s-2016-12-29 by News & Review

SACRAMENTO HIGHS AND LOWS

SN&R’s 2016 year in review

THE TASTIEST fOOD

page 16

Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

THE RADDEST SOuNDS

Volume 28, iSSue 37

thurSday, december 29, 2016

newSreView.com

Boy ScoutS’ trouBling defenSe See neWS

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return of the anti-vaxxerS Absurdity doesn’t make the world any less perilous, however, and caution is a Sikh way of life in the United States, Shergill said. “There is plenty of clear evidence across the country that since Trump began his campaign, minorities have been targeted,” he said.

Still, reasons for spikes in hate crimes and incidents are challenging to pin on Trump’s campaign, said Phyllis Gerstenfeld, chairwoman of the Criminal Justice Department at California State University, Stanislaus. It’s tough to get an accurate national pulse when looking at existing data, which can be too old, and too easily skewed by a single event, like the San in the 10 days after the election, the Bernardino terrorist attack last year. Southern Poverty Law Center counted “We’re going to have to wait a year to reports of 867 hate incidents across the see on that,” said Gerstenfeld, who’s studied country—compared to two during the same hate crimes for more than two decades. period following President Barack Obama’s “We’re certainly hearing more from extremreelection in 2012. ist groups that have felt validated by the The largest numbers were classified as election results, but whether there’s more anti-immigrant (280), anti-black (187) and going on, or the media is covering them anti-LGBT (95). The data was collected more, we don’t know.” by submission to the SPLC’s website, and The FBI counted 5,850 nationwide hate didn’t include instances of online crime incidents last year, according harassment. Confirmed hoaxes to its most recent statistics were excluded, but the released in November. report admitted that not This included all the accounts could 24 hate crimes be verified. in Sacramento “There is plenty of clear There have County, with city evidence across the country been local ripples police reporting a that since Trump began his since the election third of them. as well. But the FBI campaign, minorities have been On November data is also targeted.” 26, the Davis unreliable, due Islamic Center to underreporting Amar Shergill received a threatenfor several reasons. Sacramento attorney and Sikh activist ing letter addressed First, classifying a to the “Children of hate crime is challengSatan.” ing to begin with. Several other mosques On December 22, for across the country received the instance, Jeffrey Michael Caylor same letter. was sentenced to life in prison following a At a December 6 press conference, first-degree murder conviction for gunning Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel clarified down a Muslim man in a Home Depot that the incident was not being investigated parking lot on Florin Road two years ago. as a hate crime, since the letter contained no Although witnesses said Caylor made direct threats. anti-Muslim comments prior to the shootThe area saw examples of hate speech ing, prosecutors didn’t charge a hate crime in the months leading up to the election as enhancement. well. On the morning after the Pulse gay Part of the difficulty with tying a hateful nightclub shooting in June, a Sacramento bias to a crime is that investigators have to Baptist pastor praised the massacre during make subjective determinations, Gerstenfeld a sermon, calling the 49 dead victims said. “They require you to make a guess “pedophiles” and saying that “Orlando, about the offender’s motive, which is Fla., is a little safer tonight.” In May, a problematic,” she said. white supremacist who distributed fliers At best, the FBI data can be useful for calling for the extermination of Muslims general trends, Gerstenfeld said. Including, and Mexicans was arrested for an unrelated she pointed out: Hate crimes have actually probation violation. declined over the years. The FBI reports By comparison, anti-Trump-inspired show an estimated 24 percent decline in hate incidents were among the lowest reported incidents, from 7,722 in 2006 to reported to SPLC in the days after the elec5,850 in 2015. tion, at 23. The hateful comments and actions by The SPLC recently updated its count Trump and some of his supporters still of post-election hate incidents to 1,094 as represent a minority, Gerstenfeld said. of December 12, but also noted the pace But not everyone thinks things are had slowed. getting better.

Berry accius, a Sacramento activist and founder of theVoice of the Youth mentorship program, said that race relations in the United States have reached a boiling point. He noted the neo-Nazi rally at the Capitol steps in June, where seven people were stabbed and 10 were injured in a bloody brawl between members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, a whitenationalist political group, and hundreds of protestors. The FBI stats also don’t account for systemic racism, he said. “I’ve traveled across this United States, and every Martin Luther King Boulevard is a hood,” Accius said. “When I see the disproportionate number of black men and women in prison and in poverty, you don’t have to tell me that racism is still alive.” With less than a month away from Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Sacramento activists are taking a defensive stance in their communities. A protest organized by a local chapter of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition garnered some 200 people to march down Broadway on December 10, Human Rights Day. To Jamier Sale, an A.N.S.W.E.R. organizer, the protests serve two functions in this post-election climate: to remind victims of hate that they’re not alone, and to counter a rising, racist movement that he believes is emboldened by Trump. “At the end of the day, they’re the minority, and these protests are about showing those forces that it’s not okay to preach hate,” Sale said. Sale and Accius will be among those flying to Washington, D.C., to join A.N.S.W.E.R.’s larger march at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue. Around 20,000 people have RSVP’d to the January 20 march, according to the group’s website. One of the largest demonstrations, the Women’s March on Washington, is scheduled for the day after Trump’s inauguration, with around 200,000 attendees reportedly expected in D.C. While the Women’s March obtained a permit to protest, groups like A.N.S.W.E.R. haven’t yet. The National Parks Service has secured the most prominent spots for activities organized by the Trump Inauguration Committee during the ceremony, as well as in the weeks before and after it, in an attempt to block protestors from acquiring permits to highly symbolic spaces like the Lincoln Memorial, Constitution Avenue and The Ellipse park. A.N.S.W.E.R. leaders have said they will protest with or without permits. “It’s going be a fight,” Accius said. Ω

Like an untreated bacteria, anti-vaxxers have entered a new stage in their opposition to California’s vaccination requirements—lawsuit. On November 21, the nonprofit A Voice for Choice Inc. along with three mothers sued to overturn Senate Bill 277, the state law that deleted personal beliefs as a reason for not getting children vaccinated prior to enrolling them in school. The complaint, filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, asserts that the law strips California residents of their constitutional rights by forcing vaccine-averse parents to choose between shots and their children’s education. “Our case is based on cherished principles,” A Voice for Choice founder Christina Hildebrand said in a statement. “The state cannot force you to give up one fundamental right if you wish to exercise another.” Still, the group acknowledged in a release that suits like this one have faced “uphill” legal tests in other jurisdictions. The legal maneuver is the latest attempt to forestall public health safeguards that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in June of last year, at a time when dropping vaccination rates coincided with outbreaks of once-controlled viruses like whooping cough, which plagued Sacramento County in 2014, and meningococcal disease, which killed two and sickened nearly two dozen more in Southern California over the summer. Most famously, a measles outbreak that started in Disneyland last year before sweeping to other states was blamed on a lack of childhood vaccinations. Closer to home, three Sacramento County students also fell ill from tuberculosis last year. On December 8, plaintiffs filed for a preliminary injunction, hoping to halt a law that has been in effect for more than a year. A week later, the state announced its intent to get the lawsuit dismissed at a hearing next month, on the grounds that the allegations were irrational or not based in law. The state is also opposing the request for an injunction. (Raheem F. Hosseini and Matt Kramer)

BacKdooring BacKPage This is starting to look like a vendetta. Returning to the scene of a humbling defeat, California Attorney General Kamala Harris last week refiled criminal charges against the captains of an online classified portal she has accused of functioning as a virtual brothel that exploits children. A Sacramento Superior Court judge already rejected very similar claims from Harris’ office on December 9 against Backpage. com executives Carl Ferrer, Michael Gerard Lacey and James Anthony Larkin. In dismissing all 10 of the state’s criminal conspiracy and pimping charges, Judge Michael Bowman ruled that online publishers like Backpage couldn’t be held criminally liable for the speech or actions of the third parties using their forum, even if they were pimps or human traffickers. On December 23, just prior to a three-day holiday, Harris’ office issued a release claiming it had uncovered “new evidence” that prompted the filing of 39 new charges—26 counts of money laundering and 13 counts of pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping. The release didn’t specify what new evidence the attorney general’s office was able to find now, and not during the three-year investigation that preceded the original case. But it did suggest the investigation was still ongoing with a request for trafficking victims to email backpage@doj.ca.gov if they were trafficked via Backpage. A spokeswoman didn’t respond to questions prior to deadline. Attorneys for the company accused Harris of repackaging old allegations, and say she already acknowledged an inability to pursue a criminal case against Backpage unless the laws governing online publishing companies were changed. (Raheem F. Hosseini)

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it Wa S a v ery g o o d y ear ( reaLLy ) Art Hotel, community generosity, protests, the Golden 1 Center and tacos—all the great things Sacramento had to offer in 2016

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHOKA

Yes, sometimes it felt like the year when everything broke. But in some respects it was a stand-out time for positive change, great personal moments and community, too. So when it came time for SN&R to tackle its annual year-end, best-of-the-best issue, we were heartened to realize that, in many respects, 2016 was actually a wonderful year. No, really. Not convinced? Maybe this will change your mind: We asked 21 notable locals—activists and mentors, artists and chefs, historians, coaches and professors, etc.—to share with us three favorite Sacramento-centric moments, events or things from the last 12 months. The resulting answers were at once fun, enlightening and, even, surprising. We’re as ready for 2017 as anyone else, but sometimes it’s nice to take a moment to reflect on the good things—big and small. Enjoy.

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SiSter Libby Fernandez Executive director, Loaves & Fishes On the best resources for those in need: 1. Salvation Army: They provide shelters, transitional housing and a new culinary training program for the homeless. 2. The 211 community health line: A real person will answer the phone and help find the right resources for the person calling. 3. Loaves & Fishes: After much time and hard work, a spacious new park with new bathrooms and service center is set to open on January 6, 2017.

WiLLiam burg City historian On some of the best things to happen in local art, historical preservation and restoration: 1. Art Hotel brought the art community together and expressed itself loudly to the region in February, with jaw-dropping results. Recent rumors of the death of Sacramento’s art underground are unfounded; it is simply so prevalent that it can’t hide anymore. Stay tuned for Art Street, an even bigger installation, next year—an indicator of the strength of the local art community, but far from its only avenue for expression. 2. Sacramento Old City Association formally became Preservation Sacramento, adopting a new name and bylaws. This change transformed an organization focused primarily on downtown and Midtown since 1972 into a membership-based, citywide historic preservation and urban planning nonprofit, the first of its kind in Sacramento. Symbolic of this change, their 41st annual historic home tour was held in Elmhurst, the first ever outside the old city grid.

3. The restoration of the Aden C. Hart House mansion. For decades, it sat in disrepair, assumed by many to be a haunted house or a murder site. Through a combination of advocacy and code enforcement, the owners undertook an extensive restoration of one of our city’s architectural treasures. This restoration has enormous symbolic value, as so many other historic homes and buildings have been restored and reoccupied this year, from the Governor’s Mansion, once again playing its historic role as official gubernatorial residence, to the Mohr & Yoerk building at 11th and K streets, converted back to residential use.

ginger HaHn Owner, Ginger Elizabeth On great produce, lattes and chocolate: 1. Super excited about the new Sacramento Co-op opening. Even though I live in Davis we shop two times a week at the Sacramento Co-op. It hands down has the best and most local produce. 2. The spiced latte at The Mill and lobster tempura at the new Kru. 3. Making chocolate gifts for the Sacramento Kings to give out to celebrate the grand opening of the Golden 1 Center.

terra Lopez Musician, Rituals of Mine On favorite Sacramento mainstays: 1. Bowl of Soul at Naked Lounge: Easily my favorite drink in Sacramento and has been for nearly a decade. Never fails. Comfort and a nostalgia in a cup. 2. Tres Hermanas: Best damn Mexican food in town. I travel a lot and nothing compares. Ensalada Norteña for life. 3. Beers Books: My favorite place to go and hide out, search and learn. Has been a staple in my life and every time I am in town, I visit.

FOR ThE WEEk OF DECEmBER 29

Numerology for the New Year Thursday, december 29 What’s in a number? Apparently, more than most realize. This class will focus on the symbolism of numbers and how important they are for your past and present. The shop WELLNESS also offers services including yoga, jewelry making, detoxifying the body and home. Book your space now and see what the digits have in store for you in 2017. $10; 5:30 p.m. at Positive Practice Metaphysical Store, 2721 Fulton Avenue; http://positivepractice.abmp.com.

—eddie Jorgensen

WHAT TO

Track 7 Brewing Co.’s 5th Anniversary

EAT

saTurday, december 31 It seems like only yesterday that Track 7 was just a little yeast speck of an idea, fermenting in Ryan Graham and Geoff Scott’s heads. Now, it’s five; double down on your NYE celebrations with a celebration, which will feature collabs with other breweries. Free; noon to 9 p.m. at both taproom locaBEER tions, 3747 West Pacific Ave, Suite F; and 826 Professor Lane, Suite 100; http://track7brewing.com.

S ’ R A E Y W NE

—deena drewis

Verge Winter Camp

DAY

Tuesday, January 3, Through Friday, January 6 When you think of camping, you might picture tents, roasting marshmallows and hiking. The Verge’s campout is quite a bit different; attendees will gear up for four days of crafting and creating art. Each day features a different theme. Classes are designed ART for children ages 11-15. Sing up for a single day or go the entire week. $55-$225; 10 a.m. at the Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S Street; www.vergeart.com.

—Lory giL

Art on Film: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Thursday, January 5

here’s a lot of planning that goes into ringing in the New Year—finding the right disco-ball earrings, timing your bubbly intake so you actually make it to the countdown, etc. But all too often, New Year’s Day proper gets overlooked, and seeing as how many restaurants and stores are closed, this leaves you with a hangover and no food game to speak of aside from last night’s cocktail wieners. A little foresight can go a long way; consider incorporating the following options to revive yourself at the dawn of 2017: Free things first—if you can get yourself put together by 11 a.m., Suzie Burger (2820 P Street) is giving away free burgers, fries and drinks to the first

1,000 people that bring a blanket in exchange, to be donated to Loaves & Fishes; visit www.suzieburger.com for details. If you’re not one of the lucky 1,000 who finds his or herself with a burger in hand, might we recommend soup? If you’re not planning on going greasy, it’s one of the only things that can do you right when you’ve got the morning-after queasies. Pho has long had a reputation for being a hangover helper, and all locations of Pho Bac hoa Viet will be open; visit http://phobachoaviet.com for addresses and information. In Korean culture, it’s customary to eat tteokguk, a soup with coinshaped rice cakes and bits of beef, to ring in a year of financial prosperity,

though Seollal, the Korean New Year, happens on February 8. No one’s going to stop you from ordering the delicious, soothing soup at Pine Tree House (9205 Folsom Boulevard, Suite D) or YD House (8979 Folsom Boulevard) on January 1, and in fact, many Korean-Americans have adapted this tradition to the timing of the Western holiday. Alternatively, go Americana with the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas soup, a.k.a. hoppin’ John. Recipes vary widely, but popular cooking blog The Pioneer Woman has a simple (read: hangover-brain friendly) version: http://thepioneerwoman .com/cooking/hoppin-john.

—deena drewis

Dr. Seuss is, of course, best known for his ubiquitous, quirky children’s books. But have you ever seen the one feature film he wrote? The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T is a truly bizarre live-action film. Local film critic Matias Bombal presents the film at the FiLm Crocker as part of their Art on Film series. $10-$15; 6 p.m. at Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; www.crockerartmuseum.org.

—aaron carnes

Boogie’s Comedy Slam Thursday, January 5 DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins can make Sacramento cheer, rage and hope. Now, he’s on a mission to make us laugh. Boogie’s Comedy Slam features Arnez J, Tony Roberts and Benji Brown, and proCOmEDY ceeds benefit charities and nonprofits. $20-$60; 7 p.m. at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J Street; www.demarcuscousins.com.

—dave Kempa ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH HANSEL

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metal attack of Defecrator’s Satanic Martyrdom; the post-metal beatdown of Renascent by Decade of Statues; the garage-rock-from-the-future of Peace Killers’ self-titled debut; the old-school black metal of Modraniht’s To The Dark Mothers; and the vicious blackened death of GraveCoven’s second partial release from its upcoming debut, Coughing Blood. 3. Tack on an extra shout-out for Patrick Hills of Earth Tone Studios for recording nearly all of these bands and doing a damn fine job of it.

—A.S.

Hella Sacramento 1. There weren’t many folks at Southside Park for June’s two-day, 40-band First Festival. But, let those numbers sink in. Two days. 40 bands. Where the hell were you? Barring the controversial admission price of more than $50 for both days, it was one epic primer of Sacramento music. Oleander, Some Fear None and Arden Park Roots are headlining the next First Fest at River Walk Park in May. I’m warning you well in advance this time. 2. The city’s best new venue is not a museum. It’s actually a warehouse-turned-music-hall that started regularly doing shows in February. The Red Museum has hosted a bunch of Sac standouts, like Vasas, Drug Apts. and Honyock. One of its finer quirks: The stage’s white backing wall can conjure monstrous, contorted shadows resembling the performers. 3. Poppet, formerly of Davis, and SpaceWalker are two one-woman bands you ought to experience live. Spacewalker fuses cybernetic electronica with hip-hop and soul, while Poppet uses baroque-era synth-struments and layers her own grand choir to a beat. They arm themselves with a mic, some musical machinery and mad singing chops onstage, birthing intricate, organic live sets alone. 4. Here’s some conventional wisdom: play fewer shows and spread them out, because greater impact, right? Well, every Tuesday night, blues guitarist Michael Ray jams at the Torch Club. He gigs full-time to pay rent, hosts Facebook guitar lessons and is planning another live album for early next year. Hard work pays off, they say: Ray opened for blues legend Robert Cray at the Rogue Theatre in Grant’s Pass, Ore., last week and will for Tommy Castro and Elvin Bishop at the Crest Theatre in March. 5. A Sac indie label launched this year, called Friendship Fever. Co-founders Christopher and Sabrina Watson are banking on over a decade of music biz savvy (and hard-fought friendships) to develop new artists and, more importantly, good music.

—M.Z.

Poetic moments 1. One of the most inspiring displays of local music and culture this year was at October’s young poets of color showcase at Sol Collective. Poet and author Salvin Chahal curated the event, which raised $1,500 and put Sol that much closer to owning the building it has been in for almost 11 years. With a strong focus on singing, creative beat-making and lyricism, voices like Takarra Lee Johnson, Luke Tailor, Deborah Armstrong, Issa Jackson and the Sac Area Youth Speaks slam team showed what it means to turn life experiences into art.

2. Drunk Poetry at Highwater took the last Thursday of every month to a new level. Andru Defeye started the monthly meetups in February and turned every tipsy patron into a poet. During intermissions, Sacramento’s own musical unicorn SpaceWalker brought her interstellar beats to the stage. Her on-the-spot production of original songs not only entertained the crowd, but also pumped folks up to take the stage for themselves. 3. R&B queen Goapele came to Sacramento and sold out two shows at Harlow’s back-to-back for the first time. When she took the stage, she emanated an energy so positive that audience members were dancing and singing together like old friends whether they knew each other or not. The highlight was her first hit, “Closer,” which offered a message still relevant to any person chasing a dream. 4. Some of my favorite Sac artists dropped hot EPs, albums and mixtapes: Zyah Belle’s New Levels, Kolawole Tokeaux’s Influences, Voiice’s Hashtag, Tavis Landry’s Over The Hill and Record Deals from +, formerly known as C Plus. Each of these projects touched on sensitive societal topics and made me proud to be from Sacramento.

—T.D.

Keeping it DIY 1. It was a huge year for a lot of local artists. After releasing a killer but under-supported record, Sister Crayon signed with Warner Bros., returned to Sacramento as Rituals of Mine and re-released Devoted with a big splash. As dream-pop duo Trophii, Lindsey Pavao finally released her longawaited album Vitamins and Flowers. And after four years, Sacramento native and current nomad Scott Ferreter finally released his opus on his father’s death, See You in the Morning Light, under the moniker Deep Pools. 2. Some really rad new acts emerged in 2016, including Destroy Boys and Drug Apts. They earned buzz in Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, respectively, and Drug Apts. singer Whittney Kebschull solidified her place as one of Sacramento’s most enthralling performers. 3. A couple of my favorite debut EPs from this year are Duke Chevalier’s Ace of Swords and Separate Spines’ Voli, two genre-defying, risk-taking albums that feel alive. 4. With Live Nation purchasing Ace of Spades and the end of TBD Fest, it was great to see so many locals keep the scene strong with DIY spirit. Venues like Red Museum and Sol Collective welcomed a wide range of genres and all-ages events, and artists took to more surprising spaces like art galleries, community theaters, breweries, living rooms, porches and churches to put on a show wherever one could happen. 5. No one else is gonna say it? OK, fine. The new arena. Not only are the bookings so far more consistently exciting than what Sleep Train Arena brought—Paul McCartney, Glass Animals, that Kanye West meltdown—but the sound quality is a massive upgrade.

—J.B.

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Transitions Clinic is an Opiate dependence treatment program using Buprenorphine and Suboxone. We now have openings for 100 more patients. If you, or someone you love needs help, call us! 916-452-1068 Transitions Data 2000 WAIVER Doctors: Dr. Neil Flynn MD Lic. #G27631

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