOWDER HEARTS AND FRIENDS; 8:30pm, $5

Naked Lounge Quintet, 8:30pm M; SEE SPOT PLAY, 8:30pm W, $5

OLD IRONSIDES

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

LONELY BULLS, AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS, BLAME THE BISHOP; 9pm, $7

BELLY GUNNER, TOAD MORTENS, TATTOOED LOVE DOGS; 9pm, $7

Guest chefs serve $5 plates, M; Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 9pm W

ON THE Y

Open-mic stand-up comedy and karaoke, 8pm, no cover

DAWN OF MORGANA, HELION PRIME, SWEET LEAF, VINCULA; 8pm, $7

Nerday Saturday karaoke, Call of Duty, trivia; 9pm, call for cover

1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504 670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731

SUNDAY 1/10

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/11-1/13

THE PALMS PLAYHOUSE

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

PISTOL PETE’S

SKIPPY AND THE BOWL JUNKIES, 8pm, call for cover

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

POWERHOUSE PUB

COLLEEN HAUSER, call for time and cover

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

SPAZMATICS, call for time and cover

FLEETWOOD MASK, call for time and cover

THE PRESS CLUB

SHEMEKIA COPELAND, RYDER GREEN; 3pm, call for cover

The Three Way with the Soul Shine Band and Gleewood 8pm Friday, $6.

Shine Rock

Live band karaoke, 8pm Tu, call for cover; GHOSTPLAY, 8pm W

Pop 40 dance party, 9pm, $5

2030 P St., (916) 444-7914

SHADY LADY SALOON

TESSIE MARIE, 9pm, no cover

JULIE & THE JUKES, 9pm, no cover

ELEMENT BRASS BAND, 9pm, no cover

STARLITE LOUNGE

YIDHRA, TVSK, DECADE OF STATUTES; 8pm, $7

WEEED, BLACK MAJIK ACID, ART LESSING & THE FLOWER VATO; $7

MOTORIZE, ROSWELL, THE WAY OUT, MECHANIZM; 9pm, $8

STONEY’S ROCKIN RODEO

Country DJ dancing, karaoke; call for time and cover

Country DJ dancing and karaoke, 8pm, $5

Country DJ dancing and karaoke, 8pm, $5

Country DJ dancing and karaoke, 8pm, $5

Country DJ dancing, 8:30pm W, $5-$10

TORCH CLUB

Acoustic open-mic, 5pm, no cover; JERAMY NORRIS, 9pm, $5

Slim Bob’s 60th Birthday Party, 5pm; ROEM BAUR, 9pm, $8

MATT RAINEY, 5:30pm, no cover; AKI KUMAR, 9pm, $8

Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; Front the Band karaoke, 8pm, no cover

BILL MYLAR, 5pm Tu; Open-mic, 5pm W; REV. SHAWN AMOS, 9pm W, $5

TRIBAL SEEDS, THE STEPPAS, THE SKINTS; 7pm, $18-$20

MARIANAS TRENCH, 7pm W, $20-$125

1409 R St., (916) 231-9121

1517 21st St., (916) 704-0711 1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023 904 15th St., (916) 443-2797

EMILY KOLLARS, 9pm, no cover

All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES

1417 R St., (916) 448-3300

CAFE COLONIAL

Consolcade retro console gaming, 6pm Tu, no cover

3520 Stockton Blvd., (916) 736-3520

THE COLONY

Emily Kollars 9pm Sunday. No cover.

Shady Lady Saloon Soul

3512 Stockton Blvd., (916) 718-7055

SHINE

Jazz jam, 8pm, no cover

1400 E St., (916) 551-1400

Print ads start at $6/wk. www.newsreview.com or (916) 498-1234 ext. 5 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

THE SOUL SHINE BAND, GLEEWOOD, THE THREE WAY; 8pm, $6

Online 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.

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Just do it your internal world, and to identify the I’ve spent years working menial jobs, and spent a fortune on life coach and yoga thoughts and feelings you experience. teacher training programs, but never Some people are unable to admit their achieved the success I know I am meant pain, much less name it. Others lack the to have. I find myself filling notebooks humility to acknowledge the connection with ideas for projects, talking to friends between their feelings, and the external about my plans but nothing ever happens. situation that seems to have been the I get depressed about feeling stuck, and source. Of course, “seems” is the key tell myself getting stoned makes me more word, because your discomfort is not creative, so I do that. I’ll be 32 in a few about your daughter’s engagement. weeks, and I still live with my parents That’s just a trigger. When we talked (although in a separate building on their on the phone you revealed you were property). I want to break out, but I don’t divorced. Your emotions want you to know how. Advice, please. revisit the dissolution of your marriage, Actually, you know exactly what to do, and the residue of feelings still associated and you proved it by going to my website with it. You also insisted that you were (www.joeygarcia.com) and emailing me. completely over your ex-husband because You took action. So try this: Sit still. you had been to therapy. I pointed Breathe. Let your projects drift out that your body is insisting into your consciousness one otherwise. The therapy you by one. As they do, notice: had a decade ago seemed Is there a project that That’s complete because you feels too big? Is there the difference either reached the end a project that inspires of what you could between most you to laugh and cry integrate at the time, or simultaneously with success and failure: you reached the limit of joy? Pick one project stubbornness. your therapist’s skills. and streamline your Your body is alerting activities to support its you to good news: You creation. When you feel are ready for the next level stuck, or discouraged, meditate of healing.

You told me that and ask for advice. Ask family your ex-husband became engaged to his and friends, too. But mostly, don’t give mistress while still married to you. The up. That’s the difference between most fear of another betrayal remains embedsuccess and failure: stubbornness. Or ded in your body. A licensed massage in fancy-pants language: perseverance. therapist with training in energy work and You’ve proven that you have it because life coaching could help. Ω you’ve stubbornly pursued your willingness to daydream, and to fill notebooks with ideas. It’s time to transfer that stubbornness into substance. Do it. The world needs you to be who you were meant to MEDITATION OF THE WEEK become.

“Genius is another word for My oldest daughter’s boyfriend proposed to her at Christmas. I should be excited, I know, but I feel weirdly emotionally numb.

I’m embarrassed about this, especially because family and friends have been congratulating me after engagement photos were posted on Facebook. I smile but freeze up inside. I am afraid that someone will notice and say something awful. I don’t know what is wrong with me.

Let’s talk about what is right with you.

A deep and abiding self-awareness is alive inside you. That’s the ability that gave you insight into your reaction to your daughter’s engagement. Be grateful.

Nourish your capacity to pay attention to

magic, and the whole point of magic is that it is inexplicable,” said Dame Margot Fonteyn, prima ballerina. When do you embody your native genius?

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 Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email askjoey@newsreview.com.

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I have decided to stop using marijuana for various reasons, but I am having a hard time falling asleep at night. What can I do?

—Wyatt E. Wake Habits are a hard thing to break. It’s funny, when I stop using cannabis (Hush. I have gone without cannabis for days at a time in some small Idaho towns.) I generally don’t have a hard time falling asleep but I do have crazy-vivid and funky dreams. Everyone is different. I looked it up online and all the advice seems to be the same: Exercise a little more during the day, don’t look at electronic media while you are in bed, read a book, do some breathing exercises, yadda yadda yadda. Eventually your body will get used to the new paradigm and you shouldn’t have any problem. Good luck and enjoy your vivid dreams!

VOTED BEST 420 PHYSICIAN IN SAC! ’15

I hear the DEA is making it easier for scientists to study marijuana. Is this true?

—Sy N. Tiffick Kinda. The Drug Enforcement Administration is making it easier for scientists to study CBD (cannabidiol, one of the hundreds of compounds in the cannabis plant). The new rules from the DEA allow scientists to skip a step or two when they need to get more CBD for research, but doesn’t affect studies on THC or other compounds. Remember, cannabis is still listed as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has “no medicinal value” and a “high likelihood for addiction and abuse.” Ha! But seriously, maybe the DEA is starting to come around. The Food and Drug Administration recently sent a letter to the DEA recommending that cannabis be rescheduled, and while I have no faith in the DEA’s ability to get anything right—it took them five years to deny the last request for rescheduling, This is one of and they have kept marijuana listed as those “put up or a Schedule I drug in spite of a 1988 ruling from a DEA administrative law shut up” type judge calling cannabis “one of the safest of deals. therapeutically active substances known to man”—I still hold hope that Obama will issue an executive order removing cannabis from the drug schedule altogether. Yes, he can do that.

And if he doesn’t and marijuana wins big in the 2016 elections, the next president will probably have to do something.

Vote for weed, you guys.

I want to legalize weed in California, but I hate the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. What can I do?

—Jeff This is what’s up: It costs at least $10 million to run an initiative campaign in California. The AUMA has Facebook billionaire Sean Parker’s promise of around $20 million. Do you have the money to run a campaign? Everyone wants to hate, but no one wants to put up any money. If all the growers and sellers and advocates were to chip in and raise even $5 million toward a good law, we could get something going. This is one of those “put up or shut up” type of deals, I think. Ω Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert.

Email him questions at ask420@newsreview.com.

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Even if you’re more interested in drinking your medical marijuana than eating it, Jane’s Brew has you covered. I recently sampled the Jane’s Brew Gourmet Hot Chocolate, a powdered beverage mix similar to Swiss Miss, only with 80mg of medical cannabis. The packet claims that the product is “best when mixed with hot or warm milk,” but I avoid milk whenever possible, so I mixed it with water instead.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY NICK MILLER

BY ROB BREZSNY

FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 7, 2016 ARIES (March 21-April 19): John Steinbeck won

the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. His novel Of Mice and Men helped win him the award, but it required extra persistence. When he’d almost finished the manuscript, he went out on a date with his wife. While they were gone, his puppy Toby ripped his precious pages into confetti. As mad as he was, he didn’t punish the dog, but got busy on a rewrite. Later he considered the possibility that Toby had served as a helpful literary critic. The new edition of Of Mice and Men was Steinbeck’s breakout book. I’m guessing that in recent months you have received comparable assistance, Aries—although you may not realize it was assistance until later this year.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Remember back

to what your life was like during the first nine months of 2004. I suspect that you fell just short of fulfilling a dream. It’s possible you were too young to have the power you needed. Or maybe you were working on a project that turned out to be pretty good but not great. Maybe you were pushing to create a new life for yourself but weren’t wise enough to make a complete breakthrough. Almost 12 years later, you have returned to a similar phase in your long-term cycle. You are better equipped to do what you couldn’t quite do before: create the masterpiece, finish the job, rise to the next level.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): To become a skillful

singer, you must learn to regulate your breath.

You’ve got to take in more oxygen than usual for extended periods, and do it in ways that facilitate rather than interfere with the sounds coming out of your mouth. When you’re beginning, it feels weird to exert so much control over an instinctual impulse, which previously you’ve done unconsciously. Later, you have to get beyond your self-conscious discipline so you can reach a point where the proper breathing happens easily and gracefully. Although you may not be working to become a singer in 2016, Gemini, I think you will have comparable challenges: (1) to make conscious an activity that has been unconscious; (2) to refine and cultivate that activity; and (3) to allow your consciously crafted approach to become unselfconscious again.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ancient humans

didn’t “invent” fire, but rather learned about it from nature and then figured out how to produce it as needed. Ropes had a similar origin. Our ancestors employed long vines made of tough fiber as primitive ropes, and eventually got the idea to braid and knot the vines together for greater strength. This technology was used to hunt, climb, pull, fasten and carry. It was essential to the development of civilization. I predict that 2016 will bring you opportunities that have metaphorical resemblances to the early rope.

Your task will be to develop and embellish on what nature provides.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): British author Anthony

Trollope (1815-1882) had a day job with the postal service until he was in his 50s. For years he awoke every morning at 5:30 and churned out 2,500 words before heading to work. His goal was to write two or three novels a year, a pace he came close to achieving. “A small daily task, if it really be daily,” he wrote in his autobiography, “will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules.” I recommend that you borrow from his strategy in 2016, Leo. Be regular and disciplined and diligent as you practice the art of gradual, incremental success.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Umbrellas shelter us

from the rain, saving us from the discomfort of getting soaked and the embarrassment of bad hair. They also protect us from the blinding light and sweltering heat of the sun. I’m very much in favor of these practical perks. But when umbrellas appear in your nightly dreams, they may have a less positive meaning. They can indicate an inclination to shield yourself from natural forces, or to avoid direct contact with primal sensuality. I hope you won’t do much of that in 2016. In my opinion, you need a lot of face-to-face encounters with life in its raw state. Symbolically speaking, this should be a non-umbrella year.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Around the world, an average of 26 languages go extinct every year.

But it increasingly appears that Welsh will not

be one of them. It has enjoyed a revival in the past few decades. In Wales, it’s taught in many schools, appears on road signs and is used in some mobile phones and computers. Is there a comparable phenomenon in your life, Libra? A tradition that can be revitalized and should be preserved? A part of your heritage that may be useful to your future? A neglected aspect of your birthright that deserves to be reclaimed? Make it happen in 2016.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Fourrteenth-century author Geoffrey Chaucer produced a collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales. It became a seminal text of English literature even though he never finished it. The most influential book ever written by theologian Thomas Aquinas was a work he gave up on before it was completed. The artist Michelangelo never found the time to put the final touches on numerous sculptures and paintings. Why am I bringing this theme to your attention? Because 2016 will be an excellent time to wrap up long-term projects you’ve been working on—and also to be at peace with abandoning those you can’t.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A bottle

of Chateau Cheval Blanc wine from 1947 sold for $304,000. Three bottles of Chateau LafiteRothschild 1869 went for $233,000 apiece.

The mystique about aged wine provokes crazy behavior like that. But here’s a more mundane fact: Most wine deteriorates with age, and should be sold within a few years of being bottled. I’m thinking about these things as I meditate on your long-term future, Sagittarius. My guess is that your current labor of love will reach full maturity in the next 18 to 20 months. This will be a time to bring all your concentration and ingenuity to bear on making it as good as it can be. By September of 2017, you will have ripened it as much as it can be ripened.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In her poem

“Tree,” California poet Jane Hirshfield speaks of a young redwood tree that’s positioned next to a house. Watch out! It grows fast—as much as three feet per year. “Already the first branch-tips brush at the window,” Hirshfield writes. “Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.” I suspect this will be an apt metaphor for you in 2016. The expansion and proliferation you have witnessed these past few months are likely to intensify. That’s mostly good, but may also require adjustments. How will you respond as immensity taps at your life?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Centuries ago,

lettuce was a bitter, prickly weed that no one ate. But ancient Egyptians guessed its potential, and used selective breeding to gradually convert it into a tasty food. I see 2016 as a time when you could have a comparable success. Look around at your life, and identify weed-like things that could, through your transformative magic, be turned into valuable assets. The process may take longer than a year, but you can set in motion an unstoppable momentum that will ensure success.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Imagine that a

beloved elder has been writing down your life story in the form of a fairy tale. Your adventures aren’t rendered literally, as your waking mind might describe them, but rather through dream-like scenes that have symbolic resonance.

With this as our template, I’ll predict a key plot development of 2016: You will grow increasingly curious about a “forbidden” door—a door you have always believed should not be opened. Your inquisitiveness will reach such an intensity that you will consider locating the key for that door.

If it’s not available, you may even think about breaking down the door.

PHOTO BY SHOKA

Boogie-woogie nights His name is Cactus Pete. But folks around town know him as artist Peter Stegall. And, yeah, you’ve read about his work in this paper before. But this interview is about tunes, and his latest reinvention as a septuagenarian deejay of late-’40s country and early-to-mid-20th-century jazz, played on 78 RPM records. Find Stegall, 75, every Tuesday night at The Hideaway Bar & Grill (2565 Franklin Boulevard), from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., where he’s spun going on two years. If you’re feeling the vibe, maybe buy one of his handmade cactus artworks, which start at just five bucks. Or even get him a drink (see below for a pro tip).

Stegall chatted with SN&R last week via phone from his Oak Park abode.

You’re mayor of Sacramento: What is your No. 1 priority?

Homelessness. I had the occasion to help a friend this year, and we need to find places for people, to work on that.

If you want a good meal in town, where do you go?

I go to Maya’s, over here on Broadway.

Mexican food. And of course I’m great friends with the Magpie people.

If someone wants to buy you a drink at the Hideaway, what’s your poison?

A shot of Bulleit rye.

Straight?

Nah, I chase it with a little Coca-Cola

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.

Has anyone come to you while deejaying and made a dumb request, like for Drake or something?

Like Drake, like what?

Do people request songs?

Where do you shop for music?

Oh yeah! Last night, a friend came in, and we’re talking and carrying on, and he said, “I know this song, but I don’t know who the guy is.” [The song was] “That’s What I Like About the South,” an old Phil Harris tune from the ’40s. A lot of people have recorded that. I dug it out and played it, and he just about lost it.

Everywhere. For two years, I was just out there. Big collectors unloading hundreds of records on thrift stores. So I’m going out there every day, and they’re selling for like a dollar an album. … I get a lot of gifts of records, which is really nice.

Do you do anything besides records?

I’m painting cactuses.

This is a land line? You don’t mess with email or smartphones?

That could get dangerous.

They’re cardboard. I’ve worked with cardboard since the ’80s. … I’ve made a lot of work, wall hangings, out of cardboard with the same paint. … I’ve made a couple desert scenes.

I’m just choosing not to go there. All my friends tell me, “You got to get online.” And I thank them for helping me out, because I certainly see the advantages. But I just don’t want to be looking at a phone all the time.

Do you have a New Year’s resolution?

Share your first memory of music.

I was 10 years old in 1950, so it was the beginning of the end of the big-band era, before rock ’n’ roll. So I just remember a lot of “Ebb Tide,” kind of soft big-band music.

And then in San Francisco in ’55, still listening to Vaughn Monroe, you know, singing World War II songs. And then Bill Haley came out with “Rock Around the Clock” … and that took off. But my roots are not rock ’n’ roll. …

I went right into modern jazz in the early ’60s.

And then segued into country in ’64.

Tell me one artist SN&R readers should add to their playlist?

T. Texas Tyler. He’s basically the Western version of East Coast jazz. … [He] had a small combo group, not a full band—fiddle, steel guitar, basic drums and such. And he played Western swing and really good jazz.

He came out to the West Coast in the late ’40s and played around Los Angeles, had a pretty good career. He was known as the band with a million friends. And he got religion somewhere along the way and became a preacher. Anyway, I love it.

My resolution is for my daughter, I would like things to get better for her. It’s an inspirational story, and she’s pushed so hard to get better. She’s an inspiration to all of us.

Does she have a favorite song?

I’m not sure. She likes George Strait. We saw some country shows at Arco, but I’m not sure of a specific song.

What do you miss most about the Sacramento of yore?

The country shows that were staged at the Memorial Auditorium in the mid-’60s, around ’65. It was the last vestige of the great country shows, of which there would be 15 to 20 groups, and they’d go on for two or three songs and then get off. … KRAK would sponsor these shows, and we saw everybody, all the national people. These buses would be lined up on J Street. Conway Twitty and the Twitty Birds, Merle Haggard and the Strangers. You’d see ’em all at once.

There’s a warmth about Sacramento that certainly has changed in a lot of ways, but is still there. It’s as good a place to live as any. Ω

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