s-2017-02-23

FREE nto’s e m a r c Sa usic m d n u ro underg nger o r t s s i scene een. b r e v e than it’s it fall d l u o c So why nt? e m o m t a ny apart a

IINO S y N O H T

By AN

#1 8

Banishing DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins

#1 7 CASHING IN ON DEPORTATIONS

#8 Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

#24 |

Volume 28, iSSue 45

|

FREAk OUT OVER FRIED CHICKEN

thurSday, FeBruary 23, 2017

|

newSreView.com

BUILDING A

HEALTHY S A C R A M E N T O

Why Can’t Medi-Cal Patients Get Primary Care at UCD? THEA MARIE ROOD

I

n January 2015, UC Davis Medical Center quietly stopped providing primary care to patients insured by Medi-Cal, which covers about one-third of Californians, all of whom are low-income, disabled or elderly.

There are community leaders who believe the time has come for the university to explain — in a public forum — its decision to no longer provide primary care to these patients.

“As a public hospital, UCD should not be turning down public insurance,” says Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a pediatrician whose senate district includes the South Sacramento neighborhoods surrounding the medical center. “If your position is you can’t take Medi-Cal because you can’t afford to, then give the Legislature the opportunity to address that. But if you’re not going to publicly say what the barriers are, you’re telling me you don’t want to see these patients and you don’t want to solve this problem.”

Pan is not alone in questioning the university’s position. “The whole thing is a walking contradiction,” says Amy Williams, a local attorney and UCD law school alumna who sits on the Building Healthy Communities Health Equity Action Team. Williams says the team was first approached in early 2015 by patients, many with chronic disease, who could no longer see their longtime UCD physicians — and then their doctors and medical students started turning up. Their argument: How

are you maintaining your commitment as a teaching hospital if you are restricting students’ exposure to a diverse, medically vulnerable population?

“AS A PUBLIC HOSPITAL, UCD SHOULD NOT BE TURNING DOWN PUBLIC INSURANCE.” Sen. Richard Pan, California state senator and pediatrician

A university spokesman says current MediCal contracts “emphasize the utilization of our specialty care services.” The university reports more than 100,000 Medi-Cal patients were seen in 2016, both as outpatients and as 37 percent of its hospital admissions. This care is described as “access to highly specialized medical equipment, unique surgical procedures and life-saving clinical trials.”

But without access to primary care, patients’ health is being affected, particularly in South Sacramento, UCDMC’s own neighborhood.

Residents, many with limited private transportation, must now find basic care in outlying areas. Failing that, they end up disproportionately in UCDMC’s emergency room with issues like flu or bronchitis, because ERs cannot legally turn away patients based on their insurance.

State Sen. Richard Pan, who represents residents in South Sacramento, has questioned UC Davis Medical Center’s decision to stop providing primary care to Medi-Cal patients.

Photo courtesy Sen. Pan’s office

“That goes to the very heart of the Affordable Care Act,” says Williams, which aims to reduce these unnecessary — and costly — ER visits.

But even critics believe a solution could be brokered if UCD leaders agree to address this issue. “Look, I have a tremendous affection for the university,” says Pan, who was on UCD’s faculty for 12 years. “That’s why so many of us are so passionate.”

Your ZIP code shouldn’t predict how long you’ll live – but it does. Staying healthy requires much more than doctors and diets. Every day, our surroundings and activities affect how long – and how well – we’ll live.

In 2010, The California Endowment launched a 10-year, $1 billion plan to improve the health of 14 challenged communities across the state.

Over the 10 years, residents, communitybased organizations and public institutions will work together to address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges contributing to the poor health of their communities.

#Health4All

Health Happens in Neighborhoods. Health Happens in Schools.

Health Happens with Prevention.

PAID WITH A GRANT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT 2 | SN&R | 02.23.17

BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

www.SacBHC.org

EditoR’S NotE

FEBRUARY 23, 2017 | Vol. 28, iSSUE 45

29 32 Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live.

Interim Editor Robert Speer Associate Editor Raheem F. Hosseini Arts & Culture Editor Rebecca Huval Assistant Editor Anthony Siino Editorial Services Coordinator Karlos Rene Ayala Staff Reporter Scott Thomas Anderson Contributing Editor Rachel Leibrock Contributors Daniel Barnes, Ngaio Bealum, Janelle Bitker, Alastair Bland, Rob Brezsny, Aaron Carnes, Jim Carnes, Willie Clark, Deena Drewis, John Flynn, Joey Garcia, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Dave Kempa, Matt Kramer, Jim Lane, Kel Munger, Kate Paloy, Patti Roberts, Ann Martin Rolke, Shoka, Bev Sykes, Mozes Zarate

34 Design Manager Lindsay Trop Creative Director Serene Lusano Art Director Margaret Larkin Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designer Kyle Shine Marketing/Publications Designer Sarah Hansel Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Darin Bradford, Kevin Cortopassi, Evan Duran, Lucas Fitzgerald, Jon Hermison, Shoka, Lauran Fayne Worthy Sales Coordinator Joanna Graves Senior Advertising Consultants Rosemarie Messina, Olla Swanson, Joy Webber, Kelsi White Advertising Consultants Matt Kjar, Paul McGuinness, Wendy Russell, Manushi Weerasinghe Lead Director of First Impressions & Sales Assistant David Lindsay Director of First Impressions Hannah Williams Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Services Assistant Larry Schubert Distribution Drivers Mansour Aghdam, Andy Barker, Kimberly Bordenkircher, Daniel Bowen, Heather Brinkley, Allen Brown, Mike Cleary, Jack Clifford, Lydia Comer, Rob Dunnica, Chris Fong, Ron Forsberg, Joanna Gonzalez-Brown, Lori Lovell, Greg Meyers,

36 Sam Niver, Gilbert Quilatan, Lloyd Rongley, Lolu Sholotan, Zang Yang N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Kate Gonzales N&R Publications Writer Anne Stokes Senior N&R Publications Consultant Dave Nettles Marketing & Publications Consultant Dan Howells, Steve Caruso President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Executive Coordinator Carlyn Asuncion Director of People & Culture David Stogner Project Coordinator Natasha vonKaenel Director of Dollars & Sense Nicole Jackson Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Dargitz Accounts Receivable Specialist Analie Foland Sweetdeals Specialist/HR Coordinator Courtney DeShields Developer John Bisignano, Jonathan Schultz System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins

05 07 08 17 18 24 27 29 32 34 36 43 49 63

STREETALK LETTERS NEwS + beAtS ScoREKEEpER FEATuRE SToRy ARTS&cuLTuRE NighT&dAy diSh STAgE FiLm muSic ASK joEy ThE 420 15 miNuTES

coVER dESigN By mARgARET LARKiN coVER phoTo By joN hERmiSoN

1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95815 Phone (916) 498-1234 Fax (916) 498-7910 Website www.newsreview.com Got a News Tip? sactonewstips@newsreview.com Calendar Events www.newsreview.com/calendar Want to Advertise? Fax (916) 498-7910 or snradinfo@newsreview.com Classifieds (916) 498-1234, ext. 5 or classifieds@newsreview.com Job Opportunities jobs@newsreview.com Want to Subscribe to SN&R? sactosubs@newsreview.com Editorial Policies: opinions expressed in SN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permissions to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. SN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. email letters to snrletters@newsreview.com. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel.

Advertising Policies: All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. the advertiser and not the newspaper assumes the responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

SN&R is printed at bay Area News Group on recycled newsprint.

Circulation of SN&R is verified by the Circulation Verification Council.

SN&R is a member of Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, CNpA, AAN and AWN.

Enemy of the people I didn’t vote for Sen. John McCain when he ran for president. But I respect him greatly as a man of integrity—now more than ever.

When President Donald Trump tweeted that the “FAKE NEWS media” was not his enemy, “it is the enemy of the American People,” McCain didn’t hesitate to denounce him. “Such talk,” he said on NBC News, is “how dictators get started.”

Then, on Meet the Press, he warned: “When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press.”

Recent and current examples are rife: Erdogan in Turkey, Chavez in Venezuela, Sisi in Egypt, Mugabe in Zimbabwe and, of course, Trump’s good buddy Vladimir Putin in Russia, where, under Joseph Stalin, being branded an “enemy of the people” was a death sentence.

I’m proud to report that my journalistic brethren aren’t running scared. In fact, Trump’s threatened assault on the First Amendment has only added to their determination to let the American people know everything they need to know about Trump and his administration.

As political columnist Leonard Pitts has said, Trump seems not to realize that he no longer possesses the ability to operate unilaterally and in secret.

He’s now a “public servant” who must play by the rules as they are defined in the Constitution and upheld by “socalled” judges. And he has some 324 million bosses who rely on the media to know what he’s doing.

Other Republican senators have joined McCain in speaking truth to the president’s power, among them Lindsay Graham, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. It’s time for others to stand up for the Constitution and freedom of the press.

—RobeRt SpeeR b o b s@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

02.23.17 | SN&R | 3

SOCCER RETURNS SATURDAY MAR.4

KICKOFF 5:30PM

V

BONNEY FIELD $20 STARTING TICKET PRICE

4 | SN&R | 02.23.17

LIVE MUSIC BEFORE THE MATCH

OVER 20 BEER LABELS ON TAP

FREE SABA BIKE VALET

“I don’t care For the negatIve Words and memes.”

aSked at date and MadiSon avenueS outSide of StarbuckS:

Would you ever give up Facebook?

Sar ah JohnSon customer service

I use it too much. My communication with my friends is lacking because of Facebook. I don’t like how dependent I am on finding out information on my friends through it. I don’t reach out to them. I assume they know how to reach out to me. I may think we are all good when we may not be.

toM MuMby agricultural media

I don’t use it personally. An example of usefulness is the situation with the Oroville dam. I was going to ABC News or something like that, and my wife, Terry, was on Facebook where it was all aggregated. She was searching one way and I was doing another. It seems to be perfect for that.

terry MuMby homemaker

Yes, I would just go to Instagram. I get photos and information from our son and keep in touch with people. I don’t care for the negative words and memes.

I don’t like the political stuff.

I do like that I can reach my son and family members, especially since they evacuated him.

ryker varcadoS computer science major

So far Facebook is just [for] fun and networking. It’s a good way to meet potential employers. Would I give up Facebook? Probably not. It’s a great social outlet when I’m bored. I lost touch with people after graduation thinking they fell off the face of the earth; I found out they live in Arkansas.

anthony occhipinti

kiM Le

videographer

salon owner

It is vital in my business.

Being able to share my work with the community and family. I think social media is one of the most important tools. I use it to connect with family. My Facebook business page is mostly used for connecting with people throughout California.

Never. I love Facebook.

I like catching up with friends. This kind of media helps my family in Vietnam … see how I’m doing over here; how my children are doing. It’s a good source of information. My two children are in college.

That is how we connect and I know how they are doing.

Elk E lk Grove Unified School h District is

now Hiring

Teachers, T Te ea Admins, Speech Language Pathologists and School Nurses P Robert L. Trigg Education Center Saturday, March 18th, 2017 Register at www.ConnectWithEGUSD.com Re R

An equal opportunity employer.

Attracting the Best and Brightest in Education

02.23.17 | SN&R | 5

6 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Email lEttErs to sactolEttErs@nEwsrEviEw.com

The luxury of housing

Whose fault is it?

Re “The $100,000 homeless man” by John Flynn and Matt Kramer (SN&R Feature Story, February 16): Nowhere [in this story] was it even considered that any of the homeless people described had any role in their own plight: It was always someone else’s fault. Unless that attitude changes, no amount of government programs or charity will ever eradicate the homelessness problem.

Roland BRady S acr ame nt o

Money misspent?

Re “The $100,000 homeless man” by John Flynn and Matt Kramer (SN&R Feature Story, February 16): Thanks for digging deeper into our local homelessness issue, and please keep going!

The bottom line appears to be: We need real resources and easy-to-access housing. It looks like our new mayor is starting to move in this direction, so we’ll

see how it goes.

As for Sac Steps Forward, I’m not satisfied that the money they receive is being directed to the best places. Collecting data and “referring” homeless to beds that simply are not there is a hamster-wheel-from hell situation. The police, local businesses and neighborhoods continue to be burdened with the results.

K. L. Rogers Sacramento

Re “The $100,000 homeless man” by John Flynn and Matt Kramer (SN&R feature, February 16): It has become illegal to be poor in America. Housing seems to be a luxury of only the wealthy. More and more Americans, even those who are working, are facing the nightmare of becoming homeless.

We lost two people on City Hall grounds during the last major storm because of the lack of places for people to go to get out of the elements. Even though warming centers have been opened, these are not enough.

Not when people’s survival gear (tents, sleeping bags, blankets, etc.) are taken as evidence of illegal camping.

We built an arena but continue to ignore the most vulnerable of our citizens. Many of us will continue to fight the unfair anti-camping ordinance.

“We deserve the right to rest!”

Thank you for sharing this

ONLINE BUZZ

story! We need a paper not afraid to tell the truth!

Suzanne Hastings Sacramento

On The absurd sysTeMs ThaT The hOMeless MusT face:

Media monopolies

When we use half of the funding for homelessness to mitigate the impact of it, we are saying that homelessness is in intractable problem that we must accept instead of solve. It isn’t -- and the solution starts with an emergency declaration of a shelter crisis.

Re “Honesty in the time of Trump” by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, February 9): Jeff vonKaenel’s essay concerning the need for honest media coverage during Trump’s administration was on target.

However, I worry because, unlike the 1960s and 1970s, we now have a handful of media conglomerates owning thousands of newspapers, magazines, TV networks and radio outlets.

I worry, when Sumner Redstone (soon turning 94 years old), the majority owner of CBS and Viacom, etc., passes away, who is waiting in the wings (the Koch brothers?) to buy the company if or when the heirs decide to sell. Worrisome.

Barbara Rohrer Roseville

Shaun dillon v ia Fa c e b o o k It was a very disturbing article, indeed: the city spends 7 million dollars per year “mitigating the effects” of homelessness, and 3/4 of THAT ($5 million) just on policing.

I frankly can’t see the benefit of writing this one homeless guy over 100 citations and fining him $100,000 that he can not pay. Where does that get us for our investment of 5 million dollars? 5 million dollars buys 416 homeless people $1000 per month apartments.

@SacNewsReview

Facebook.com/ SacNewsReview

@SacNewsReview

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

andRew alexiS v ia Fa c e b o o k

“Tower cafe is excited to partner with the sN&R to make it possible to further explore environmental issues that more than ever are effecting our lives.”

t s a f k a e r B

What would you do with an extra $6,000?

FOR

R E N N I D

MON & TuEs NIghTs: Famous French Toast & Madame Christo!

(BAcON & Eggs)

TOwER cAFE

1518 Broadway • Sacramento • 916.441.0222 • towercafe.com

Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • 7 Days a week serving international beer & wine, cocktails & dessert

Tell your friends and family about CA and federal Earned Income Tax Credits!

If you make $14,161 or less, you may be eligible for CalEITC. If you make $53,504 or less, you may be eligible for the federal EITC. You may qualify for free tax return preparation help at: Hiram Johnson High School 6879 14th Ave. Sacramento, CA 95820 To make an appointment, call 2-1-1 or 916-498-1000 For more Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites, visit CalEITC4Me.org 02.23.17 | SN&R | 7

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones collects millions for his department by subletting space at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center to house immigration detainees being processed for deportation.

Photo by lucas fitzgerald

Sanctuary in Sacramento?

President Trump’s deportation agenda pits local Sacramento politicians against their sheriff

by Raheem F. hosseini

an extended version of this story is available at www.newsreview .com/sacramento.

8 | SN&R

Pablo Reyes Morales has been training for the day when immigration agents come to take him.

The 26-year-old Sacramento resident and activist is an undocumented immigrant and “Dreamer” who traveled to the United States as a minor, after his dad lost a good insurance job in Mexico and brought the family here on a tourism visa that ultimately expired.

In that time, Morales has watched immigration agents raid a Florida Wal-Mart under President George W. Bush, learned during a road trip to Los Angeles that undocumented minors like him would be shielded from deportation | 02.23.17

under President Barack Obama, and is now preparing fellow Sacramento immigrants for expanded deportation efforts under President Donald Trump. That means memorizing attorneys’ names, drilling important phone numbers and rehearsing what to say when federal immigration officers try to enter the home or take one of them into custody.

“I am not comfortable in any way,” Morales said. “Every day, every second, anything can happen.”

Such is life under President Donald Trump, whose January 25 executive orders ramping up immigration enforcement are now taking shape. Implementation

r a h e e mh @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

guidelines released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security envision “a mass deportation blueprint,” in the words of Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center.

Here in Sacramento County, local politicians have echoed their statewide counterparts in pledging to obstruct Trump’s immigration crackdown, but they are still figuring out what form those efforts will take. Meanwhile, a philosophical wild card is in their midst, in the form of Sheriff Scott Jones, who supported strict border enforcement as an unsuccessful congressional candidate last

year and whose agency stands to rake in the dough off the Trump administration’s policies.

Since 2000, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has sublet space at its jail facilities to the U.S. government to detain undocumented immigrants being processed for removal. The department’s contract with Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm, also known as ICE, was last renewed in 2013 for approximately $30 million over a five-year term.

Local politicians have declared Sacramento a de facto sanctuary zone for undocumented immigrants who otherwise obey the law, but the Republican sheriff has other ideas. A sheriff’s spokesman referred questions about the contract to ICE, but Jones’ public statements and an SN&R review of booking logs reveal the sheriff remains a strong ally of Trump’s rising immigration force.

After a year of uncertainty over the future of

the sheriff’s relationship with ICE, the two sides appear to be working closely once again.

The last formal update about the ICE contract came a year ago, when the sheriff’s department filed a January 26, 2016, appropriations request with the board of supervisors asking to use $1.7 million from its detainee housing

Evaluating Ethics rEform see nEWs

11

contract to help fund 22 new patrol hires.

The request, attributed to Jones, noted continuing uncertainty about the future of the partnership with ICE. “ICE has indicated that they will withdraw inmates from our facility, but have not given us a timeline for doing so,” the request stated.

While the sheriff’s department then expected a total of $4 million in annual revenue from ICE by the end of that fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2016, the appropriations request stated that ICE hadn’t yet indicated whether it would continue subletting a portion of the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove for its detainees.

That message arrived a month after SN&R reported allegations of deplorable housing conditions in 20 detainee letters obtained by this newspaper. (Read “Detention hell,” News, December 31, 2015.)

The current contract is due to expire next year unless it’s renewed, and neither side is saying whether that will happen.

But the relationship seems to have rebounded since that appropriations request was issued more than a year ago, with the Elk Grove jail seeing an influx of immigration detainees in recent weeks.

Of the 123 detainee transports that occurred through February 14 of this year, 70 (57 percent) happened between February 6-13, when ICE acknowledged performing a five-day enforcement operation that swept up hundreds of foreign nationals around the country, including 161 people across Southern California.

But sheriff’s Sgt. Tony Turnbull says much of the increased activity was due to flooding at the Yuba County Jail, which has its own detention contract with ICE. On February 13, booking records show, 42 detainees were transported from Yuba City, where the county’s jail is located, to RCCC for ICE housing.

“This put our ICE count to 200,” Turnbull wrote in an email on Tuesday.

“Prior to this influx, our population was at 149. The ICE population is now back to 167 as of today due to releases. There are still detainees that will be moved back to Yuba County currently housed with us.”

At a rate of $100 a day per detainee, the sheriff’s department stood to profit handsomely from the weather-caused chaos. unlike the sheriff, local politicians have pledged to stand up to the Trump administration’s indiscriminate crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

When Trump first signed the immigration executive order last month, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg blasted the order as both “an unconscionable threat”

BEgging for clEan WatEr see nEWs

13

sac city district’s ‘malfEasancE’ see nEWs

15

to public safety and as “a cowardly, reckless border agents and erecting a southern border and inhumane act” that the city would wall—estimated to cost $21.6 billion and combat alongside other cities. take years to build—the draft guidelines One of Steinberg’s first moves was to greatly expand who would be prioritized for appoint District 6 Councilman Eric Guerra deportation and how quickly they can be to a new “safe haven” task force that met removed, from convicted felons under the for the first time last week. A district Obama administration to essentially anyone representative, Alejandro Cabrera, said who can’t document their legal right to be the task force is working with numerous in the country. community-based organizations to figure To some extent, a shift in priorities can out how the city should respond to potential already be seen locally. incursions from federal immigration forces, Of the 123 detainees recently brought including a possible lawsuit. to the Elk Grove jail for ICE housing, Cabrera said city officials are SN&R was able to locate additional in contact with the Mexican jail and court records for 19 Consulate and McGeorge who previously resided in School of Law about Sacramento. providing legal Ten had no local “Every day, every representation and criminal history, four second, anything can resources to people spent some time in jail happen.” held for deportation. after misdemeanor This includes preparing vehicle-related Pablo Reyes Morales for when families are convictions, two spent Sacramento activist and inevitably broken up— time in prison for felony undocumented immigrant by asking the consulate convictions, one got jail to help locate relatives that time for a second-degree can take custody of U.S.-born felony back in 2002 and children when their foreign-born two were facing unresolved parents are taken away. misdemeanor charges when they were Cabrera also noted that interim police taken into ICE custody.

Chief Brian Louie has been outspoken in Morales didn’t learn he was saying his officers would not check people’s undocumented until he tried to join the immigration status. But Cabrera also U.S. Navy and a recruitment officer acknowledged that once city police officers in Florida sent the then-teenager away transfer custody over to sheriff’s deputies with a warning. Morales, who attended working at the jail, “they lose all control.” monastery school as a child in Mexico Indeed, the sheriff has rejected the with notions of being a priest, says he notion that Sacramento is a true “sanctuary wanted to enlist as soon as he arrived in county.” In a statement released the day America. It was the Navy commercials Trump inked his immigration order, Jones that swayed him, the ones showing said that, while sheriff’s personnel don’t crisply-attired, squared-away sailors. conduct immigration sweeps or checkpoints, “The commercials were all about the department does honor ICE detainers helping people, and I was all about that,” on undocumented inmates “for tracking and Morales said. statistical purposes,” and allows ICE agents Instead, Morales tried to apply for unfettered access to jail inmates “so they college, but couldn’t afford the international can carry out their mission.” student tuition rates he’d have to pay, so he Immigrant advocacy groups and picked oranges in Florida and peaches and attorneys have long complained that nectarines in the Central Valley until his ICE agents regularly pressure or mislead social activism evolved into a career. noncitizens into signing voluntary It was one early morning in 2012, when deportation orders.

Morales and some friends were driving to Cabrera acknowledged the city had a Los Angeles to protest deportations, that difficult task ahead, in preparing for the he learned Obama was going to approve actions of an unpredictable administration Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, a and a sheriff’s department it has no discretionary category to prevent removal jurisdiction over. “Even the administration proceedings and authorize the employment itself is having a hard time figuring out how of undocumented individuals brought to the to implement its own policies,” he said. country as children. The action officially made Morales a “Dreamer.” that action plan became a little clearer on “What was going to be a protest turned Monday, when Homeland Security released out to be a protest-slash-celebration, two memos that envision a mass deportabecause we knew that wasn’t the last step,” tion dragnet for an estimated 11 million Morales recalled Tuesday. If anything, undocumented.

Morales says, Trump has proven how right Along with hiring 10,000 additional they were. Ω

beatS

safE surrEndEr For months Sacramento police officers have fought the perception that they’re quick to use force over de-escalation tactics, especially when it comes to mentally ill subjects or individuals suffering a crisis. The controversy has repeatedly spilled into City Hall’s chambers since the July shooting of Joseph mann made national news and resulted in a recent $719,000 settlement with the family.

Yet, on Sunday, February 19, the department’s rank and file managed to end two potentially volatile situations with despondent subjects in three hours—without anyone being hurt.

The first incident started around 10:57 a.m., when officers were called to the scene of a man trying to jump off a freeway overpass near Mack Road, according to online daily logs.

According to police, the man was seriously despondent and had climbed to a position where he could drop down into the traffic of Interstate 99. Responding officers implemented a crisis intervention plan as the California Highway Patrol shut down any lanes in danger. Sacramento officers spoke with the man for 30 minutes, logs state, eventually convincing him to climb down and allow them to transport him to a hospital.

Just after 1 p.m. that same afternoon, police converged on the 500 block of 18th Street in Midtown. The department said a man involved in a domestic dispute got agitated and started threatening to harm himself. Law enforcement databanks indicated he had a felony arrest warrant out of Nevada and might have access to a gun.

Rather than confront him, officers on-scene made contact by phone and started the lengthy negotiation process of convincing him to surrender. That happened after several hours, logs indicate.

Once he was taken into custody, the department confirmed no firearm was inside his residence, but did discover live ammunition, a Taser and an unspecified quantity of amphetamines. The man was arrested for his outstanding warrant, possessing the drugs and for being a felon in possession of a Taser and ammunition.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many potentially volatile situations are resolved this quietly, but the department sent a team of representatives to participate in a two-day course in New Orleans on defusing critical incidents back in December.

(Scott Thomas Anderson)

suPEr codErs With the nomination of fossil fuel stooge scott Pruitt to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, environmentalists fear a disintegration of regulation and an obscuring of climate change facts similar to what happened under President George W. Bush.

Back in 2006, a NASA investigation concluded the Bush administration had “reduced, marginalized or mischaracterized climate change science made available to the general public.”

The Trump administration has already wiped out any reference to climate change on the White House’s official website, though much of that information has been archived under a website devoted to the Obama administration.

But more data dumps are feared.

Luckily then, according to Wired, coders at uc Berkeley hacked into 101 public data sets that track the environment on February 11, and snagged the info before the Trump administration could delete or tamper with them. (John Flynn)

02.23.17 | SN&R | 9

F F 0 % 5 7 !

T N ME L L O ENR

7 Exp. 02/28/1

916.442.3927 | www.capitalac.com | Conveniently located at the corner of 8th & P 10 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Reforming City Hall New mayor kick-starts ethics revamp, but watchdog group says it needs sharper teeth

by Cosmo Garvin

An extended version of this story is available at www.newsreview .com/sacramento.

To hear additional interviews with ethics reform advocates, visit https://soundcloud .com/cosmogarvin.

For eight years as Sacramento’s mayor, Kevin Johnson pushed against the boundaries and norms of city government.

Aside from the sexual-harassment accusations against him, he liberally used city resources to bolster his private nonprofit organizations and leveraged his political office to solicit millions of dollars in charitable “behests” for his nonprofits and for his charter schools. And Johnson and his staff used a parallel email network, off of city servers, to avoid public-records requests. He did legal battle with SN&R and the city of Sacramento to keep some of those emails from seeing the light of day.

Now, with Darrell Steinberg in the mayor’s chair, the city may finally move to curb some of the misbehavior that occurred in the Johnson years. The council is expected to consider a set of ethics and transparency reforms in March.

But, after all this time, are the new rules strong enough?

The proposed reforms would, among other provisions, require city email accounts to be used for city work, put an end to the practice of ad hoc council committees that do business behind closed doors, and create a new ethics commission to investigate and take enforcement action against rule breakers.

However, the new rules would also continue to allow unlimited behests and ignore the city’s clean-elections program, which has been unfunded since the last recession.

Paula Lee, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County, which joined good-government group Common Cause in negotiating ethics reform with city officials over the last two years, sees much more good than bad in the reform package.

“We think it can be a model for other cities,” she told SN&R. Craig Powell, president of the local government watchdog group Eye on Sacramento, is less impressed. “I think, frankly, those groups were too quick to grasp a deal, and simply weren’t concerned

enough about enacting real reform,” Powell said.

Eye on Sacramento has its own long list of reforms that it wants to see adopted.

If it can’t muscle them through, the group may try to put a stronger ethics reform measure on the ballot in 2018.

First, he asked for elimination of private ad hoc committees, reasoning that all official meetings should be done in the open.

Next, he proposed rules requiring that city employees use city email accounts to do only city business, or at least have emails dealing with city business be Throughout his tenure as mayor, Johnson copied to city servers. “Man, if we learned was preoccupied with trying to increase nothing else in this country in 2016, about the power and budget of the mayor’s the difference between public and private office. As part of his final strong-mayor email servers, I hope we can adopt this,” bid—Measure L in 2014—he hoped to win Steinberg said. over critics with promises of a He was referring to Democratic new transparency code and presidential nominee Hillary ethics rules.

Clinton, who was plagued Voters still said by accusations of corrupno. But in the aftertion stemming from math of Measure her decision to use L, Eye on private email servers Sacramento and and accounts during the League of her time as U.S. Women Voters secretary of state. began to build But Steinberg Paula Lee support for an could just as easily co-president, League of Women Voters ethics commission have been referring to of Sacramento County with some enforcethe legal mess created ment power, and for by his predecessor’s use reforms of the city’s of private emails. transparency rules.

Steinberg has also proposed At the same time, Johnson that council members provide public and his supporters on the Sacramento notice of any amendments they intend City Council formed an “ad hoc” ethics to introduce before council meetings, for reform committee that, ironically, met the public to be able to review. And he mostly in private. suggested that public-comment letters on Eventually, the city and the commucouncil agenda items be posted online. nity groups began to negotiate with each The different pro-reform groups agree other, though in 2015 there was a schism that Steinberg’s entrance has moved ethics and Eye on Sacramento was sidelined in reform along significantly. talks with the city.

But after two years of foot-dragging, Ultimately, the League and Common Powell says the city is now rushing to Cause also balked at the reforms that the pass a flawed ethics package. He says the city proposed in 2015, which did nothing proposed ethics commission won’t truly be to address behaviors such as private independent because commission members emails, behests and secret meetings. would still be appointed by the mayor and And so ethics reform came to a city council—the very people the commisstandstill for several months. sion is supposed to keep an eye on. The Fast forward to January of this year, group is also proposing that the commiswhen Steinberg kicked ethics reform sion have authority to ask the Sacramento back into gear.

Superior Court to remove corrupt officials.

“We think it can be a model for other cities.”

The ethics reform package makes little effort to deal with the influence of money on Sacramento politics.

For example, one of Steinberg’s proposals would require more timely disclosure of “behests” on behalf of council members, when the person or company giving money has business before the council.

But the new ethics rules would still allow unlimited amounts of money to be given to nonprofits favored by, associated with or even controlled by council members. In this way, anyone looking to curry favor with council members can give far more money than is allowed under local campaign finance rules.

Lee, with the League of Women Voters, said capping behests has been “recommended over and over by the public.” But she said there’s nothing that can be done legally to limit the payments.

The proposed new ethics code also appears to be silent on the issue of blending public resources and private nonprofits, which was common in the Johnson years.

The city council is also reviewing the city’s campaign finance rules, as part of the ethics overhaul. A couple of council members, Jeff Harris and Eric Guerra, asked about the city’s long-neglected “public financing” program, created to help grassroots candidates without access to large quantities of campaign cash.

The council eliminated funding for the program during the budget cutbacks of the last recession.

The city budget has since recovered, but the council has chosen not to restore funding for the program, which conceivably could help underfunded challengers run against incumbents.

The League of Women Voters and Common Cause both support public financing wholeheartedly. But they say it’s not going to happen this time. “The agenda that’s been bitten off has been pretty massive, so we’re not expecting major changes to that ordinance,” said Nicolas Heidorn, of Common Cause.

Lee added that, while the ethics package could go further, the reforms proposed are “really, incredibly remarkable.”

“An independent redistricting commission, a sunshine ordinance, a five-member ethics commission with enforcement power? It’s worth waiting for,” she added.

Powell says it’s worth waiting a little longer for a better reform package.

His group is considering a 2018 ballot measure to ask voters to pass stronger reforms. “We’re coming to a fork in the road here.” Ω

02.23.17 | SN&R | 11

BEST CAR WASH SPECIALS PREMIER WASH 20.99 Full Service Wash including

EXPRESS EXTERIOR WASH ONLY • Priority Lane $ 99 9 * • Avoid Lines

8.00 5.00 1.00 6.00

WITH COUPON

• No Delays

interior vacuum & wipe down Triple Foam Wax Underbody Rust Inhibitor Air Freshener ONLY Sealant

$40.99 VALUE

NORMALLY $13.99

*Expires 03/30/17 • Coupon Code 158

*Expires 03/30/17 • Coupon Code 405

2299*

$

WITH COUPON

1901 L Street • 916.446.0129

(on the corner of 19th and L) •

snrsweetdeals.newsreview.com

s offers gift certificates, gift card ses, and tickets to the best busines ert restaurants, theaters and conc venues in town! check out all deals at:

snrsweetdeals.newsreview.com

Do you have

C H RON IC L OW BAC K PA I N ?

Version 8 Nov 08, 2016

A clinical research study is being conducted for low

SN&R’s

back pain

QUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS MUST: - Be 18-75 years old - Currently be taking high doses of an opioid for low back pain - Have a 3+ months of diagnosis of low back pain

QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS MAY RECEIVE: - Study related medications & examinations at no cost - Compensation for time & travel

12 | SN&R | 02.23.17

beer issue

?

A:

WHAT IS

916.771.6505

AlliedClinical.org

Rent control becomes focus of Sacramento town hall on housing

by Scott thomaS anderSon

on stands march 2

Q:

www.harvscarwash.com

Priced out sc o tta @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

Sacramento may be Northern California’s next battleground for rent control.

During a town hall meeting at the Memorial Auditorium last week, a number of residents told central city Councilman Steve Hansen that the state capital needs rent stabilization before any more people are displaced by rising prices.

The stabilization movement has spawned two showdowns in the Bay Area, after voters in Richmond and Mountain View passed ballot initiatives capping year-to-year rent increases at the rate of inflation.

The California Apartment Association, which represents more than 50,000 landlords, has filed lawsuits against both cities to block the laws from taking effect. The legal challenges are being reviewed.

As San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose have become some of the costliest rental markets in the United States, Sacramento has suddenly experienced its own startling escalation of prices—the nation’s second highest year-to-year increase in 2015 by one estimate, and the highest overall rent growth in 2016 by another.

Hansen told SN&R that it’s clear financial shock and awe from the Bay is cascading into Sacramento’s market, adding that elected leaders need to support the mayor in taking the problem head-on.

“We are seeing more people from the Bay Area moving in, and also hearing about some of our folks having to move down to San Joaquin,” Hansen said during a recent interview. “We have to bring together the people who care most about our housing system and want to do something about accessibility and affordability.”

To get input, Hansen held a town hall meeting with Sacramento Housing Alliance Executive Director Darryl Rutherford. More than a hundred residents looked on as Rutherford cited recent statistics indicating that 50 percent of families in Sacramento County meet the federal classification of “low-income.” According to Rutherford, this reality is reinforced by the county’s lowest-paid renters now spending 62 percent of their wages directly on rent.

Several residents who spoke at the town hall urged District 4’s councilman to consider supporting rent control. While Hansen didn’t offer a concrete position on rent stabilization, he did mention worries about possible unintended consequences.

“That would be really popular in the central city,” Hansen acknowledged of rent control. “But it might cause a lot of important building and economic activity to just move to other parts of the city where developers didn’t have to deal with it.”

That prediction didn’t go over well with downtown resident Jonah Paul, one of the speakers who addressed the town hall. Paul has been hearing more and more of his friends talk about the need for a Sacramento ballot initiative aimed at blocking excessive greed from unraveling the fabric of their community.

“Rent stabilization just means that the increases are reasonable, so landlords can still make a profit, but tenants aren’t getting gouged,” Paul told SN&R after the town hall. “There is a complicated dynamic in Sacramento between escalating prices and tenants feeling vulnerable. … What I heard at the town hall was a lot about the problems with NIMBY-ism, but it’s a little more complicated than that. We’re in a serious quagmire here.” Ω

Dirty drinking Davis and Woodland water systems deemed unsafe

by AlAstAir BlAnd

The report came just days after a While Gov. Jerry Brown promotes his February 8 hearing in Sacramento, where multibillion-dollar vision of two tunnels the state water board listened to tearful to deliver Sacramento River water to testimony from San Joaquin Valley resifarms and cities in Southern California, dents who described drinking off-color communities around the state lack water or foul-smelling tap water, showering clean enough to safely drink. with water carried home in buckets, and Nearly 300 public water systems rationing supplies of bottled water in are currently “out of compliance” with schools for fear of running out. standards on drinking water quality, Celedina Chavez, from Arvin, Kern according to a report published online on February 13 by the state Water Resources County, begged for help. “Our water is not drinkable,” she said. “There’s no Control Board. These systems serve just good water. Please hear us how badly we shy of 700,000 people and in many cases need clean water.” are delivering water containing known State assistance for affected carcinogens at levels exceeding state and communities has been limited. Even federal limits. $260 million in water bond money, “And we know even those numbers to ensure disadvantaged communities are underestimates, because their have clean drinking water, supports newly released data doesn’t include only upfront construction costs, not [such contaminants as] chromium maintenance and operations, 6, 1,2,3-trichloropropane and said Laurel Firestone, the bacterial violations,” said co-executive director of Phoebe Seaton, co-directhe Community Water tor of the Leadership “Please hear us Center, a clean-water Counsel for Justice how badly we need advocacy group and Accountability, clean water.” with offices in a Fresno-based orgaSacramento and nization that focuses Celedina Chavez Visalia. “You can on water quality resident, Arvin, build a treatment issues in the San Kern County plant, but if you can’t Joaquin Valley. Seaton afford to run the plant, added that the report you won’t have clean didn’t include 1.5 million water,” Firestone said.

Californians served by private The Community Water Center and wells and other water systems. the Leadership Counsel have been lobbyOf the state’s 3,327 public water ing the state Legislature to create a public systems, precisely 292, according fund for operation and maintenance of to the report, were found to be in water treatment systems, and lawmakers violation of state and federal drinking are listening. On February 17, state Sen. water standards.

Bill Monning introduced a bill that Among them is Davis, where the would create just such a fund. public water system has three times Polling has shown that most violated the maximum contaminant Californians would be willing to pay to levels for nitrate, a contaminant often improve public access to clean water, associated with livestock waste and Firestone says. “People care, but to get fertilizers. Woodland’s water has also funding for operations and maintenance, tested over the legal nitrate limit. The we need political leadership,” she said. Ω public water systems of Robbins, Rio Vista and Courtland collectively have dozens of violations on record This story was made possible by a grant for exceeding the limit for arsenic, a from Tower Cafe. known carcinogen that often occurs An extended version of this story is available at www.newsreview.com/sacramento. naturally but sometimes can be traced back to agricultural sources.

The New York Times, Associated Press, The Examiner, The Record

Sponsored by:

WELLS FARGO

MAR 7-12 · COMMUNITY CENTER THEATER (9116) 5577-19999 · Grou upss of 12+ (9916) 5557-11998 · BroaddwaaySaacraameento.coom

02.23.17 | SN&R | 13

Complete Pair of

Eyeglasses

1OOoff $

Plus, 2nd Pair FREE*

Sacramento

2563 Fair Oaks Blvd., (Loehmann’s Plaza) 916.480.9985

Auburn

12124 New Airport Rd., (Next to Walgreens) 530.889.9985

SiteforSoreEyes.com *Offer valid on the purchase of frames and lenses. Free second pair of prescription eyeglasses can be chosen from our large special frame selection with single-vision clear plastic lenses. See store for details.

Not combinable with insurance. Some restrictions may apply.

Offer expires 2/28/17.

69 COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAM

$

Eye Exams available by an Independent Doctor of Optometry, conveniently located inside Site for Sore Eyes. Site for Sore Eyes does not employ the optometrist nor do they provide eye exams.

BUY ONLINE

HARDROCKCASINOLAKETAHOE.COM MUST BE 21+

50 HIGHWAY 50 STATELINE, NV 89449

14   |   SN&R   |   02.23.17 JOB #: HRT-9832 AD TITLE: RON STUBBS

844.588.7625 #ROCKTAHOE

For tickets visit sacballet.org or call 916.808.5181 M-Sat 10am-6pm

$15 TICKETS

Community Center Theater

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 | 8 PM

March 24-26/2017

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HYPNOSIS SHOW

:P[L MVY :VYL ,`LZ à ® :HJYHTLU[V 5L^Z HUK 9L]PL^ à ® 1VI à ® 9\UZ! à ® * ¹ _ ¹ à ® ,.* .YV\W

Peter Pan & Viva Vivaldi

RON STUBBS RETURNS

Co-sponsor: Jim Hargrove Co-sponsor: Richard & Ursula Wertz

Photography: Keith Sutter, Design: FUEL Creative Group

million per year on an ongoing basis so as not to dig ourselves any deeper in the hole. That is keeping our current benefits and keeping our commitments to retirees.

We have as many retirees drawing health care benefits as we do current employees.

It was frankly a bit of malfeasance by the previous school boards and previous labor negotiating partners that they never set up a program to start paying for this.

Sacramento City Unified school board president Jay Hansen says the district hasn’t done enough to address its unfunded liabilities.

Photo by jon hermison

Jay’s way School board president sees drama ahead with Trump, looming deficit

by Jeff vonKaenel

Jay Hansen became an appointed trustee of the Sacramento City Unified School District in 2012. Two years later, he campaigned for the position and won.

Today, he is president of the school board, having been chosen by his fellow trustees to lead them.

It’s a big job. The district faces serious economic challenges even as it’s charting new directions and hiring a new superintendent. SN&R President and CEO Jeff vonKaenel recently interviewed Hansen and discovered that he doesn’t mince words when it comes to those challenges.

(Editor’s note: The interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

An extended version of this story is available at www .newsreview.com/ sacramento.

How is the district doing?

We’re in a really interesting place now.

We’re trying to figure out ways to make Sacramento’s schools more of a destination district than in the past. That means creating educational programs that are enticing and exciting for students and parents.

I just created an academic ad hoc committee to examine what kind of school programs we have—what kinds of civics programs at which schools, and what kinds of technical-education programs at which schools. Some people don’t realize that

j e ffv @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

two-thirds of students aren’t going to get a four-year college degree.

The question for us is: How can we help those students be successful when they graduate from high school? What else can we help them prepare for—trade schools, the military, the construction industry—so they are ready to start a career right out of high school.

District finances seem fairly bleak, in terms of increased pension and health insurance costs. At November’s board meeting, the prediction was for a $22 million deficit in 2018.

We have some really serious challenges.

We have to be straightforward about the obligations made in the past. Previous school boards and negotiating teams frankly weren’t very good to their future employees.

We have a gigantic unpaid and unfunded health care liability; the district estimates the cost at about $620 million over time, and we barely have started putting money aside for that. We are up to about $15 million a year, but at least it’s something. We need to do a lot more.

How much, $30 million?

We would need to contribute about $20

How are you proposing to fix that hole?

We haven’t even had the conversation.

There has been no recognition that there is even an issue, and that’s malfeasance in itself. Some people don’t want to deal with it because they don’t want it to affect current negotiations—salary raises and whatever else people would like to have.

So they pretend that magically this money is going to appear in the future.

In addition, the pension increases the state has obligated us to pay are going to triple in the next three or four years.

Those are fixed costs that we can’t do anything about, so we have to budget for that as well.

Our total budget, including federal money, is about $550 million a year.

We’ve never gone out to a competitive bid for our health care products; that’s crazy, too. We’ve got to do that. We could save $4 million to $6 million a year if we did that, and then we can plow that money back into retiree benefits.

Why do the district and the teachers’ union have such an antagonistic relationship?

It makes no sense to me. I worked in the labor movement for 10 years as a labor representative for the construction unions, the AFL-CIO, and you can absolutely have good relationships with management. Here, it seems like it’s the Hatfields and McCoys. No one knows how to put it behind us and try to hit the reset button.

We have plenty of drama ahead of us with the Trump administration, and if we’re fighting each other we are not going to be able to work to be unified against some real serious problems.

Your superintendent, José Banda, has said he won’t seek renewal of his contract when it expires this year. Sacramento has had six superintendents since 2008. Why so many?

It’s a sad fact that the average superintendent in California stays three and onehalf years. The cause is a dual failure by the board and the superintendent.

From the board, lack of clear direction and involvement, changing priorities, hiring “saviors” from across the country instead of locally or internally.

Frequent elections and viewing elected school board positions as “stepping

stones” are a big culprit when it comes to driving out superintendents.

I also fault the all-too-common attitude of superintendents that boards are more of a nuisance than a partner, to be kept in the dark when things go wrong and their involvement in daily operations is to be minimized. That does not endear board members to their superintendents.

Let’s talk about charter schools. The Trump administration is pushing for more of them. How do you see that evolving for your district?

We have a mixture of public and private charter schools. Private charters are completely separate from the school district personnel-wise, even though they are funded through our district. Employees at public charters work for the district.

Both types can be successful, and I support parents’ right to choose whatever they think is best for them.

I believe, however, that our public schools can be the best schools, and I want to make our district the destination district by creating great academic programs that can out-compete any private charter school.

One area you have focused on is food— farm-to-fork, providing healthful food.

Talk a little about that.

Sacramento is so well positioned for the farm-to-fork movement. We have school farms at many different schools. We’re also building a central kitchen, and our central kitchen task force has been meeting regularly, helping to usher this project through the bureaucracy.

The kitchen will enable us to make food in one central place every day. We can partner with local farms, have students in there learning everything from food preparation and cooking to the business side of it. And we will be able to send fresh food to our schools every single day, so our school cafeterias aren’t just opening up plastic packages and reheating food.

They are serving good, fresh food.

How do you think President Donald Trump is going to affect your job?

Certainly we are worried about cuts in funding and any directives that tie our hands. We’re worried because we have a state with a lot of immigrants that people are going to be discriminating against.

We took one early step by passing a resolution that made sure that everyone knows we are a safe-haven district, where we are not going to be a part of the enforcement of immigration laws.

Our job is to educate every student who lives in our boundaries and assure that they can have a safe and productive education in Sacramento. Ω

02.23.17 | SN&R | 15

!

ED

S W U H O T I N W S Y I T LA C

P E OM

CHECK OUT OUR ROCKIN’ PACKAGES! Ski Packages include Lift Tickets to Heavenly, Kirkwood, Squaw and more!

HardRockCasinoLakeTahoe.com

50 HIGHWAY 50 STATELINE, NV 89449

16 | SN&R | 02.23.17

844.588.7625 #ROCKTAHOE

econo lube n’ tune & brakes

’S mento SacraerS and winn S—with loSer ry pointS ra arbit

We offer complete automotive service & repairs LubE, OiL & FiLtEr

16

$ hn by jo

f

lynn

98

$3 addition for multi-grade oil. Good at Fulton location only. Most vehicles savings of $6. $2 Disposal fee.

brAkE SPEciAL

$

30 off fREE Call for details. Good at Fulton location only.

chEck EnginE Light ScAn* *Most vehicles

1700 Fulton at Arden Way, Sacramento • 481-1192 Mon-Sat 8-6 • Sun 9-4 • www.ardeneconolube.com • EXP 3/8/17

Boogie Banished

Your Downtown Service Shop SMOG CHECK

Despite being within sniffing distance of the playoffs, the Sacramento Kings traded dynamic, three-time all-star deMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans for draft picks, unproven rookie Buddy Hield, proven bust Tyreke Evans, Smoothie King coupons and two bead necklaces. Perhaps the often cantankerous center would never have led Sacramento to title contention, but Boogie made tuning into games worth it even when the team stunk. Why should fans watch now?

3175

$

(reg $49.75) most cars.

Call for details. Same day.

Fast In/Out

- 15

2699

$

Call for details.

916 554-6471 2000 16th St Sacramento M-F 7:30-5:30 Sat 8-4 sacsmog.com

photo illuStration by Serene erene luSano

oBServe and retort

SingLe-pLayer State

At what age is dress-up no longer cute? On February 18, police arrested Joseph Cermak, 46, of Sacramento, for allegedly trying to pass himself off as a federal marshal, complete with a replica badge, handcuffs, baton and imitation uniform, including a vest with the agency’s insignia on it. How was the fugazi discovered? “As circumstance would have it, the suspect in this case was observed by an actual US Federal Marshall,” police spokesman Officer Matthew McPhail wrote in an email.

“Sometimes fate has a sense of humor.” The real marshal confronted the fake one, then called police to their Natomas location, McPhail said. Cermak was arrested for impersonating an officer and for being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon.

On February 17, state Sen. Ricardo Lara proposed a single-payer system for California in the face of Republicans’ plan to recklessly repeal (without replacement) the Affordable Care Act. The bill would allow the state to negotiate with health care providers on everything from prescriptions to treatments. Perhaps, finally, in the richest state, in the richest country in the world, being healthy will no longer be a luxury.

- 46

$60 EMISSIONS DIAGNOSTIC w/repairs at time of service. (reg $120) most cars.

For renewal reg. only.

Call for details.

Use your smart phone QR reader for more specials

+ 2,017

Box out

Live Like a refugee

On February 17, Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty introduced a bill that, expanding on a Sacramento city ordinance, removes the box on job applications asking if a prospective employee has been convicted of a crime. The box has long disqualified former convicts trying to go straight. Here’s hoping this ends the cruel and unusual treatment of those seeking to reform their ways.

Hashmat Amin served as a combat translator for u.S. forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. That service

+ 17

OIL

CHANGE

put his family in danger, including his 3-year-old son and a 5-month-old daughter. After several years navigating the refugee vetting process, his family won approval and emigrated to Granite Bay, where Michael Seagraves heard about their story through his church and started an online fundraiser to welcome his new neighbors.

So far, community members have raised more than $2,000 and donated a van through www.gofundme.com/ refugee-family-support. Take that, Trump.

+ 2,000

02.23.17 | SN&R | 17

S e g A r l l A , S e g A Allground m r e d n u ’s to n e m a r Sac

n it ’s eve a th r e g n o tr s is e n usic sce

r b ee n .

t? n e m o m y n a t a t r ll a p a fa it ld u o c y h w o S m on ys @n ew sre vie w. co

by An th on y Sii no | an th

S

o sucks. a c r a m e n tnarra tive drilled into

Young metalheads revel in the power of the riff at the n Colony.

Photo by Jon her miso

18 | SN&R | 02.23.17

That’s the eternal in from a young age. every area native’s bra ing, you’re doing If you’re not out drink e to, no underage kids to danc nothing. No music for en with Ev . ng thi no discover, no cool hangout spots to is a us arena, the most it gets that new, world-class Kanye West. es reputation for breaking it’s died a thousand tim as s, die ry sto That old rewa nto me er night in a Sacra h before, on a cold Octob hig ks— fol g vin group of art-lo house, where a small thga rs— ole ho -sc old oolers to schoolers to grad sch and rtised evening of music ve ad ely gu va a for ers uman “h d an s” ing dd th “live we performance, along wi eted sacrifice.” front of a stage, it’s gre As the crowd settles in in ls ge an lt cu oc be to at appear red by a procession of wh in ing ssionless masks, writh white linen and expre e obscured black robes, his visag in est underlights. A pri motions rd, oa db car on e painted by a crude smiley fac otically pn hy als. Angels gesture through unsettling ritu rd in wa for m the ll dience and pu to members of the au er, flick eth tog m the nd sta y n the pairs and trios, and the s and offer ter, bop their forehead wa red tte gli th wi m the y that just on em cer ing the wedd them a paper certifying ntaneous spo camera captures the took place. A Polaroid er newlyweds’ bliss. ddings concludes, anoth After the throng of we stiff of sk ma a black suit and a n priest, this one wearing ma wo a : ng eri ge a new off burlap, brings to the sta pictures. red in fresh Polaroid ve co d an re wi in wrapped seen un an to fore offering her r with He makes her kneel be he ing ack wh by ge’s floor) abyss (a hole in the sta a selfie stick. st, it did e dies with her. At lea That constant narrativ for the ed liz rea o wh m roo in that of a for every underage kid rt pa be at least one place to first time that there’s uire an ID. scene that doesn’t req

There’s a reason why the idea that it sucks to be a kid in Sacramento keeps coming back. It’s practically instilled here at birth. Everybody learns it early when they realize that nearly every great venue on the grid is a bar, effectively locking out the underage folks. And when it comes to the suburbs, it’s even harder to find a sanctioned, regulated and legal spot to make yourself a part of the scene.

Despair not, however. Thanks to the strenuous effort of a dedicated few age-conscious groups and venue owners about town, Sacramento’s next generation of artists is finding its footing in places like Cafe Colonial, the Colony, Sol Collective and more. But can the fragile infrastructure last?

GivinG youth a complex On any given night, Cafe Colonial bustles with energy.

Patrons huddle around the half-circle bar to order Pabst Blue Ribbon on draft as others try to find an open table in the crowded front room. Tables opposite the bar hold TVs connected to N64s and Playstation 2s ready for anybody itching for a run on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. On the freshly mounted wood paneling on the backing wall hang paintings and photographs made by community artists, arresting and transgressive in the audacious colors and bold images of nudity, death, joy and life.

In the small back room, a hand-built wooden stage chews up about a third of the floor space. Touring black metal bands, high school punks, singer-songwriters with their acoustic guitars and noise musicians with their theremins and racks of effect pedals all get their time to shine here.

Next door, to the right, you have the Colony, a barren room with concrete floors and Sheetrock walls bursting with vividly textured graffiti. It’s much more compact and threadbare, and all the more intimate for it. It gives off the same feeling as a punk house’s basement, except with the added benefit of a much more accessible toilet and the approval of the fire marshal. The lone ceiling fan provides a faint blessing when the crust punks huddle together inside on hot summer days.

As it stands, these adjacent venues, colloquially called “the Colonial Complex” (or, among the smarmier types, “the Colon Complex”), deserve much of the credit for serving as the backbone of all-ages music in Sacramento.

For a bit more than four years running, the venues on Stockton Boulevard in Oak Park have served as the homes of all-ages anything and everything. Without the complex giving young bands a place to get off the ground, you wouldn’t have Death Rogen’s short-lived underage punk insanity of kicked-over drum kits and vicious moshpits along with the small horde of energetic high schoolers that made up their instantly recognizable fanbase. Without the complex, the much-beloved Destroy Boys wouldn’t be getting mentioned in the same paragraph as Green Day in the pages of Rolling Stone.

Matthew Marrujo, the owner-operator of the venues (but not the nearby Colonial Theatre, it should be noted), puts access on a pedestal, in both allowing pretty much anybody to book whatever sort of show and in ensuring that anyone who wants to see anything can be there for it.

“My main goal is to make sure that everyone who comes out has a good time,” Marrujo says. “If they don’t, then I gotta think about why. I just want everyone to have fun. If they’re working, they’re having a good time; the staff, or the performers, and the people that come to see the show, have a good time.”

It’s obvious that Marrujo’s not in it for the money, primarily because there really isn’t any to be made in a venue that doesn’t sell hard alcohol and allows most, if not all, of the proceeds from the door to go to bookers and performers. And even that isn’t much, either, when covers frequently run a paltry $5-$15 per show, often on pay-what-you-can sliding scales.

Even when there is a windfall, it goes back into the venues, with repeated upgrades to sound systems and a recent interior redesign refining the DIY aesthetic.

an all-aGes pioneer Marrujo got his start booking shows and providing a spot for self-expression as part of the Wherehouse, an underground venue in, well, a warehouse in south Sacramento.

When a chance opened up to get into the space that became the Colony, he jumped on it, and taking over and revitalizing the old Cafe Colonial followed soon after.

In its time, the Marrujo-led Colonial Complex secured its place in Sacramento history as one of the most open venues around. Radically inclusive, outsider-loving and strikingly successful events such as LadyFest and NoiseFest call the complex home, and it even recently hosted a fest filled strictly with underage performers, fittingly called UnderRAGE. “He’s the pioneer of all-ages venues right now,” says Richard Mathews, of First Unit Sacramento, a booking company that started mid-2016 and is only gaining more and more speed with its constant flurry of all-ages show announcements. As of last week, First Unit had 24 shows that stretch deep into 2017 either booked or being booked at the complex.

Matthews’ relationship with Marrujo goes back to those Wherehouse days, and Mathews himself had a run at booking his own warehouse when he and Tommy Catano put together ABlazin Spot in Rancho Cordova last year. The Spot brought hip-hop, rap, hardcore, metal, comedy and more to the suburbs for an all-ages audience after shows started getting booked there around May 2016. The 5,000-square-foot warehouse had it all: a hand-built stage, professional audio equipment, licensed security guards, a ready and willing audience, and shows booked out to November.

“We were pretty organized for just throwing shit together,” Catano says.

The only thing the space lacked was a permit. One day, a call from the landlord saying that police were getting interested put the nix on operations.

“We probably threw close to 20 shows,” Catano says of the final record after the place got shut down. That’s not bad for being only a month and a half in.”

Catano’s got plans to get things kicking again soon, he says—and with permits this time. Until then, if a similar show happens at all, it often goes back to the Colonial Complex (and a few other warehouses and residential homes that won’t be named here). But currently, it’s no secret to bookers that, no matter how great the complex is, it’s still not enough.

nowhere to play Juan Nuñez knows all about the difficulties of trying to participate in Sacramento’s scenes when you’re underage.

A lover of hardcore and extreme metal, particularly of explosively nasty grindcore, he’d lived in the city for

Destroy Boys play an acoustic set during a fundraiser for Girls Rock Sacramento at Cafe Colonial.

Ph oto BY AD AM EM EL Io

about three years before recently turning 21—a critical development, considering that most of the shows he wanted to see were at bars he couldn’t enter.

“When I first moved to Sacramento, I used to see a lot of fliers of events I really, really like,” he says. “But I felt left out.”

Even though he’s got the ID now, Nuñez is determined to spare his peers from the same alienation. He and two of his friends started El Crusty Cristo Bookings to make their own all-ages contributions to the community, especially in the field of grindcore, a subgenre that focuses on speed and aggression so obsessively that just listening to it feels like withstanding a physical attack.

Zack Samford and Michael Whittaker, the other twothirds of El Crusty Cristo’s unholy trinity, play in bands like the Jim Kelly Kung Fu Orchestra and Kisama. They, unlike Nuñez, are still underage, adding extra urgency to their inclusionary efforts.

The group has been rather successful so far—profitability aside—pulling bands from as far as Italy and Guadalajara, Mexico (Nuñez’s hometown). Despite having booked a total number of shows just shy of double digits, the trio has already organized 420+2 Fest, a 10-band massacre of grind, hardcore and powerviolence at Cafe Colonial and the Colony in April.

Even if Sacramento has only one or two grindcore-ish bands right now, the passion of El Crusty Cristo is yet finding ways to feed the clearly hungry masses.

“ALL-AGES, ALL-RAGES”

c ont in ue d on pa ge 2 0

02.23.17 | SN&R | 19

“ALL-AGES, ALL-RAGES”

cont inued from page 19 Matt Marrujo stands before a mural in Cafe Colonial, one half of his allages empire.

“Take the Boardwalk, for example,” Lemos says.

“They’re going 21-and-up now, right? In Orangevale, in the suburbs, where there’s nothing else to do. There’s gonna be so many kids that are looking for something to do, and there’s not something to fill that void, so they’re going to, like, turn to drugs and that shit, you know? Kids need to have something positive—whether you think going to a black metal show that’s all-ages is a positive thing or not, that’s up to you.”

Thankfully, the folks that used to book the Boardwalk, Eric Rushing and Bret Bair of Ace of Spades fame, are set to open a new all-ages venue somewhere in the suburbs next year, fittingly called Holy Dive Bar. (If you’ve been down too long in the midnight sea, you’ll get the name.)

But, even as new venues rise up to replace old ones, will that be enough to spread all-ages culture?

Buried history

he rm iso n Ph oto by Jo n

“I know it’s not going to pay out, and I’m fine with that,” Nuñez says. “As long as the shows are happening, that’s all that matters.”

The biggest thing holding the crew back is the fact that the Colonial Complex is just about the only (legally sanctioned) all-ages place that will touch this sort of vicious music.

Starlite Lounge, perhaps the best place in town to book an extreme metal bill, can’t host an all-ages show since it serves hard liquor, and while places like Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub or Ace of Spades can host all-ages shows, multiple restrictions—cost, having to start early to be done before “bar hours,” etc.—make them reasonable options only on rare occasions. And when it comes to genres like grindcore, don’t even start to suggest cafes or other similar nooks that still put on shows, because even if it happens once, it sure as hell won’t happen a second time. (Ask Death Rogen members why they can’t hold their reunion show at Naked Lounge.)

In short, while there are many all-ages places in name, few can actually support the diversity of scenes that keep bubbling up in Sacramento.

“The problem is that we don’t have no access to them or it’s too expensive to book in those venues,” Nuñez says.

And for as much as the Colonial Complex offers, there’s only so much that can happen there, as attested to by Chris Lemos, booker at Starlite and a longtime contributor to Sacramento’s all-ages scene. His booking company, Atlantean Collective, often finds opportunities to break out of his main venue and put on an all-ages band with touring acts at the complex—but there’s a reason most of the shows stay at Starlite, and it’s not only because he works there.

20 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Teens gather at Cafe Colonial to hear an acoustic set from Destroy Boys.

Ph oto by ADAm em eLi o

“It sucks because I love this place, I love the Cafe, the Colony, but a lot of times bands have certain requirements, like greenrooms and big PA systems and miking the whole band and shit like that,” Lemos says. “There aren’t any all-ages places in Sac that do that, besides Ace of Spades. Sound is the big one that bands will not be stoked on, which sucks, because this place rules and kids need to be able to go to shows.”

And even as the Colonial Complex continues to serve as one constant safe harbor for youth interested in fringe subcultures, some of the places that used to cater to underage audiences are drying up.

As all-ages venues come and go, a look to the past holds answers for the future.

The Sacramento music scene has a long history of keeping the kids down, and it also has a history of those same kids rising up in glorious resistance. William Burg, local writer and historian, could tell tales forever about the trials and tribulations of live music in the city, mostly because he’s lived a good portion of it.

As both a promoter of NorCal NoiseFest—the nation’s longest-running fest dedicated to exhibiting some of the most extreme, ear-warping music—and as a former resident of Casa de Chaos, one of the city’s most prominent punk houses, he’s had firsthand experience with the forces at work. He’s spent much of his time researching and publishing books analyzing and chronicling the fights that shape our music culture today.

The struggles reach back to the 1960s, with Sheriff John Misterly’s infamously overzealous disdain for hippies and drug culture, leading to constant pressure on coffee shops, rock festivals and teen centers. Tensions relaxed a bit once Misterly left in the early ’70s, but even as the city allowed more live music, the hated “dance permits” throttled more than a few cultural scenes, according to Burg’s book, Midtown Sacramento: Creative Soul of the City.

The permits set archaic rules for live entertainment venues and were only selectively applied by the time classic all-ages venues like Club Minimal in Curtis Park came into existence in the early ’80s. As such, they were often used as flimsy excuses to allow police interference in otherwise legal scenes.

The permit issue came to a head when Club Minimal’s promoter Stewart Katz organized a punk protest march on City Hall on July 29, 1983, resulting in a nearly immediate issuance of a permit to the venue but not much else.

Eventually, police snooping dogged Club Minimal out of existence anyway, a prime example of what led to the development of permit-free underground spaces like punk houses and warehouse venues.

In the ’90s, new venues such as the original Capitol Garage kept the fire burning above ground. As for below, spots like the Loft created a place for those on the outside of the outsiders. Scott Soriano, currently the owneroperator of S.S. Records and Sol Re Sol Records, started booking shows there around 1991 and played an integral part in managing the all-ages space.

Photo by Jon herm ison

“All-Ages is All Ages. it’s not just for the youth.”

Salvin Chahal

creative director, Sol Co

llective

Salvin Chahal, creative director at Sol Collective, serves his community with an open heart and a smile.

“We wanted people to have a place to play; if there’s a scarcity of space, which there sometimes is on a bill, we’re going to give it to people who didn’t have a chance to get it elsewhere,” Soriano says.

The Loft, situated above and to the back of Time Tested Books, on 21st Street, never applied for any permits, a conscious choice by the management, as they “knew it was impossible to get any kind of permits,” he says. So they policed themselves and kept the profile low until, perhaps inevitably, cops starting paying more attention, bringing about the space’s self-determined demise around 2001.

After what many local music enthusiasts call a lull over the last nearly two decades, the scene has been on a hot streak in the last three or so years, depending on whom you ask. Many of the all-ages developments have to do with the Colonial Complex, but the work done

“All-Ages, All-rAges”

c ont in ue d on pa ge 2 3

02.23.17 | SN&R | 21

Mold Study Raises Concern for Some Cannabis Users

Findings illustrate why immune-compromised patients may want to seek alternatives to smoking

by Michelle Carl

U

C Davis researchers have found bacteria and fungi in medical marijuana samples from Northern California. But local cannabis experts say healthy smokers need not panic — it’s the smokers with weakened immune systems that may want to find another way to use marijuana.

The study, announced earlier this month, revealed that 20 samples of cannabis from Northern California dispensaries tested positive for bacteria and mold. The pathogens can lead to potentially fatal lung infections in patients with weakened immune systems, prompting the researchers to urge these patients not to smoke, vape or inhale aerosolized cannabis.

Betsy Gribble, acting quality manager with Sequoia Analytical Labs, a marijuana testing firm in Sacramento, says these findings weren’t surprising.

“If you’re immune compromised, you shouldn’t be smoking,” she says. “There are so many things you can get into your lungs, and it’s so bad.”

Microbes – tiny living organisms such as mold and bacteria – are all around us. They can grow on cannabis flower (or any soil-born plant for that matter) and are often spread by improperly handling the bud. But when these microbes get in the lungs of people with immunodeficiency disorders from things like leukemia, AIDS or cancer treatments, that’s cause for concern.

When it comes to ensuring the purity of medicinal cannabis and products, Gribble says the current atmosphere is “buyer beware.” It’s cost-prohibitive for dispensaries to test everything on their shelves (it runs around $200 for Sequoia to test one product), although some dispensaries voluntarily do so.

“If you’re immune compromised, you shouldn’t be smoking.”

Betsy Gribble, acting quality manager, Sequoia Analytical Labs Gribble suggests patients with medical concerns start by asking dispensaries to do “full-panel” tests of their flower.

But if you’d rather skip smoking altogether, budtenders like David Isaacson at Two Rivers have options.

“We recommend tinctures, which are concentrated sublingual drops you place under the tongue,” he says. “It’s the best way to medicate without having to inhale.”

Chemists at Sequoia Analytical Labs in Sacramento test marijuana samples for potency, contaminants, pesticides and microorganisms, like mold or bacteria. Photo by Anne Stokes

Beyond tinctures, cannabis lotions, sprays and edibles are other alternatives. While the UC Davis researchers don’t completely vouch for edibles, they did say they believe they are a safer option because the heat involved in cooking most likely kills any microorganism.

Isaacson adds that while none of his customers have mentioned this study, patients should feel comfortable sharing their health concerns with a budtender.

COLLECTIVES CARING FOR THE COMMUNITY.

“We operate under HIPAA rules, so it’s confidential. [My patients] can confide medical needs to me and expect me, as a budtender, to be able to help them and provide the best possible medicine,” he says.

Sponsored by:

For more info:

www.Collective-Giving.com

PA I D A DV E RT I SE M E N T 100% ORGANIC

CC101

TETRA HEALTH CENTERS

22 | SN&R | 02.23.17

420MD

THC

“ALL-AGES, ALL-RAGES”

cont inued from page 21

at venues such as Starlite, Ace of Spades, Press Club, Midtown Barfly, Sol Collective, Blue Lamp, Torch Club, Old Ironsides, Harlows and now even Goldfield Trading Post can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.

So if we’re in such a golden age, how does Sacramento keep it going?

As with most issues in life, the problem with building a sustainable, all-ages scene in Sacramento boils down to one component: money.

“You can’t foster an all-ages scene in a bar,” Lemos says. “But it’s hard to make money on the music scene if you’re not selling alcohol of some type.”

Every booker, band member and venue owner interviewed for this story came to the same conclusion: Without booze, there’s no money. Without money, there’s no scene.

But without the kids, there’s no life.

Drew Walker, longtime local event organizer, is deeply connected with all-ages scenes, having spent time booking shows with Jerry Perry at Luigi’s Fun Garden.

Walker played a role in the venues Bows & Arrows and Witch Room. His take? The city needs to step up and support the arts.

“We need to see fewer restrictions on venues in the city limits so the youth culture can express themselves,” Walker says.

Burg agrees and proposes that the city recognize the value of “low-return” investments in culture, through supporting bookstores, venues and other enterprises that brighten life but have a hard time turning a profit. And while big infrastructure projects are nice, they won’t help the less wealthy people of the city, and they won’t inspire regional art.

“There’s kind of this assumption that the arena will take care of it, but local bands won’t play there,” Burg says.

Until the day city policies change, it’s up to private residents such as Marrujo to keep the door open for the youth. It’s fortunate, then, that the Colonial Complex isn’t the only place in town.

InspIrIng change A young man stands outside of Sol Collective in December’s 50-degree weather, his eyes cast down as he counts out an invisible tempo. His fingers stand at the ready on his trumpet, lightly twitching in confident strokes. It’s hard to tell if he’s on his own beat or if the music bleeding out from the wall behind guides him as he blasts out short notes.

Inside, performers radiate gratitude as they get the crowd swaying with their homegrown beats. Hobo Johnson can’t keep a smile from his face as he spits bars behind his keyboard; Dre-T praises Sol Collective and its musician collective, Sol Life, for giving him the tools and the support needed to be on the stage before rapping a tribute to his young daughter. Without this space, without this support, these artists and countless others wouldn’t have gotten the chance to express themselves, to see and to be seen.

Between sets, Andru Defeye, the leader of the arts collective Zero Forbidden Goals, blesses the audience for their support—after all, tonight’s one of many fundraisers held to help Sol Collective purchase their building on 21st Street off of Broadway. Then he kicks into high-flying

“I know It’S not GoInG to pAy out, And I’m fInE wIth thAt. AS LonG AS thE ShowS ARE hAppEnInG, thAt’S ALL thAt mAttERS.” Juan nuñez booker, el crusty cristo Bookings

spoken-word poetry, and when he finishes, another voice with new verses fires out from the crowd—full of young and old alike, a visual demonstration of our city’s diversity—and then another voice, and another, snapping off words of determination, of resilience, of liberation that ring from without and from within.

The vibe pulses so viscerally that it’s enough to make Old City Cemetery across the road feel alive.

Salvin Chahal, the collective’s creative director, is one of the poets shocking the audience with his passionate words of resistance and hope. Tonight, he’s keeping things moving, both with his art and with his quick work serving tacos and bottles of water behind a makeshift counter.

The show is just one of many all-ages performances that Sol Collective’s been hosting for more than a decade, and Chahal is an integral part of selecting the performers. He works not only to help book the shows, but also to provide the infrastructure needed to get onstage in the first place: connecting artists with the resources provided by the space, such as the in-house recording studio; making connections between venues, promoters and performers; and linking up artists to join the Sol Life musical collective, which provides a platform for marketing, production, distribution and more.

Chahal’s work is but part of the space’s multifaceted approach to community building that’s been employed since Sol Collective opened in 2005. Art workshops and exhibitions, traditional healing seminars, poetry nights, lessons in activism and history—the collective’s mission is to provide a space for whatever expertise a member of the community is willing to share, and a space for anyone to come and take it in.

That approach means that, despite being an all-ages community center, it isn’t a place where kids are running around with free rein all the time, Chahal says. There’s a purpose to everything hosted, whether that’s restorative, educational or inspirational, and that’s the only way to build sustainable, leaderless movements, by diversifying and allowing young and old to mingle and to pass along cherished knowledge and skills.

That all-ages aspect still remains perhaps more significant for the youth, though. Chahal himself started coming in about five years ago, when he was around 18 years old, with his spoken-word poetry team, and after a year of seeing what Sol Collective offered, it finally clicked, he says. Now 22, he’s published a book of poetry called Verses from Above, helped organize art exhibitions and poetry showcases for artists of color and taken part in getting Sol Life its own showcase at 2015’s South By Southwest.

“The mere existence of this place inspires change,” Chahal says.

On the night of the fundraiser, PRVLGS rips into psychedelic funk jams as the Philharmonik lays down twisting, soul-infused verses. The trumpet player is inside now, leaning on a wall and tossing in infrequent notes as he figures out the melody. Soon enough he’s onstage, leaning back to blow his horn as the crowd leans forward to hear him. By the time the next song rolls around, they’ve got him miked. As the set ends, people start figuring out that he was never part of the band in the first place—but considering how he played, he might as well have been. The space was made for him, and he contributed beautiful art in return.

“All-ages is all ages,” Chahal says. “It’s not just for the youth.” Ω

02.23.17 | SN&R | 23

Photo by shoka

The of a

by Rebecca Huval rebeccah@newsreview.com

N’Gina Kavookjian— co-owner of the Southside Park restaurant South— was taken aback the first time she saw a portobello sandwich in the ’90s. Well, those aren’t her exact words.

N’Gina Kavookjian puts her fine arts degree to use in selecting eye-catching artwork to decorate her retaurant, South.

24 | SN&R | 02.23.17

“I totally freaked the fuck out,” she says. “I was like, ‘Whaaat? You can put a mushroom on a sandwich and it’s not a burger?’”

New to certain styles of California cuisine, Kavookjian witnessed the portobello sandwich on the original menu at Cafe Bernardo in Davis, where she worked as a busser on the restaurant’s opening crew. Her mind was blown, she says. After that experience, she scrapped her dream of becoming a stormchasing meteorologist to hunt down recipes instead.

“It was an eye-opener—I mean, I didn’t know wine came in two colors,” she says. “I had a piece of Pugliese and I thought I was so fucking worldly because

I had this bread, and it was great and I was hooked.”

Today, at her restaurant South, Kavookjian has fused the California cuisine found at Cafe Bernardo with her family’s own heritage of Southern food. She elevates the basics with an eye toward purity. Just several years ago, its best-selling item, fried chicken, was classified in the minds of American consumers as merely cheap fast food. The restaurant has risen alongside the cachet of the dish.

“Literally, fried chicken and especially barbecue right now, it’s like the hottest shit on the planet,” Kavookjian says. “Fine dining restaurants are doing fried chicken that wouldn’t even touch it [a decade ago] because it was considered cheap peasant food.”

At South, the fried chicken meal with a biscuit and kale costs $14—not expensive, but certainly not fast-food priced, either. And, since the restaurant opened in 2014, Sacramento consumers have learned to pay more for that higher quality. Last year, the restaurant sold $326,000 worth of fried chicken. That’s almost a third of a million dollars and 76,000 pounds of down-home and unpretentious meat.

MARDI GRAS MARCH See NIGHT&DAY

27

BEST BEER IN THE WEST See OFF MENU

29

AX-SLINGING SOPRANO See STAGE

making boss lady

32

N’GiNa KavooKjiaN preserves Her family’s culiNary HeritaGe at tHe restauraNt South wHile restlessly startiNG otHer veNtures The best-selling meal, called Petey’s Fried Chicken, has helped to fuel a small empire: In December, the Kavookjians opened a vintage boutique named Quinn across the street and are about to open a Jewish deli, the Proletariat, on Sixth and S streets. But first, that chicken and Petey herself took a 2,000-mile, generations-long journey to get to Sacramento.

Heirloom recipes On the sidewalks of Citrus Heights in the ’80s, a ragtag group of kids from the same apartment building played games of pretend. Inside, one of their mothers fried catfish while listening to jazz singer Angela Bofill, speeding up her stirring of a roux in sync with the beat.

Patricia “Petey” Guyton yearned for her family back in Louisiana and Mississippi, so she baked the buttery biscuits that she hoped would conjure them.

Unbeknownst to Guyton, one daughter took mental notes as she peeked at her mother’s kitchen.

“At a certain point you realize, oh my gosh, they were actually watching me and paying attention and they love what you were giving them,” says Guyton, now 60.

Prior to their life in Citrus Heights, Guyton had started cooking seriously at the age of 13 in Mississippi. Back then, she had become a homemaker; as her parents were off at work, she made meals for her two younger siblings.

During her daughter N’Gina’s childhood, Guyton cooked Southern food out of homesickness, but also picked up inspirations from her Northern California surroundings—influences apparent on South’s menu today, with its lighter, more healthful take on Southern food.

“When you’re so far from everything that is so familiar, that it’s holding onto those last bastions of what being in Mississippi is: those family dinners,” Kavookjian says.

Guyton never cooked from exact measurements—she understood teaspoons by what they looked like in her palm. So Kavookjian learned by observation. When her mother cooked chicken, she would ask for precise amounts.

“And I don’t know,” Guyton says. “I could do it in my sleep. I can’t tell you how much seasoning to use. You get to that point where you just know.”

Kavookjian thinks of her mother’s culinary lessons as

a birthright. Their weight as a legacy grows heavier as Guyton struggles with cancer. The recipes at South preserve her lineage.

“Food is so important to the story of your family and who you are and where you came from,” Kavookjian says. “For our family, you have French-Creole influences, you have West African influences, and I think that’s important to be able to kind of have that history that you can keep just sending on through your familial line.”

Her ambitions continue to grow in presenting her family’s point of view. In mid-February, the menu at South expanded further beyond NOLA staples like po’ boys and gumbo to include other favorites of the American South, Celebrate Mardi like chicken cracklins Gras at South on ($6) and smoked pork February 28, when the restaurant chop ($16). will serve king “There are probably cake, oysters thousands of dishes Rockefeller and raw within that whole oysters along with hurricane cocktails Southern category of and rum punch. food,” she says. “It’s like Italian food where it’s so hyper-regional. … You go to a town that’s maybe 15 miles “the making of a boss lady” continued on page 26

36

“PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!” SONG See MUSIC`

Living out black history Every day I walk, talk and breathe black history. As a black woman, I take pride in living each day in memory of those who have paved the way for people of color. I’m used to seeing Black History Month celebrations honoring the same—yet amazing—people who made huge strides throughout American history: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X. Those lives definitely deserve to be recognized, but so do all of the other black people who contributed to our history. That is why I was elated when I found out the Crocker Art Museum is celebrating Black History Month through a film and discussion series that examines the representation of black lives on film.

“Black history ain’t just for black folks,” says one of the curators, Vincent Dee Miles. “We are all American, and it’s all of our history.”

I arrive to the screening of Cooley High in time to scope out the theater and those in attendance.

A diverse mixture of Sac State students, retired professors and black-culture enthusiasts filled the rows of seats. Before the showing got underway, the hosts Miles—director of Cine Soul, an AfricanAmerican film festival—and Vincent Dee Miles Stacey Shelnut-Hendrick, director of Cine Soul director of education at the Crocker, introduced the film.

“I used to watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Breakfast Club and would wonder what it’d look like to have a black depiction of those movies that was that revered and loved,” Miles says. That’s how he chose to show the film I watched.

Cooley High was released in 1975 but set in 1964 Chicago at the infamous Cabrini-Green housing projects. The comedy-drama follows the daily lives of high school seniors Cochise and Preach as they skip class, go to parties, smoke a little weed and try to get girls at any point in between. Although the antics of high school life resemble the movie’s white counterparts—like Fast Times at Ridgemont High—the struggles specific to black life separate them.

Scenes of the neighborhood often show many people living in one home, prostitutes on the corners—who become normalized in daily life—and constant fights breaking out over otherwise resolvable issues.

Overall, it’s the story of a smart black boy with major potential who always gets into trouble and doesn’t take life seriously, raised by a single mother who has three kids and works three jobs. At a loss of how to find himself as a man, Preach struggles to connect with strong black men wherever he can. Sound familiar? This film shows blaxploitation at its finest, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Cooley High puts the lives of black youth into perspective within its era, which is sadly still relevant today. In one scene, a teacher asks Preach what he wants for his future.

Preach answers, “I wanna live forever.”

He was speaking for all black youth who are limited in this life. As I walked out, I thought to myself, “Damn … I want to live forever, too.”

“Black history ain’t just for black folks.”

—Taylor Desmangles

02.23.17 | SN&R | 25

JOIN THE

TEAM!

“There is only one way to shut racist people down, and it’s to do the exact opposite of what they think you’re capable of doing.”

N’GiNa KavooKjiaN Co-owner of South

“The making of a boss lady” continued from page 25

• EDITOR • NUTS & BOLTS NINJA • MARKETING & PUBLICATIONS CONSULTANT • DISTRIBUTION DRIVER FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY, GO TO WWW.NEWSREVIEW.COM/JOBS. SN&R is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks diversity in the workplace.

26 | SN&R | 02.23.17

away, and the cooking—completely different. The ingredients that they’re using are different. … We’ve only kind of touched the tip of the iceberg.”

They go low The same day that apparent hate-crime vandals had broken windows at MoMo’s Meat Market and tagged a swastika on a neighboring barber shop in Tahoe Park, South received a racist review on Yelp.

The reviewer compared Kavookjian’s husband—co-owner Ian Kavookjian, who happens to be white—to a slave owner and called Kavookjian herself a “field n-----.”

Instead of wallowing, she agitated for Yelp to take down the review immediately (in the end, it took the platform a few days), and she waited in line at MoMo’s to support a fellow small business.

“There is only one way to shut racist people down, and it’s to do the exact opposite of what they think you’re capable of doing,” she says. “No, actually, what’s going to happen is we’re going to have a line that goes out the door. … I happily waited two hours in line to get my chicken sandwich.”

This was hardly the first time South had received heinous Yelp reviews. A year ago, someone compared her to Aunt Jemima. About twice a week, she hears the N-word she says.

“That is really hard to do your business and on top of that have people say vile things that they know will trigger you because they want to get at you so bad,” she says.

Despite these rattling setbacks, Kavookjian doesn’t sit still. In addition to launching her boutique and preparing for the Proletariat, she has wide-eyed dreams of organizing a neighborhood event series in Southside Park.

Even while sharing her plans, her husband asked when she would come home as backup for watching over their two children.

“He wishes I would pump my brakes,” she says.

But essentially, both of the new businesses launched as marital bargaining chips.

“The Quinn was a kind of funny ultimatum that was given by my husband,” she says.

Their home storage had reached the breaking point because of hoarding bric-abrac from their side business of wedding planning. N’Gina gathered up all the goods and signed the lease on a storefront within a few weeks. Throughout its first month of business, starting in December, the Quinn sold $7,000 with Kavookjian’s keen eye for charming details like air plants peeking out of vintage cabinet drawers.

The Proletariat, scheduled to open in 2018, came about simply because Ian Kavookjian missed the East Coast delis of his youth.

“I just reached a point when I couldn’t hear him complaining about sandwiches anymore,” N’Gina Kavookjian says. “I was like, I’m just gonna open you a deli and you’re gonna source all the meat and cheese … and we’re gonna be done with this.

Literally the Proletariat is a—I don’t know if there’s a version of, like, ‘happy life happy wife,’ but like, it’s making him happy.”

Still, the stresses add up.

“I have my days where I’m just like, ‘Wow, I really signed up for this shit, I don’t know if I can do this today,’” she says, “and I have other days where I’m just walking around and I’m like, ‘I’m a Boss Lady.’ But it’s hard, it’s really hard.”

What keeps her going? The way that her mother role-modeled for her, working a 40-hour workweek while whipping up bomb meals—Kavookjian wants to do the same for her daughter. “[My daughter] was like, ‘I wanna be a boss lady like my mom, she tells people what to do,’” Kavookjian says with a chuckle.

“And that was really cool, a little 5-year-old girl got that and recognized that she could be a boss lady when she grew up.”

Meanwhile, Guyton proudly watches as her own daughter takes on the boss lady role. When she shows up at South, she invites strangers to try Petey’s Fried Chicken. When they ask why, she boasts, “Because I’m Petey.” Ω

FoR The week oF FeBRUARY 23

Zero to 60s Friday, February 24 Don your fanciest 1960s-style cocktail attire for all the midcentury cocktails and indoor smoking you can handle (kidding about that second part). Guests can show off their fancy digs while they sample beer, wine and cocktails from local breweries. A handful of food trucks will be on-site, and you’ll be able PARTY to get your picture taken with some of the museum’s classic car collection. $40-$75; 5:30 p.m. at the California Auto Museum, 2200 Front Street; (916) 442-6802; www.calautomuseum.org.

It

goes without saying that this whole trying-to-uphold-our-democracy thing is getting complicated and exhausting. Plus, it’s almost tax season (ugh). One surefire way to recharge? Immerse yourself in the timeless refuge of art and music. Various workshops and events paying homage to our nation’s musical roots abound: Looking to beef up your killer vinyl collection?

On Saturday, February 25, Armadillo Music and KDVS 90.3 are hosting the Vinyl & music Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Davis Senior Center (646 A Street in Davis). Pick through the offerings of sellers and collectors from all over the state for the chance to score rare, out-of-print records, tapes, CDs and more. Admission is free, though if you want an early crack at things, you can pay $5 to get in at 8:30 a.m. Visit http://armadillo music.com or call (530) 758-8058 to find out more.

Also on Saturday: the Cypher hip hop workshop with Michael Brim at the Carmichael Library (5605 Marconi Avenue) from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about the rich history of hip-hop, deejaying, emcees and break dancing via live performance and a workshop where you’ll get the chance to learn

to write a few rhymes and learn a few moves of your own. The event is free and open to all ages; find out more at www.saclibrary.org/ home/events or by calling (916) 264-2920.

Alternatively, if you’re looking to take a deeper dive into the art of the lyric and the ways in which spoken word can become in and of itself music, the Sacramento Area Youth Speak (SAYS) Grand Slam finals are also going down on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Crocker Art Museum (216 O Street). Attendees will first participate in a writing workshop, and then a competition for a spot on the 2017 SAYS Slam Team. The entry fee is $10; visit www.crockerart.org/event/1226/201702-25 for more info.

Then on Tuesday, February 28, celebrate Fat Tuesday with the fourth annual mardi Gras Second line, a roving music parade that kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at Mulvaney’s B&L (1215 19th Street). Local entertainers Peter Petty and Dana Moret will be leading the pack, and the parade will make stops at Kasbah, the Porch Restaurant and Bar, and Easy on I, before finishing up at the Torch Club with a performance from Boca de Rio. The fun is free; visit www.facebook.com/ events/362127314157551 for more info.

—deena drewis

—Lory GiL

Nerd Night Friday, February 24 Dust off your nerdiest digs and brush up on your D&D jargon so you can live your truest life with KVIE, which is hosting a special night of eats and TRIVIA drinks. Of course, the main event is a trivia game sure to stump even the biggest Doctor Who geek out there, so don’t show up unprepared. Come nerd out and get yourself a cool keepsake glass to boot. $10; 6:30 p.m. at KVIE, 2030 W. El Camino Avenue; www.kvie.org/events/pbsnerd.

—eddie JorGensen

Animal Film Festival saturday, February 25 There will be a man dressed as a lion, tiger trophy heads and a bear kept in captivity for 30 years. Oh my. These are some of the subjects of the Animal Film Festival. Most are inspiring, informative and entertaining documentaries that involve the plight FIlm human animals have put upon our domesticated and wild fellow earthlings. $10-$25; 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Center for the Arts, 314 W. Main Street in Grass Valley; www.animalfilmfestival.org.

—shoka

Girl Rising thursday, March 2 Providing education to girls can break the cycle of poverty in just one generation, yet throughout the world, millions experience barriers to school.

FIlm Girls aged 12 and older are welcomed to bring guardians to the Crocker Art Museum Thursday for a viewing of the documentary Girl Rising, which explores the experiences of girls around the globe fighting for their education. Free; 4:30 p.m. at Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; www.crockerart.org.

—dave keMpa

They Call Us monsters thursday, March 2 The California judicial system tries kids between the age of 14 and 17 who commit violent crimes as adults.

They Call Us Monsters is an unflinching documentary about three kids that prods the audience to FIlm rethink their stance on this aspect of our criminal system. Free; 6 p.m. at Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street; www.theycallusmonsters.com.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN BRENEMAN

—aaron carnes

02.23.17 | SN&R | 27

www.WoodlakeTavern.com 1431 DEL PASO BLVD • SAC, CA • 916.514.0405

voTEd #1 bEsT THai food

THE

Thai Food & gluten free options

on t: 1100 t street | 916-822-4665

1. Fresh roll (V-gF) $5.95

hAppy hour 4:30-6pm $3 aPPs, house Wine & draFt beers

2. Cheese Wonton $5.95

entree

3. Vegan Cheese Wonton (V) $6.95

ChiCken or organiC toFu $8.95

4. Pot stiCker $5.95

beeF or organiC ChiCken $10.95

5. sa-tay ChiCken or toFu (V) $6.95

Calamari, shrimP, tilaPia Filet $10.95

6. sWeet Potato Fries (V) $4.95

all 3 seaFood $15.95

Please let your server know: V – vegan option available gF – gluten Free option available Appetizers

7. Fried Calamari $6.95

serVed W/ ChoiCe oF White or broWn riCe additional:

soup

Veggies $1

ChiCken or toFu $5.95

ChiCken or toFu $2.00

shrimP $7.95

beeF, shrimP, Calamari, talaPia $3.00

8. tom yum (V-gF) 9. tom kha (V-gF) sAlAd 10. green salad (V-gF) $5.00 11. PaPaya salad (som tum) (V-gF) $7.00 12. larb / ChiCken (gF) $9.00 13. sPiCy thai salad (gF) $9.00 ChoiCe oF shrimP, Calamari or beeF speciAl Burger 14. sPiCy thai burger W/ Fries $8.95 15. sPiCy thai burger W/ green salad $10.95

16. basil (V-gF) 17. eggPlant (V-gF) 18. CasheW nut (V-gF) 19. Praram ChiCken (gF) 20. green or red Curry (V-gF) 21. yelloW Curry (V-gF) 22. Panang Curry (V-gF) 23. thai Fried riCe (V-gF) 24. sPiCy Fried riCe (V-gF) 25. mixed Vegetables (V-gF) 26. garliC PePPer (V-gF) 27. sWeet and sour (V-gF) 28. bbQ ChiCken (V-gF) noodles

speciAl dishes

29. Pad thai (V-gF)

ChoiCe oF ChiCken or toFu

30. drunken noodle (V-gF)

PumPkin red Curry $10.95

31. se eW (V-gF)

PineaPPle red Curry $10.95

32. noodle souP (gF) t

aVoCado yelloW or green Curry $10.95 desserts

www.thecoconutthai.com 28 | SN&R | 02.23.17

sides

mango sWeet stiCky riCe W/ CoConut iCe

Peanut sauCe (V-gF) $1.00

Cream $6.00

riCe or broWn riCe (V-gF) $1.50

Fried banana W/ iCe Cream $5.00

stiCky riCe (V-gF) $2.00

CoConut iCe Cream $3.00

Ye l p . c o m / b i z / t h e - c o c o n u t - o n - t - s a c r a m e n t o

beer issue

All day open - close $1 You Call Em’ We Cut Em’ Ribs $5 Craft Bourbon Cocktail $10 Local Beer & a Shot

SN&R’s

BOURBON & BBQ THURSDAYS

on stands march 2

WINE WEDNESDAYS

1/2 off every bottle of wine 4pm-close

IllustratIons by saraH Hansel

Better than a Benedict Bacon & Butter, Broccoli and polenta The broccoli and polenta ($14) at Bacon & Butter presents poached eggs on an unorthodox backdrop and proves that the restaurant can excel beyond its eponymous ingredients. Two white satchels of egg yolk burst onto a soft and comforting mound of polenta. The gooey blend is speckled with green onions and fried shallots that break up the mellower ingredients with their astringency. Cremini mushrooms and long-stemmed broccoli are roasted with salt, pepper and olive oil—just enough seasoning to wake up their flavors and, most likely, their devourer. 5913 Broadway, http://baconandbuttersac.com.

—reBecca huval

Juicy water nueStra agua del caMpo, cielito lindo

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

Gold ale

By John Flynn

Trophy beer: Auburn’s Moonraker Brewing Co., famous for its hazy, juicy New England IPAs, ranks among the best new breweries nationwide, according to USA Today. As of February 19, it sits in 17th place in a reader poll that lasts until March 13, with the 20 total breweries in the running selected by a panel of beer experts. (Follow along at www.10best.com/awards/travel/ best-new-brewery-2017.)

“The beer nerds have spoken,” head brewer Zack Frasher said. “I think we have a lot of people who have been starving for this style and wanted something else out of Sacramento besides West Coast IPA.” RateBeer just named the lessthan-a-year-old Moonraker the best new brewery in California, and ninth best in the world. And the business

has excelled in styles beyond its domestic import.

At the 2016 Great American Beer Festival, the brewery snagged the silver medal for the Miss Conduct Blonde Ale. And at the renowned Bistro Double IPA Festival on February 11, its clear, West Coaststyle triple IPA, Extremis, snagged first prize, dethroning Russian River’s legendary Pliny the Younger in a blind taste test.

Below freezing: The newly opened 8 Degrees Fahrenheit Ice Cream (4400 Freeport Boulevard, Suite 150) makes ice cream to order, literally.

In a two-minute process, the assemblers will drop toppings like brownie, Nutella or graham cracker onto a freezing countertop. Then, they pour on the customer’s choice

of cream and chop it all together as it solidifies—a process reminiscent of omelet making that evenly disperses the fixin’s.

After the cream reaches the proper consistency, the mixture gets spread paper-thin, then scraped and rolled into little ice cream scrolls that fit six to a cup ($5.99). At that point, customers choose three toppings like pretzels, whipped cream or two freshly flambeed marshmallows on a stick.

Superior solidarity: On February 16, La Superior, a local supermarket chain, closed its doors to support the “Day Without Immigrants” protest—along with La Victoria Mercado y Carniceria and other local businesses. Nationwide, Latino laborers staged a strike to protest President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

“We are all immigrants, we all come from another country,” Luis Velazquez, manager of the Stockton Boulevard site, told The Sacramento Bee. “When things like this happen, we come together and we value each other.” Ω

I always choose aguas frescas when they’re available, and Cielito Lindo has my new favorite. Called nuestra agua del campo (our country water), the drink includes fresh pineapple, celery and parsley that’s not overly sweet, but quite refreshing. In the glass, the blend appears as a lovely pale green. You can order it alone at $4 for 20 ounces, but it’s so much better with the restaurant’s enmoladas de pollo. The acidic pineapple juice clears your palate after each bite of the stunningly complex mole. 3672 J Street, http://cielitolindo.us.

—ann Martin rolke

Mardi Gras greens Spinach We’re a long way from NOLA, but lots of Sacramentans still celebrate Mardi Gras. The problem is that many of the key ingredients aren’t in season now. What we do have in abundance are leafy greens. Work them into your Mardi Gras menu like this: Spinach is the main ingredient in the topping for oysters Rockefeller. With bread crumbs, garlic and Pernod, it’s a classic appetizer. You also need leafy greens for gumbo z’herbes. Some recipes call for nine different greens, so don’t skimp! Add extra bacon in honor of Fat Tuesday.

—ann Martin rolke

02.23.17 | SN&R | 29

w e N r u o Y

d o o h r o b Neigh r Dine

Organic egg, schmorganic egg

by Ann MArtin rolke

Wild Flour Cafe

Some baked goods are made on-site, but it’s not always clear which because the online and written menus don’t always agree. The egg sandwich ($5.50) comes with a housemade biscuit, scrambled eggs 1430 14th Street, (916) 930-0285 and cheddar. While the biscuit needed more salt, the www.thewildflourcafe.com flavors came together with the optional addition of Meal for one: $10 - $15 Italian sausage.

Good for: cozy breakfast all day, organic produce Unfortunately, I had eaten Bacon & Butter’s Notable dishes: sweet and spicy bacon, Italian sausage hash breakfast biscuit two days earlier, and Wild Flour’s is no match. From the lackluster biscuit to the Spartan presentation, it needs reworking.

The breakfast burrito ($8) fares better. With spicy In the last five years, Sacramento has upped its chorizo, potatoes and cheese, it makes a plentiful breakfast game exponentially. With the Magpie Cafe meal. Ask for extra salsa; the thick tomato sauce group of restaurants and Tahoe Park’s Bacon & adds welcome acid to the mix.

Butter raising the bar, a plain old organic scrambled For lunch and breakfast, the chicken salad sandegg doesn’t cut it anymore. wich ($7.95) offers large chunks of chicken mixed The most recent contender, Wild Flour Cafe, with walnuts, apples and celery for a Waldorf-style opened earlier this year near the Capitol. While it crunch. Bound with abundant mayo, it hardly needed ranks high on the cozy charm, the food isn’t quite in the smear of Dijon on the slippery bread, which fighting form yet. struggled to contain its filling.

In the space formerly occupied by Wild Flour’s burger, made with local Eliana’s Cafe, owner Era Sellen serves Five Dot Ranch grass-fed beef, tastes breakfast and lunch seven days a straightforward with little garnish. week. She cleverly offers delivery However, the chunky pan-fried While it ranks throughout most of the grid and potatoes on the side complement it. high on the cozy online ordering to better serve the While you could add that fantastic charm, the food isn’t many neighborhood office workers. bacon or some cheese, it makes for In the cafe itself, vintage a reasonable lunch that won’t give quite in fighting windows add to the décor and daily you an afternoon food hangover. form yet. specials fill the blackboard, including Since Sellen acts as cook, cashier a long list of available flavors from and waiter, service is necessarily pared Marin’s Three Twins Ice Cream. On the down. You fetch your own drinks from weekend, Sellen offers a menu titled “Ice an adjoining room and usually order first, then Cream for Breakfast,” with choices like lemon ricotta sit. On a couple of slow days, Sellan took our order pancakes ($14) with lemon cookie ice cream. tableside, though.

Among the more savory offerings, the Italian Perhaps as a result of the limited staff, there seem sausage hash ($12) stood out with its fennel-spiked to be kinks to work out with the online menu listings housemade sausage, cheese, chunks of potatoes and versus what’s available in-house—discrepancies scrambled eggs. What the menu didn’t mention was make it confusing. A good rule: If you’ve seen a dish the worthy addition of onions and bell peppers. You there before, just ask if it’s still available. get your choice of local bakery Grateful Bread’s The vibe at Wild Flour entices, especially when toast on the side. warmer weather encourages patio seating. With her Though I’m suspicious of BLTs in winter, the welcoming personality, Sellan clearly puts a lot of sweet-and-spicy BLT ($11) had such good bacon, work into the cafe, and she focuses on sourcing local it compensated for the out-of-season tomatoes. ingredients.

Sellen candies thick-cut slices with brown sugar and After a few tweaks to boost the flavors to cayenne and makes bacon magic. Maybe avocados competition-level, Wild Flour could surely be a would have been more seasonal, but the sandwich worthy contender on the breakfast circuit. Ω worked nonetheless.

HH

Eggs, Crepes, Sandwiches, Salads, Pasta & Burgers 8000 AUBURN BLVD • CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA • WWW.CREPESANDBURGERS.COM

• Hand Tossed Artisan Pizzas • Self Pour Craft Beer & Wine • Big Screen/Sports 6601 Folsom Blvd.

916.330.3973 • www.ZPIZZA.com 30 | SN&R | 02.23.17

—Rebecca Huval

beer issue

Brazilian carnivals usually burst with color, but this year Sacramento’s event will turn up the spectrum. For its seventh annual event, the Brazilian Carnaval ($15 in advance, $20 at the door) has invited Caribbean and Colombian dancers and musicians to shimmy to their own beats, in addition to Brazilian samba. Mostly local, the costumed performers set the stage for grub that’s geographically dispersed in its own right: Caribbean, Mexican and Brazilian food trucks and vendors. “We wanted to have diversity,” says Saara Burga, director of the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange. Burga herself will prepare traditional Brazilian meals (roughly $10), including feijoadas with sausages; coxinhas, a type of croquette with chicken or tofu; and empanadas with cheese, chicken or beef. And what’s a raucous party without booze? Brazilian caipirinhas ($8) in mango, lime and kiwi will put you in the carnival spirit of jolly abandon. Reserve tickets at https://2017carnavalsacramento.eventbrite.com.

SN&R’s

Kaleidoscopic carnival

EXCLUSIVE WINE TASTING | FOOD PAIRINGS| BARREL SAMPLES| SEMINARS| WINEMAKER RECEPTION

on stands march 2

MARCH

42 O&157

Zest in Rocklin

by SHoka Baagan is no longer Baagan. Sort of. The vegan eatery at 2620 Sunset Boulevard in Rocklin is now called Zest, although so far the menu remains unchanged, as does the restaurant’s signage and online presence, but the receipts do print the new name.

The restaurant’s second location in San Ramon will retain Baagan as its identity for now, as former co-owners Angelique Miller and Rajbir Randhawa will helm Zest

and Baagan, respectively. The Sacramento Vegan Society is planning a brunch meetup at Zest on Sunday, February 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join the 35 people who have already RSVP’d at www .meetup.com/sacvegansociety-org, or visit another day to try the Tiger Mountain Burger; signature curry panini; decadent cheesecake; or the Golden Warrior beverage with fresh pecan milk, turmeric, cardamom and raw coconut sugar.

WINEMAKER RECEPTION FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 6 - 9 P.M. TICKET $125PP INCLUDES FRIDAY WINEMAKER RECEPTION AND WEEKEND PASS WEEKEND PASS $55 EARLY PURCHASE / $65 DAY OF SUNDAY ONLY $45 EARLY PURCHASE / $55 DAY OF | DESIGNATED DRIVERS $1O PRESALE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT AMADORWINE.COM UNTIL FEBRUARY 28 VIP

AMADORWINE.COM 46 PARTICIPATING WINERIES |35 MILES EAST OF SACRAMENTO|(888) 655-8614|

02.23.17 | SN&R | 31

exclusive deals

right to your inbox. sign up for the newsletter at snrsweetdeals.newsreview.com

ReviewS

Axes and allies Photo courtesy of the Actor’s PlAyPen

by Bev SykeS

!

S OB S! J T JOB !

S I V ISSTT JOBS I T IVVIIST JOBS! AACCCTTIIV A ACTIVIST JOBS! snrsweetdeals.newsreview.com

women. Jennifer Morrison gives a powerful performance as Lizzie, a woman who yearns for love but has found only torment and trauma.

Joelle Robertson is Lizzie’s sister Emma, a strong character and very protective of her younger sibling. The two women have some beautiful moments of ballad-like duets.

Sara Logan is Bridgette, the Irish maid who has her own agenda, though she supports Lizzie up to a point. She becomes downright scary after the tragedy.

Chelsea Fitzsimmons is Lizzie’s friend Alice, whose love for Lizzie is palpable, and with whom Lizzie has a couple of tender romantic moments. Her personality change following the murder is startling.

The show also features striking Gothic costumes, designed by Meg Masterson. Ω

WORK WITH GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNS ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION! FIGHT HATE. TEACH TOLERANCE. SEEK JUSTICE. STAND UP FOR EQUALITY!

EARN $400-$560 PER WEEK FULL-TIME/PART-TIME/CAREER

CALL CAMERON AT (916) 446-1100 “Curses! My stocking ripped!”

Lizzie

5

8 p.m. friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. saturday; $16-$26. the Actor’s Playpen, Black Box theater West sacramento community center; (916) 705-9116; http://actorsplaypen.com. through february 25.

In this age of tabloid journalism and grisly crime dramas, the story of a daughter hacking her parents to death may seem commonplace. Back in 1892, however, it was unheard of, and so the murder of Lizzie Borden’s parents—and her subsequent arrest and acquittal after only 90 minutes of courtroom deliberation—was considered the crime of the century.

Lizzie is the imagined story of what really happened, and is the first production by the Actor’s Playpen, a new theater company housed near West Sacramento’s growing Bridge District.

Staged as a musical, this is a rocking, dynamic and occasionally sensitive look at how a woman could commit such a vicious crime. We get a glimpse of the history of Lizzie and her sister Emma and the conditions in their home, including hints of sexual abuse, as well as the machinations of an unseen stepmother who schemes to deprive her stepdaughters of their inheritance.

Thanks to four skilled actresses, the audience is able to make an emotional connection to the

32 | SN&R | 02.23.17

5 The Meeting Simply staged and expertly acted, The Meeting is one of the best Celebration Arts productions in recent memory. James Wheatley directs this one-act drama smartly and with real respect for the material.

Here, playwright Jeff Stetson imagines a meeting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in a hotel room in Harlem in 1965. Although the meeting depicted is fictional, the words and actions of the two men are completely believable in the context of their characters.

Romann Hodge and James Ellison play King and X, respectively, and each portrays a strong sureness of self. Ray Garner is Rashad, X’s bodyguard, and in a small part manages to suggest the dedication of the firebrand’s followers.

Not much action takes place, but the growing respect each man shows for the other as they debate their very different approaches to the same problems of black disenfranchisement and the struggle for equality is powerful. Both men, convinced of the rightness of their approach to the struggle, were prepared to die for their beliefs.

Unfortunately, they did.

—Jim Carnes

the Meeting; 8 p.m. thursday, friday and saturday; 2 p.m. sunday; $10-$15. celebration Arts, 4469 D street; (916) 455-2782; www.celebrationarts.net. through March 18.

Now playiNg

4

Becoming Dr. Ruth

and 9pm; Su, 2pm; Tu, 6:30pm; W, 2pm and 6:30pm. $26-$38.

Through 2/26. B Street

Theatre, 2711 B Street; (916) 443-5300; http://bstreet theatre.org. J.H.

1 FOUL

4

Betrayal

Playwright Harold Pinter’s Betrayal is told in reverse chronology, starting in 1977 with a couple’s reconnection in a pub; it moves backward, ending in 1968 when the couple first unites. Pinter presents interesting philosophical conundrums of what constitutes loyalty and betrayal in this 90-minute, no-intermission play. A strong three-person cast of Chad Deverman as Jerry and Elena Wright as Emma— the two main characters who are having a sevenyear affair behind the back of Emma’s husband Robert (Michael Patrick Wiles)—is directed by Janis Stevens.

Th, 7pm; F, 8pm; Sa, 2pm and

8pm; W 7pm. $28-$40. Through

2/26. Captiol Stage, 2215 J Street; (916) 995-5464; www.capstage.org. P.R.

Short reviews by Jeff hudson and Patti Roberts.

2

3

4

FAIR

GOOD

WELL-DONE

5

Tripping the light prehistoric.

PhOTO cOURTESy OF MONDAvI cENTER

Ancient adventure

—Jeff Hudson

on stands march 2

Luminous exotic creatures that glow-in-the-dark will rove the Mondavi Center as the New Orleans-based Lightwire Theatre mixes modern dance, large-scale puppetry, music, and high-tech lighting in a trippy (but family-oriented) fantasy tale. Dino-Light is the story of a scientist who follows a wandering dinosaur into another world. 3 p.m.

Sunday, February 26; $13.50-$51; Mondavi Center, 1 Shields Avenue in Davis; (530) 754-2787; www.mondaviarts.org.

beer issue

SUBLIME– DON’T MISS

SN&R’s

Dr. Ruth Westheimer had a great run as a pop culture icon 40 years ago: a diminutive matron (with a crazy accent) enthusiastically dispensing frank sex advice on the radio. But playwright Mark St. Germain goes deeper, digging into her rich backstory: She narrowly escaped the Nazis as a child, then became a Jewish sniper in Jerusalem, a psychologist in Paris, a single mom and sex therapist in America, and then belatedly, a celebrity.

And visiting actress Anne O’Sullivan (who understudied the role during the play’s 2013 Off Broadway premiere) is thoroughly enjoyable as a happy, indefatigable survivor in this breezy, feel-good solo show. Th and F, 8pm; Sa, 5pm

02.23.17 | SN&R | 33

is our C R A TY E I R A R VA VER 1,500 C FT BEERS, LAGERS FT! O S, SOURS, POR TERS & , STOUT MOR , S ’ E I PA

Royal progress

RoCo

Win

e & Spirits

2220 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD WEST SACRAMENTO

916.760.8135 • www.HopsGrapes.com

Creativity passion IS O U R

For every $1 spent you get 1 point. Earn points towards free coffee/tea, crepes & more!

Birthday • Wedding • Custom Cakes • Tarts • Buns • Crepes & More 6825 Stockton Blvd #265-270 • Sac, CA • Phone: (916) 662-7733

LET it SNOW EE I LT- F R AT U G A RE WY T E SNO H T AT ¼ S O F E RI CALO REAM E IC C

Sacramento’s Original Shaved Snow

VAMPIRE PENGUIN 907 K STREET SHAVED SNOW & DESSERTS /VampirePenguin916

ONLY 2 BLOCKS FROM THE ARENA

34 | SN&R | 02.23.17

a United Kingdom “i’m sorry, honey, but we only have one pair of sunglasses and they look better on me.”

3

by Jim Lane

in his place, and pointing out to this insignificant little secretary that she’s being a traitor to her race.

In history, this all worked out right. Seretse and Ruth Khama stayed together for life; he went on to Not every great story gets a great movie, but a be prime minister of Botswana and its first president pretty-good movie of a remarkable story is nothing after independence, in which positions he led his to sneer at. That’s what director Amma Asante and country to a state of stability and prosperity rare writer Guy Hibbert give us in A United Kingdom. for sub-Saharan Africa (his and Ruth’s son Ian is The movie’s title is a bit of a pun. It doesn’t refer to Botswana’s president today). the United Kingdom we all know, the one composed In the movie, the working out proceeds with a of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, sort of stolid predictability, carrying Seretse and but to the kingdom (and British protectorate) of Ruth from disappointment to crisis to determination Bechuanaland, a landlocked country wedged between and eventual victory with the clanking regularity of the Union of South Africa, German South-West Africa a well-engineered clock that nevertheless could do and Rhodesia. (That is, those were the names of the with a little oiling. Even her father and countries back in 1947, when A United Kingdom his uncle finally come around—in the opens. Today they’re known respectively movie’s dramatic shorthand, there’s as the Republic of South Africa, Namibia nothing like a new baby in the and Zimbabwe; Bechuanaland is now It’s the family to thaw a crusty old heart, Botswana, having gained its indepenwhite or black. Along the way cinematic dence in 1966.) everybody from the stars on equivalent of the In the movie, what disunites this down comports him- or herself kingdom is the marriage of its king, proverbial wellwith decorous professionalism; Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo), in Seretse and Ruth seem suitably made play.

1948 while a law student at Oxford. His devoted to each other, though bride is Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), Oyelowo and Pike seem to be creata typist at Lloyd’s of London. Now, an ing the devotion for the camera rather interracial marriage in that day and age is sure to than genuinely feeling it between them. be controversial enough, but this one creates an internaThere’s nothing wrong with A United tional incident. Not only does Ruth’s father disown her, Kingdom; it’s the cinematic equivalent of the but Seretse’s uncle and regent (Vusi Kunene) disowns proverbial well-made play. Only the closing titles, him as well, causing a political rift in Bechuanaland. filling us in on what happened after the movie Meanwhile, in South Africa, where the white ends in 1955, hint at the great story that underpins minority is busily implementing its policy of a pretty-good movie. Ω apartheid, the idea of an interracial royal couple to their immediate north is intolerable. And that’s all the pretext required for a couple of snooty officious diplomats played by Jack Davenport (as Canning, the haughty one) and Tom Felton (Lancaster, the weaselly Poor Fair Good Very excellent one) to take steps putting this uppity black colonial

1 2 3 4 5 Good

fiLm CLiPS

BY DANIEL BARNES & JIM LANE

BUY 1 GET 1 1/2 OFF Buy any dinner entree at regular price, get the second for HALF OFF! Must present coupon, cannot combine with other discounts. One per table. Valid Mon-Thu only. Expires 03/08/17.

3

A Dog’s Purpose

The soul of a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) is reincarnated over and over, until he winds up with the teenager he was once devoted to (K.J. Apa), who has now grown up to be Dennis Quaid. Through all these lives—male, female, cuddly basenji, police German shepherd—Gad’s voice-over narration bounces from butt-sniffing jokes to ruminations on the meaning of life (as reflected in the movie’s title); ultimately, it seems, this dog’s purpose is to bring two high-school sweethearts back together in their declining years (the girl starts out as Britt Robertson and ends up as Peggy Lipton). Directed by Lasse Halström and adapted from W. Bruce Campbell’s novel by more writers than I have space to name, the movie is enjoyable enough, though how it came to theaters instead of the Hallmark Channel is a mystery. J.L.

3

A Cure for Wellness

An ambitious young Wall Street shark (Dane De Haan) travels to the Swiss Alps to extract one of his company’s honchos from a secluded health spa run by a mysterious, vaguely sinister doctor (Jason Isaacs). When a car crash makes the young man a patient there, the sinister vibes he gets from everyone become more threatening by the hour. Make no mistake, the script by Justin Haythe and director Gore Verbinski is a total crock and doesn’t make sense even on its own wacky terms; Haythe and Verbinski came up with only half a story, finally resorting to visual echoes of movies from Hitchcock’s Spellbound to Last Year at Marienbad and Mystery of the Wax Museum. And yet it’s almost hypnotically beautiful and you can’t look away, right up to the off-the-wall ending. Verbinski delivers the goods on that score. J.L.

2

Fist Fight

At the worst high school with the rottenest student body in America, a nice-but-wimpy teacher (Charlie Day) runs afoul of the faculty badass (Ice Cube), who challenges him to fight it out after school. Written by Van Robichaux, Evan Susser and Max Greenfield and boorishly directed by Richie Keen, the movie is coarse, crude and profane, but a guilty pleasure with many good laughs thanks to Day’s comic flair. But such movies can’t help themselves; they have to cross the line, and this one does it with a long F-bombing rap by Day’s 10-year-old daughter (Alexa Nisenson). This isn’t comedy, it’s child abuse, and Nisenson’s parents should be ashamed of themselves. Ice Cube shows himself once again as one of the most underrated actors in movies—but maybe that’s because he keeps making movies like this. J.L.

2

The Great Wall

Two medieval European mercenaries (Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal), in China to steal the secret of gunpowder, find themselves prisoners caught up in a war with strange velociraptor-like creatures that attack China every 60 years. Director Zhang Yimou, the darling of art-house cinemas the world over, tries his hand at a fantasy adventure epic and achieves only low camp, albeit with his customary eye for brilliant color and striking tableaux. As the presence of Yimou and a cluster of Chinese stars (led by Tian Jing as a female general) demonstrate, the movie is a blatant attempt to suck up to Chinese audiences, with a take-the-money-and-run script by a six-man tag team of American writers struggling to disguise the fact that this is just a cheesy monster movie tarted up in imperial Chinese drag. J.L.

4

John Wick: Chapter 2

Director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad reteam with star Keanu Reeves for John Wick: Chapter 2, a surprisingly necessary sequel to their left-field 2014 action

Voted “Best of Sacramento” 3 years in a row!

Happy Hour

Monday–Friday 3–6pm

Vote Us #1 The contrast in the levels of cool between James Baldwin and the dweeb on the right is powerful.

4

I Am Not Your Negro

Based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript for Remember This House, a proposed book about the civil rights struggle that focused on Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, I Am Not Your Negro tells a decades-old story that carries a disturbing relevance. In that respect, it’s a lot like Jason Osder’s clear-eyed 2013 scorcher Let the Fire Burn, but in a formal respect the film piggybacks on the in-their-own-words documentary trend made popular by movies like Amy and Janis: Little Girl Blue. Directed by Raoul Peck (Lumumba) and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (every film made in the last quarter-century), this deeply personal docu-bio is a thoroughly engrossing, powerful and necessary film. At the risk of losing all credibility, I will even use the dreaded “I” word, and declare that this is one of the most “important” films you will have the opportunity to see this year. D.B.

1315 21st St • Sacramento 916.441.7100

SALE

• DARTS (THOUSANDS) • CUES & CASES

success. It picks up right where the first film ended, with the legendarily prolific hitman Wick mowing down the final few sleazy gangsters who are holding on to his car. Wick proceeds to wield his precious automobile like a samurai sword, single-mindedly chopping through henchmen until he reaches the boss level, at which point he backs off in exchange for a life of peace. After that kill-crazy bender, Wick buries his old life in the basement, but immediately an old contact comes carrying a marker, forcing Wick back into ultraviolence. While John Wick leaned heavily on the theme of grief, with Wick’s corpse-strewn revenge mission serving as cathartic therapy, the sequel focuses more on addiction—whether by blackmail or bloodlust, Wick just can’t quit. D.B.

4

The Lego Batman Movie

The title pretty much tells you what to expect. Batman/Bruce Wayne (voiced by Will Arnett in a deadpan rasp) contends with an army of bad guys (nearly all with celebrity voices) led by the villain he loves to hate, the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), while grappling with the instant family represented by the youth he inadvertently adopted (Michael Cera, “animated” in every sense). Comic book movies used to be fun, and the idiot solemnity of the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale movies are long overdue for ridicule. Director Chris McKay and writers Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern and John Whittington are happy to oblige. The result is more fun than Batman’s been since Adam West hung up his purple tights. Somewhere, surely, Batman’s late creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger are smiling. J.L.

4

Patriots Day

Another masculine tragedy from director and co-writer Peter Berg, who recreates the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent manhunt with the same visceral accuracy that he brought to his recreation of the BP oil rig explosion in last year’s Deepwater Horizon. His Deepwater Horizon star Mark Wahlberg also headlines here as Tommy Saunders, a fictional composite Boston cop who tracks the bombers from ground zero to their

eventual captures or deaths. Patriots Day forms a triple feature with Deepwater Horizon and Michael Bay’s 13 Hours—they’re all ethically dubious enterprises, yet the filmmaking is undeniably powerful and the moral lines are hazier than you would think. Even if Patriots Day is the bronze medalist of that trio, with Wahlberg’s borderline self-parodic performance making for a mediocre centerpiece, it’s still a gripping portrayal of an hour-by-hour response to terror, with strong supporting players and an effective score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. D.B.

1

Rock Dog

A Tibetan mastiff (voiced by Luke Wilson) feels unfulfilled in the family business of guarding sheep against predatory wolves—so he moves to the big city to become a rock musician. Director Ash Brannon’s résumé includes such Pixar classics as A Bug’s Life and the first two Toy Storys, but you’d never guess he’d even seen a Pixar movie, much less worked on one. The script he concocted with a mind-boggling nine other writers is a cockamamie nonstory, the characters are boring, the animation is shoddy, the gags aren’t even worth groaning at and the music is worthless junk. For that matter, so is the movie, an excruciating, unendurable stinker from first frame to last. Wilson and a handful of celebrity voices (J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott, Eddie Izzard, Mae Whitman, Lewis Black, Matt Dillon) labor in vain. J.L.

• FOOSBALL • PING PONG • SHUFFLE BOARD • DICE/CUPS • NEONS/JUKEBOX • GAMES: CHESS/DOMINOS BACKGAMMON CRIBBAGE • MEMPHIS WOOD FIRE GRILLS • POKER/CARDS MAGIC DARTS & BILLIARDS

5154 Auburn Blvd Ste C Sacramento, CA Phone: (877) 602-3278

BRING IN THIS AD FOR 10% OFF (no sale items) ALSO ONLINE AT WWW.A-ZDARTS.COM

02.23.17 | SN&R | 35

FREE DRY WHEN YOU WASH

ND BRAEW T N OMA

Tits-and-pizza punk The O’Mulligans get serious about goofy pop punk

NDR LAU

drop off laundry | delivery service | jumbo capacity | free WiFi | snack and soap ample parking | kick-ass stereo | plenty of laundry carts | credit/debit card readers | bill breaker work area/charging docs | bicycle parking | change machine | friendly staff | tons of TV’s

OTHER LOCATIONS:

2907 W. Capitol Ave, West Sacramento • 916-372-1432

530-231-7044

1776 E. 8th St., Davis, CA | www.lovelaundry.com (In Grocery Outlet & Dollar Tree shopping center) Open Everyday • 5am-midnight (last wash @ 10:30pm)

YOU AN D UR HT YO S G U O TH LY WA FAMI AZY… CR

WA ONY A TH E T

NIN RD -WIN

G CO M

YC

EDY B

PRICE

O PH E HRIST

ODE US E C

R DU R

: MA S

ANG

HA

H A LL RIGHT W , .

E R T 2 P.M TH E A OFF R. 4 @ 3 MAIN A $ M 2 E 25 & rs: $1 SAV FE B .

Senio EDU / & s t . n e IS. tud 7 P.M CDAV $17, S -4 @ /Staff: EDANCE.U A R. 2 y M lt u & c 0, F a EATR 23-25 FE B . : $18.5 Online TH Adult s

TT A DU L

ICKET

36 | SN&R | 02.23.17

lyrical innuendo in the prechorus: “But she barely knows my name, and I feel too ashamed / to tell her how much it means, when she grinds my beans.” The song “Show Them” is a little more straightforward, “them” being “your tits.”

Then there’s the infamous “Pizza Night,” also on Hot & Ready, a brisk anthem dedicated to their love for “New Yorkstyle, Chicago deep dish, or Little Caesars, cuz it’s cheap,” as the song goes. The best part: this running is utterly unbelievable and in no way staged.

The opening hook blasts, polkalike, to the chant “Pizza! Pizza!

Pizza! Pizza!” The song’s chaotic vibe mimics an impatiently hungry herd of 9-year-olds stimulated After 13 years and two EPs, the wait is almost by the arrival of fresh slices. over. The O’Mulligans will finally release its first It’s the closest thing they have to a hit, they full-length album on Friday. It’s called meh. say. Kids love it live, and it was featured as the “We want to be the ones to say it before you can,” opening theme for a Chicago YouTube pizza critic said bassist-vocalist Jeff Florence. named “Son of a Pizza Man.” Self-deprecating humor is ingrained in the “They always say, in every joke there’s a kernel Sacramento pop-punk trio’s personality, and of truth, and in every truth there’s a joke somethey learned early on not to take themselves too where.” Florence said. “So, we write about what seriously. Florence and his bandmates, guitaristwe know: pizza, tits and making dumb vocalist David Lindsay (full disclosure: mistakes in relationships.”

Lindsay works in sales at SN&R) and But not everyone gets it. In drummer Mike Luna, formed the fact, they stopped performing O’Mulligans in 2003, as a high their homage and parody “We write about what school “Oi” punk group—thus of gangsta’ rap, “Runnin’ the Irish-sounding name. we know: pizza, tits and This Game,” after some “We wrote a couple of took offense. making dumb mistakes in songs and were just like, “They may not get that relationships.”

‘Damn, we suck at this,’” we’re joking,” Lindsay Lindsay said. “So we started said. “We’ve learned to Jeff Florence writing goofier songs instead.” figure out the crowd a little bassist-vocalist They disbanded after high better, so maybe we don’t get school and reformed in 2011. to play certain songs because They’ve since made a swift mark it’s a different audience.” on the local scene, playing Concerts in After meh, the band wants to the Park last summer and opening for punk release an EP of minute-long songs called legends the Queers last March.

Done in 60 Seconds. Florence said they still use The LP is essentially a greatest hits from their the same rule of thumb when writing funny songs, backlog of unreleased material. The pre-release track even if sometimes the joke is best understood “Textual Criticism” is a thrashy alt-rock tune about among three close friends: “It’s got to make us hypocrisy in biblical scripture, a little heavier than laugh our asses off, and we still have to be laughthe group’s usual combination of juvenile humor and ing about it the next day.” Ω ’90s suburban pop punk reminiscent of Green Day, the Offspring and Jimmy Eat World.

Take “Sweet Barista Girl,” for example, off Check out the o’Mulligans for a CD release show at 7 p.m., February 24, their 2014 EP, Hot & Ready. The love-sick, Blink at Cafe Colonial, 3520 Stockton Boulevard. the cover is $5.

182-spirited song introspects a shy guy’s crush More details at www.facebook.com/events/236363323456468. on a girl who works at a coffee shop, laced with Photo BY ShoKA

2431 K Street, Sacramento • 916-469-9840 7272 Franklin Blvd, South Sacramento • 916.426.9011

by Mozes zarate

SouNd advice

Echoes beyond Sac

beer issue on stands march 2

—John Flynn

From Oakland to Sac: At a sold-out album release show, a black-clad crowd congregated at the Starline Social Club in Oakland to worship the melancholy drone and spiritually charged doom rock of King Woman.

The powerful February 17 performance—fronted by vocalist and Sacramento-raised Kristina Esfandiari—previewed the band’s LP, Created in the Image of Suffering, via Relapse Records of Mastodon and Pig Destroyer fame.

Following the band’s 2014 EP Doubt, the album has its full-distribution release on February 24, the same date King Woman will perform at the Starlight Lounge in Sacramento.

In Oakland on Friday, supporting bands Petheaven and Unconditional Arms delivered an emotional opening act, blending atmospheric goth-rock and mournful shoegaze. When King Woman took the stage, the crowd had swelled to fill the room and witnessed as Esfandiari became possessed by a sonic and spirtual force—summoned from whence perhaps only Esfandiari herself can say.

Channeling an occult tidal wave of emotion and spiritual outcry, Esfandiari held nothing back, taking command of the room throughout the hypnotic performance in a slow and steady headbanger of a show.

Esfandiari addressed the enraptured audience, making a sincere nod to the Ghost Ship tragedy last year.

“I know it’s been a rough couple months,” she said. “It’s important for us to have these experiences through music and express ourselves. That’s why we’re here.”

A cheer rose from the crowd at this rallying cry, and King Woman returned to the music. Then, possessed by her muse once more, Esfandiari delivered the doom rock that had united metalheads and mellow goth-shoegaze fans alike under an Oakland roof.

Parting the crowd into a horseshoe-like bend at a gesture in front of the stage, Esfandiari descended to sing to the audience directly at face-to-face level. She concluded an impassioned and captivating performance by lying on the venue floor before taking the stage to finish out the show.

SN&R’s

Back at it: Lead vocalist Ryan Grubbs left his baby with a sitter on February 19—he had to man the microphone for Ganglians for the first time in several years.

Originally formed in Sacramento, the band melds beach-pop melodies with psychedelic swirls, and a garage band’s ragged edges with vocals that occasionally call George Michael to mind. In the Starlite Lounge, Grubbs declared that the once internationally touring Ganglians “broke up, but are back together again.”

Now that drummer Alex Sowles, lead guitarist Kyle Hoover and other core members have reunited in San Francisco, the band has been practicing three times a week, working on new material that will hopefully coalesce into a new album.

But Hoover warns against expecting anything too immediate as the band rediscovers its chemistry, warming up with a few shows featuring its oldschool material.

“Feels weird to play songs that I did in my mid-20s,” Hoover said.

“Especially since I’ve been in, like, five bands since then.”

Grubbs displayed exceptional range, floating between an indie singer-songwriter, a surf-rock frontman and yes, George Michael.

Hoover can absolutely shred, playing with a subtle flair that punctuates his riffs with hip swivels and head nods.

And the band harmonizes with casual clarity as they transition seamlessly from poppy progressions to loopy breakdowns and growls.

Among the set list was “Cryin’ Smoke,” one of the band’s most well-known tracks. With a swaying, strummed melody, an earworm hook and quirky lines like “smoke my reefer in the bathroom,” the song might have propelled the band to an even bigger indie stardom in an alternate universe.

After its momentary splintering, Ganglians look to expand upon the sound that landed them in the pages of Vice and Pitchfork and on tours through the states and Europe. The album may be a long way off, but after the band prompted at least one fan to crowdsurf on Saturday, Grubb’s fiancée Deaundrea Ferreira may want to hold onto that sitter’s number.

“Sacramento crowds are always a little more rowdy and wild,” Ferreira said. “It’s fun.”

—Matt KraMer

02.23.17 | SN&R | 37

24 fRi

24 fRi

24 fRi

24 fRi

Photo courtesy of chuck Johnson

Bad Cop/Bad Cop

King Woman

Hideaway Bar & Grill, 8 p.m., $10

Odamé Sucks

Starlite lounGe, 8 p.m., $12

It should come as no surprise that Jennie Cotterill paints very pretty vaginas. Of course, she creates much more than that: custom wedding cake toppers, nifty dioramas and album cover art for her four-piece band Bad Cop/Bad Cop, to name a PunK few. But the vagina art—playful and in-your-face feminist—speaks to Bad Cop/ Bad Cop’s music as well. It’s brash, fun, kickass pop-punk with traces of riot grrrl. Look to the California group’s debut full-length on Fat Wreck Records, 2015’s Not Sorry, for an excellent taste. And, of course, admire the female-fronted cover art. 2565 Franklin Boulevard, www.badcopbadcopband.com.

—Janelle Bitker

Be Brave Bold Robot

naked lounGe, 8 p.m., $5

Sacramento is King Woman’s home away from home. It’s not incidental that her Relapse debut, Created in the Image of Suffering, is being unveiled DOOm ROCK here. And this album is immense. The murky dirge of “Shame” and “Deny” build black monoliths atop the foundation laid on the Doubt EP, only to have “Hierophant” lay ruin to all preconceptions.

We’ll find out if doom rock fans have light in their black hearts when King Woman, in a hushed croon, beckons “If you’re the sacred script / I am the hierophant / I’ve got to be the one, I’ve got to be.” 1517 21st Street, www.facebook.com/KNGWMN.

—Blake GilleSpie

Harlow’S reStaurant & niGHtCluB, 10 p.m., $10-$12

At first listen, you might notice the subtle complexity of Odamé Sucks’ guitar licks, which are lost somewhere between emo, math rock, arena rock and classical.

Combined with the drums, it creates music that is odd and dreary and seems uncomfortable standing anywhere near established genres lines. That is precisely where singerguitarist Odamé wants it. His lyrics inDie use this complexity to convey something equally disquieting inside of him.

For instance, his new song “Lost on the Floor” has these delightful lines: “My blood draws blood / and with that piece of heart / cuts deeper still. Why am I the one on call?”

1111 H Street, www.odamesucks.com.

—aaron CarneS

38 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Be Brave Bold Robot (or BBBR to the initiated) is much more than a mainstay in the Sacramento music scene. The band also represents how most of us fOlK ROCK grow and change over time.

Whether you are the big dreamer, fighting for your future or have settled into your comfortable life, BBBR offers something for everyone. You can tap your toes to the band’s melancholy melodies. From the forlorn sentiments of 2006’s “Depressingly Normal” to the quirky, but all-too-real, quips in 2016’s “Networker,” the band covers all walks of life.

2708 J Street, https://bebraveboldrobot .bandcamp.com.

—lory Gil

pLAyFUL AnD In-yOUR-FACE FEMInIST.

25 SAT

28 T UE

01 W ED

02 T HU

House of Floyd

Bon Jovi

Chicano Batman

Mondo Deco

Sacramento community theater, 8 p.m., $18-$20 This seven-piece Pink Floyd tribute is one of a handful of acts who can recreate the band’s sound by adding extra instrumentation. Although Pink Floyd was normally a quartet, their multilayered music takes on even further dimension backed by extra singers and musicians, and this Bay Area tribute band certainly CLASSIC ROCK does right by the originals.

As is to be expected with anything associated with Pink Floyd, there will be a light show to accompany the bevy of hits like “Money,” “Time,” and “Wish You Were Here.”

2708 J Street, www.houseoffloyd.com.

—eddie JorgenSen

golden 1 center, 7:30 p.m., $16-$330

harlow’S reStaurant & nightclub, 8 p.m., $15-$18

Back in the day, the guys in Bon Jovi were MTV darlings who had countless other acts trying to ape their sound.

CLASSIC ROCK What separated the band from the glam-rock diaspora, however, was the band’s songwriting skills and a keen attention to melody. Their current 20-city trek is dubbed “This House Is Not For Sale” in support of their latest release, which came out in November 2016. For those who’ve never seen the band live, expect a set heavy on the hits and, of course, their latest platter. Not bad for Tuesday night, Sacramento. Not bad at all. 500 David J Stern Walk, www.bonjovi.com.

preSS club, 8 p.m., $6-$10

Chicano Batman is four sharply dressed Latinos who wear ruffled tuxedos and perform soul music that peaks with moments of ’60s psychedelia. On March 3, the band releases its third full-length album, Freedom is Free, with its single, “Friendship (Is a Small Boat in a Storm)” featured on the band’s website. The catchy tune combines groovy vocals and stylish organ playing. The dual guitars and pedal effects give off a Shaft-like vibe that transports listeners back SOUL to the early ’70s. Chicano Batman brings its Latin influences to the indie psychedelia scene and do it with style. 2708 J Street, www.chicanobatman.com.

—eddie JorgenSen

Mondo Deco’s new album Death Rattle Roll drops March 2 and it’s having a release party to celebrate. Ten feverish songs make for a breakneck album that is revved up and bursting with cavalier enthusiasm for all that makes power pop rock. Chunky ROCK guitar riffs, in-your-face bass and raucous drums make one think of garage rock that has been spiffed up and spit shined, while the silver-tongued preen of the lead vocals remind us that all garages have a little bit of dirt around the edges. Sun Valley Gun Club and Dog Rifle are also playing. 2030 P Street, www.mondodecomusic.com.

—amy bee

—Steph rodriguez

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

LIVE MUSIC

THE PINK FLOYD CONCERT EXPERIENCE

Feb 24 ANDREW CASTRO Feb 25 LILLIE LEMON Mar 03 ERICK TYLER Mar 04 TROPICALI FLAMES Mar 10 ZACH WATERS BAND Mar 17 ST. PATRICK’S DAY 3:00PM - ANDREW CASTRO 4:45PM - KEN KOENIG 6:30PM - MUD FOLK 8:15PM - SCOTTY VOX 9:30PM - MASSIVE DELICIOUS DUO

Mar 18 THE INSIDE STORY

COMING SOON

2/25 $18ADV 7PM

2/23 $18ADV $18ADV

STARRING HOUSE OF FLOYD

ZEPPARELLA 2/28 $20ADV 6:30PM

2/24 $20 5:30PM

WILL KIMBROUGH & BRIGITTE DEMEYER

Mar 24 THE BONGO FURYS

RICH THE KID (ALL AGES)

3/1 $15ADV 7PM

CHICANO BATMAN 79.5, SAD GIRL

Mar 31 MUD FOLK

33 BEERS ON DRAFT

MONDAY PINT NIGHT 5-8 PM, TRIVIA @ 6:30 PM TACO TUESDAY $1.25 TACOS NOON - CLOSE WEDNESDAY OPEN MIC – SIGN-UPS @ 7:30 PM 101 MAIN STREET, ROSEVILLE 916-774-0505 · LUNCH/DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK FRI & SAT 9:30PM - CLOSE 21+

/BAR101ROSEVILLE

3/2 $25ADV 8PM

2/24 $10ADV 9:30PM

IDEATEAM

BE BRAVE BOLD ROBOT

DON CARLOS

03/03 Ian Ethan Case 03/03 Bash & Pop 03/04 Twista (SOLD OUT) 03/05 Porter & Nickerson w/ Steve Poltz 03/06 Ghostface Killah 03/07 Mike Zito 03/09 John 5 & The Creatures 03/10 This Charming Band 03/11 Catie Curtis 03/11 Midnight Players 03/12 Isaiah Rashad (SOLD OUT) 03/15 Pure Bathing Culture 03/17 Purple Ones 03/18 Will Whitlock 03/19 G Love 03/22 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 03/24 Save Ferris 03/25 Mouths of Babes 03/25 Bob’s Child Reunion 03/26 Beatles vs. Stones 03/29 The Blasters

02.23.17 | SN&R | 39

thURSdaY 2/23 BADLANDS

2003 K St., (916) 448-8790

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.

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.

#turnup Thursday, 9pm, no cover

BAr 101

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

BLue LAmp

1400 alhaMbRa, (916) 455-3400

MIKE SHERM, 8:30pm, call for cover

fRidaY 2/24

SatURdaY 2/25

SUndaY 2/26

MondaY-WedneSdaY 2/27-1/1

Fabulous & gay, 9pm, call for cover

Spectacular Saturdays, 9pm, call for cover

Tea dance & beer bust, 4pm-8pm, no cover; Industry Sundays, 8pm, no cover

Big Mondays happy hour all night, M; Karaoke, Tu; Trapicana W

ANDREW CASTRO, call for time and cover

LILLIE LEMON, call for time and cover

Knock down muzik showcase, 9pm, call for cover

JUST LIKE HEAVEN, NEW DAY RISING; 9pm, $7

Trivia, 6:30pm M; Open mic, 7:30pm W, no cover THE DRAFT, 9pm, call for cover

The spotlight, 9pm M, call for cover

CASH PROPHETS, 10pm, call for cover

CASH PROPHETS, 2pm, call for cover

CODY CANADA, 7pm M, call for cover

Sunday Mass, 2pm, no cover

EDM & karaoke, 9pm M, no cover; Latin night, 9pm Tu, no cover

The BoArDwALk

9426 gReenbacK ln., oRangebale (916) 988-9247

ceNTer for The ArTS

PAULA POUNDSTONE, 8pm, $52-$57

314 Main St., gRaSS valleY; (530) 274-8384

cooper’S ALe workS

235 coMMeRcial St., nevada citY; (530) 265-0116

couNTry cLuB SALooN

2007 taYloR Rd., looMiS; (916) 652-4007

Karaoke, call for time and cover

THE SIXITIES, call for time, $5

VAGABOND BROTHERS, 8pm, call for cover

CACTUS CULT, DIRTY CELLO; call for time, $7

DISTrIcT 30

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770

fAceS

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

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

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

foX & GooSe

1001 R St., (916) 443-8825

ACCORDING TO BAZOOKA, 8pm, no cover

INSTAGON, GREX, THE BAD TWAINS; 9pm, $5

BRIAN CROOM, ZEN AGAIN, SPACEBOY; 9pm, $5

GoLDfIeLD TrADING poST

ULI JON ROTH, 7pm, $18

LOST THINGS, 7pm, $7

GrAcIANo’S SpeAkeASy

Poker tournament, 6:30pm, call for cover Old school r&b and hip-hop, 9pm, $10

hALfTIme BAr & GrILL

Karaoke, 7pm, no cover

STRAIGHT SHOOTER, 9pm, $5

REBEL YELL, 9pm, $7

hArLow’S

ZEPPARELLA, 8pm, $18-$20

WILL KIMBROUGH, BRIGETTE DEMEYER; 7pm, $20; IDEATEAM, 10pm, $10-$12

HOUSE OF FLOYD, 8pm, $18-$20

2000 K St., (916) 448-7798

1603 j St., (916) 476-5076

1023 fRont St., (916) 321-9480

5681 lonetRee blvd., RocKlin; (916) 626-6366 2708 j St., (916) 441-4693

The hIDeAwAy BAr & GrILL 1910 q St., (916) 706-2465

Jazz jam with Reggie Graham, 5pm, no cover

On the low, 10pm, no cover; Swish, 10pm, no cover

No chill, 10pm, no cover

Open jazz jam and spoken word, call for time and cover

CHICANO BATMAN, 8pm W, $15-$18

BAD COP BAD COP, DECENT CRIMINAL; 8pm, call for cover

2565 fRanKlin blvd., (916) 455-1331

hIGhwATer

open mic, 7:30pm M, no cover; Pub quiz, 7pm Tu, no cover;

Open jam with Leo Bootes & Co, 4pm, no cover Midtown Mardi Gras, 10pm, no cover; Eric & Juan, 10pm, no cover

Cactus Pete & his 78rpm record round up, 8pm Tu, no cover Heavy, 10pm M, no cover; Tussle, 10pm Tu, no cover; Good stuff, 10pm W, no cover

Q: VOTED BEST DANCE CLUB IN SACRAMENTO! KCRA

STAGE COACH TICKET GIVEAWAYS

AT STONEY’S EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT VALUED AT $300 EACH WITH B92.5 THE BULL. HORNS UP!

WEDNESDAYS

WHAT IS ?

A:

COLLEGE NIGHT $2/$3/$4 DRINK SPECIALS 9-11

THURSDAYS

INDUSTRY NIGHT SPECIALS $1,000 PROGRESSIVE KARAOKE CONTEST

FRIDAY

B 92.5 COUNTRY FRIDAYS .50 CENT BEER & $2 JACK SPECIAL 8-9

SATURDAY

COUNTRY DANCE SATURDAYS/KARAOKE UP FRONT

SUNDAY FUNDAY

18 & OVER COUNTRY DANCE NIGHT PLUS .50 CENT BEER & $2 JACK FROM 7-9PM FREE LATE NIGHT BISCUITS N GRAVY FRIDAY FEB 24TH B 92.5 HONKY TONK BOOMBOX CONCERT PLUS MARDI GRAS PARTY!!

SATURDAY FEB 25TH MARDIS GRAS PARTY 2

offers gift certificates and tickets to the best businesses, restaurants, theaters and venues in town up to 75% OFF!

WITH FREE CAJUN GUMBO EARLY, BEADS, MASKS, & MORE C U @ STONEYS STONEYINN.COM

1320 DEL PASO BLVD IN OLD NORTH SAC

STONEYINN.COM 40 | SN&R | 02.23.17

916.402.2407

snrsweetdeals.newsreview.com

thursDaY 2/23 luna’s cafe & juice bar 1414 16th st., (916) 441-3931

frIDaY 2/24

saturDaY 2/25

JASON MCALISTER, NOAH NELSON, JOE KOJIMA; 8pm, $5

DAVID HOUSTON & STRING THEORY, 8pm, $6

sunDaY 2/26

monDaY-WeDnesDaY 2/27-1/1 Comedy, 8pm W, no cover

midtown barfly

Salsa Wednesday, 7:30pm W, $5

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

naked lounge downtown 1111 h st., (916) 443-1927

SAM KINUNEN, OLIVIA GODBY, SAM SHARP; 8:30, $5

ODAME SUCKS, CHROME GHOST; 8:30pm, $5

RADIO CURE, ALLYSON SECONDS; 8:30pm, $5

old ironsides

LOOSE ENGINES, 8:30pm, $3

CALISCOPE, BACK ALLEY BUZZARDS; 8pm, $7

GHOSTTOWN REBELLION, NORTH BY NORTH; 8pm, $7

Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover

Zepparella

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

Resonance: modern love edition, 9pm, $6

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Dart & movie night, 7pm W, no cover

8pm Thursday, $18-$20 Harlow’s Hard rock

INSPECTOR 71, 10pm, $10

WONDERBREAD 5, 10pm, $15

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

on the y

670 fulton ave., (916) 487-3731

powerhouse pub

614 sutter st., folsom; (916) 355-8586

LAVAY SMITH, 10pm, $10

the press club

Live band karaoke, 8pm M, call for cover

DJ Larry’s Sunday night dance party , 9pm, no cover

2030 P st., (916) 444-7914

shady lady saloon

HOT CITY, 9pm, no cover

A.A. GROOVE PROJECT, 9pm, no cover

CANCIONES BONITAS, 9pm, no cover

starlite lounge

DETH CRUX, STUDENT-LED; call for time and cover

KING WOMAN, VRTRA, DECLENSION; 8pm, call for cover

ARCHGOAT, VALKYRJA, HELLFIRE DEATHCULT; 8pm, call for cover

stoney’s rockin rodeo

Country dancing & live band karaoke, 9pm, no cover

Country dancing & live band karaoke, 8pm, $5-$7

Country dancing & live band karaoke, 8pm, $5

Country dancing & live band karaoke, 9pm, call for cover

Country dancing & live band karaoke, 8pm, $5-$7

torch club

X-TRIO, 5pm, no cover; JON EMERY & TATIANA MCPHEE, 9pm, $6

PAILER & FRATIS, 5:30pm, no cover; MOJO GREEN, 9pm, $8

OVERDRAFT, 5:30pm, no cover; DANIEL CASTRO; 9pm, $8

Blues jam, 4pm, no cover; Front the band, 8pm, no cover

MATT RAINEY, 5:30pm Tu, no cover; BOCA DE RIO, 8pm Tu, $5

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

PETER PETTY, 9pm, no cover BRETT AS IS, JP THE HUSTLER; 8pm, call for time and cover

All ages, all the time ace of spades

Paula Poundstone

BORN OF OSIRIS, VOLUMES, OCEANS ATE ALASKA; 6pm, $20

1417 r st., (916) 448-3300

cafe colonial

Comedy open mic, 8pm W, no cover

3520 stockton BlvD., (916) 736-3520

8pm Friday, $52-$57 Center for the arts Comedy

the colony

3512 stockton BlvD., (916) 718-7055

shine

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

Online ads are

Oriental Magic Hands

Jason Shimomura CMT 601-1292 (9am-9pm daily)

FREE!

*

Hiring Engineer Vision Services Plan has an opening for a Software Engineer in Rancho Cordova, CA. Utilize bus user stories to determine bus & tech req’ts to deliver progr, features, modules, & small proj in a timely and cost-effective manner. Apply: https:// career4.successfactors.com/ career?company=VSP ref job # 1167.107 EOE. LOCAL DRIVERS WANTED! Be your own boss. Flexible hours. Unlimited earning potential. Must be 21 with valid U.S. driver’s license, insurance & reliable vehicle.

866-329-2672 (AAN CAN)

ALL AREAS ROOMMATES.COM Lonely? Bored? Broke?

Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at roommates.com!

(AAN CAN)

MAKE THE CALL TO START GETTING CLEAN TODAY Free 24/7 Helpline for alcohol & drug addiction treatment. Get help! It is time to take your life back! Call Now: 855-732-4139 (AAN CAN)

¿Hablas Español?

HOT Latino Chat.

Call FREE! 800-928-7714 Looking For Love?

Looking for love or just a friendly chat? Connect with Latino singles in your area.

18 Plus - Call 1-800-413-8915 Try it free.

STILL

*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.

Hiring Engineer Vision Service Plan has opening for Sr. Software Engineer in Rancho Cordova, CA. Dev, create, & modify general comp apps sw or specialized utility prog. Apply: https:// career4.successfactors.com/ career?company=VSP Ref job# 1167.114 EOE.

PAID IN ADVANCE! Make $1000 a Week Mailing Brochures From Home! No Experience Required.

Helping Home Workers Since 2001! Genuine Opportunity. Start Immediately! www.IncomeStation.net (AAN CAN)

PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions.

866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/ New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN)

adult

Munchie Spot Hey ladies and gentlemen, come and relax with us at the Munchie Spot, a private club for card holders only. Call for more information (405) 800-3375 or email munchiespot13@gmail.com Sponsored by Hazmat... ent Location: 809 8th Street Tired of the Same Old Dating Sites?

Meet real people in your area & make a new connection on your terms! 18 plus only. Call 1-800-931-8450.

Petite Blonde Looking to Pamper Let’s stay warm this season in my discreet location.

New specials.

(916) 812-5330 48 Pills + 4 Free!

Viagra 100mg/Cialis 20mg Free pills! No hassle, discreet shipping. Save now.

Call today 1-877-621-7013 (AAN CAN) Livelinks - Chat Lines Flirt, chat and date! Talk to sexy real singles in your area.

Call now! (877) 609-2935 (AAN CAN)

02.23.17 | SN&R | 41

PURE GOLD

Always FREE to listen and reply to ads!

WWW.GOLDCLUBCENTERFOLDS.COM

TOTALLY NUDE SHOWGIRLS

$5 OFF ADMISSION

W/AD $5 OFF AFTER 7PM 1 DRINK MINIMUM EXP 3/23/17. NOT VALID ON UFC FIGHT NIGHTS

STORE OPEN 10AM CLUB OPEN 5PM WOODLEY VS THOMPSON

#1 PER N&R GREAT FOOD

LUNCH SPECIALS

NATALIA STARR OVER 180 XXX MOVIES

WED FEB 22 – SAT FEB 25

UFC 209

Playmates or soul mates, you’ll find them on MegaMates

WHO ARE YOU AFTER DARK?

Try FREE: 916-480-6200 More Local Numbers: 1-800-700-6666 redhotdateline.com 18+

HOLM VS DE RANDAMIE

SAT MAR 4 · 135” SCREEN BEST PLACE TO BUY CLASSIC ADULT DVDS, VALUE MAGAZINES

DANCER AUDITIONS

5 PACK DVDS

$9.69

DAILY 3000 SUNRISE BLVD. #2 W/COUPON REG. $12.69 AD EXPS 3-23-17. 1 PER CUSTOMER

Sacramento:

(916) 273-8207 www.megamates.com 18+

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA

916.631.3520

BORN IN POLAND. 2013 PENHOUSE PET OF THE YEAR. 2014 BEST NEW STARLET STAGE TIMES: Wednesdays & Thursdays 10pm & 12:30am Fridays Noon, 9:30pm, 11:30pm & 1:30am Saturdays 9:30pm, 11:30pm & 1:30am

STORE SIGNING FRI & SAT 6-8PM AMATEUR CONTEST/AUDITIONS EVERY MONDAY

10:30 PM - $450.00 CASH PRIZE

FRIENDLY ATTRACTIVE DANCERS CONTRACTED DAILY. CALL 858-0444 FOR SIGN UP INFO

FREE ADMIT w/Ad $5.00 VALUE

Valid Anytime With Drink Purchase

25,000 ADULT DVDS $0.49 - & UP

WE BUY USED ADULT DVDS BACHELOR / DIVORCE PARTIES 916.858.0444 FULL SERVICE RESTAURANT

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

SPORTS ACTION ON OUR GIANT SCREEN TV

11363 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova (Between Sunrise & Hazel)

858-0444

M-Th 11:30-3 • Fri 11:30-4 • Sat 12-4 • Sun 3-3 Gold Club Centerfolds is a non-alcohol nightclub featuring all-nude entertainment. Adults over 18 only.

42 | SN&R | 02.23.17

by JOEY GARCIA

ADVER

@AskJoeyGarcia

REAL PEOPLE, REAL DESIRE, REAL FUN.

Luckless in love I’m not sexually attracted to very many guys. Does that mean something is wrong with me? I’m straight, female, 26 years old, educated and employed. Most of my girlfriends are with really hot guys. I never attract guys like that. Guys that ask me out can’t keep a conversation going. They show up for our date dressed like they fell asleep in their clothes after a binge. I’m cute, fit and generally optimistic. Why can’t I attract the kind of guy I want?

You can. It just hasn’t happened—yet.

Yes, it’s humbling (or annoying, depending on your personality) to discover that the timing of life events isn’t completely under our control. We co-create our lives, and that means our desires, actions and decisions overlap with other people’s desires, actions and decisions.

And, depending on your belief system, a Divine Consciousness could also be pulling some strings. Or not.

Here’s the gold in your dilemma: If you’re not sexually attracted to the men who are asking you out, why date them? If you assume you might be more attracted after getting to know a man, well, that seems legit. But if you’re just dating to avoid being lonely, you’re sending yourself mixed signals about what you really want. Think about the qualities and values that you can’t live without in a partner. Do you long for an emotionally healthy guy? Or do you just want arm candy? I’m not saying that you can’t have both, but if it comes down to it, what do you really need in order to commit?

Knowing your top six non-negotiable relationship qualities or values will help you choose dates more wisely.

Let’s talk about sexual attraction.

From a spiritual perspective, sexual attraction is deeply connected to our energy patterns. One person can feel an electrical charge of attraction to another without realizing it’s hooked into old unresolved wounds. Issues from childhood wounds, brokenness from adult relationships, even fears about ourselves can become barriers to bliss.

So that sizzle isn’t always two soul mates connecting; it’s sometimes one

Try FREE: 916-480-6227

pain-body locking on to another. People who are primarily sex-driven need to be desired sexually. That’s sexy until we realize it’s fed by serious control issues that will eventually blow up the relationship. Sexual attraction is also affected by sexual trauma—abuse, rape and sexual repression rooted in religious beliefs make it harder to surrender sexually and emotionally to a partner. A good psychologist or relationship coach can help.

I’m divorced and have been dating online for two years. I’ve met some guys, but mostly it’s been a lot of back-and-forth online messages that never result in dates. There have been guys I’ve had a few dates with, but after awhile they end contact. My friends say I’m too picky. I want a man who is honest, takes care of himself, can talk with me and likes to go out to movies and dinner once in a while. Is that too picky?

What do you really need in order to commit?

Of course not! The next time a friend says you’re too picky, say this: “When you go shopping for a dress, do you try to find one that fits you and is right for your lifestyle? Or will anything do?” That way, you and your friend can have a laugh over your dating adventures. Ω

More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000

ADVERTISE HERE If you are interested in advertising with us, please contact CLASSIFIEDS at 916-498-1234 ext. 1338.

THE BEST MASSAGE YOU CAN GET

NEW STAFF!

5 OFF

$

• 7 Days a Week 10am–10pm • Sauna & Shower Available • Free Chinese therapies • Reflexology • Deep Tissue • Swedish *this is a model

“You’re not a star until you love yourself. Directors, they’ve got to love their own philosophies.

But actors have to really love themselves,” says film director Shekhar Kapur. Is your heart primarily attracted to a belief system, or to you?

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. 1360; or email askjoey@newsreview.com.

916.395.7712 7271 55th St. #D

Sacramento 95823

GRAND OPENING SPECIAL $40 1 HOUR • FREE STEAM & SHOWER * VIETNAMESE BODY MASSAGE * DEEP TISSUE * SWEDISH * HOT STONES

GOOD DAY SPA

MeDITaTIon of The Week

please co

All Credit Cards Accepted

Lady Saigon Spa 6840 65TH ST #A135, SAC CA 95828 10AM - 10PM DAILY • 916-573-3919

Vibrational

❤

GRAND OPENING

❤

❤

❤

TANTRIC MASSAGE ❤

❤ ANTELOPE 9AM-9PM DAILY

BODY Therapeutic

The

Massage at Land Park

Lulu

3401 FREEPORT BLVD #5 SACRAMENTO CA 95818 916-326-5600

$80+ Ann, CMT

❤

❤

916.722.7777

29-JET SPA • BODY SHAMPOO • BY APPT.

02.23.17 | SN&R | 43

SN&R’s

What’s inside: The 420 49 Product Review 53 Grower’s Guide 57 Capital Cannabis Map 61 For More deals, updates & Listings Visit

and the at newsreview.com

44 | SN&R | 02.23.17

we moved! now at 21st & r 420 med e valuations

$ 45 new pati e nts on ly va lid a t 1800 21

st

$ 35 pati e nt re n e wal s o n l y va l i d a t 18 0 0 21 st .

st .

st

val i d t hr o u Gh 0 3/0 1 /17

v a lid th ro uGh 03/01/17

Winner 4 ye ars in a roW!

B e’13 st m e d i cal mar ij uana cli n i c - sacramento news and review readers’ poll ’13

’13

’13

’13 ’14

’13

2 1 st s t .

r st.

’13

G e t a pproved or no ch ar G e! • 24/7 v e ri f i c at i o n s ! • hi p aa co m p li an t • 1 00% d octor /pati ent conf i d enti ali ty NOTICE TO CONSUMERS: The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ensures that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use cannabis for medical purposes where medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit from the use of medical cannabis. Recommendations must come from an attending physician as defined in Section 11362.7 of the Health and Safety Code. Cannabis is a Schedule I drug according to the federal Controlled Substances Act. Activity related to cannabis use is subject to federal prosecution, regardless of the protections provided by state law.

1800 2 1 s t s t • (9 16) 90 5 -4171 • medeval420@G mai l. com • 4 20me de va l.com o pen mo n d a y t h ro uG h s a tu r d a y 1 1 a m to 6 p m • ope n s unday 11am t o 5pm 02.23.17 | SN&R | 45

SN&R’s We're not just a wellness center , we're a wellness community.

WG Wet Genetics

#FWCFAMILY Open 7 Days a Week 9:00am - 9:00pm 1421 47th Ave. Sacramento, CA. 95822

WWW.FLORINWELLNESSCENTER.COM

916-706-0563

wm

Compliant with California Proposition 215, S.B. 420 & Attorney General Guidelines Must have doctor’s recommendation and California ID to join.

46 | SN&R | 02.23.17

wide selection of

award winning

flowers & extracts for express orders call 916.476.4344

916.476.4344

@916nhc facebook.com/916northstar

Join our ViP

program by texting vip to 916.945.9484

monday & friday: donate towards one gram of concentrate and get the second one half off

1236 c street

sacramento, california, open 9:00am - 9:00pm 7 days a week

02.23.17 | SN&R | 47

2017

SN&R’s

hosted by the california cannabis industry association

MARCH 7TH | SACRAMENTO | SHERATON GRAND FOR TICKETS & SPONSORSHIP INFO: WWW.CACANNABISINDUSTRY.ORG Questions: Katie Kerner, 916-292-2457 or katie@kmkstrategies.com SPONSORED IN PART BY

48 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Bring in any competitor’s coupon* and we’ll beat it by $5

Blunting Trump

*That is CA Medical Board Standards Compliant.

Must present competitor’s ad. Some restrictions apply.

I am hella worried that the Trump administration is going to clamp down on cannabis, especially in legal states. Are my fears unfounded?

—P. Turbed I don’t think there’s any need for you to hide all your weed just yet, but you are right to sense a disturbance in the Force. The Trump administration has not really said whether they will bother states that allow cannabis use. We know that Attorney General Jeff Sessions hates weed, but we also know that Colorado and Washington made more than $1 billion in legal cannabis sales.

California has more than three times as many people as Colorado and Washington combined, and California weed is the best in the world, so the California cannabis market could believably make twice as much in cannabis revenue as any other legal state. It’s easy for the feds to push around a bunch of outlaws, but it’s a completely different thing when the feds start trying to bully a multibillion dollar industry. Legal cannabis provides money and jobs. It will be hard for state legislators to let go without a fight.

Legal cannabis makes America a better place. Hell, some of the weed taxes collected in Pueblo, Colorado, are being used to create a scholarship fund for its high school students. Yes, I could make a joke about “higher education,” but it would be too easy. The point is: In America, money talks, and right now cannabis money is doing most of the talking.

If you are still worried, there are some things you can do. You can email, call or go visit your local Republican politician and let them know that you support cannabis remaining legal. I was just at the International Cannabis Business Conference, and they had a panel on “How to talk Republican.” The panelists, all of them GOP lobbyists and advisers, suggested using phrases like “small government” and “free market” and “states’ rights.”

I agree with the first two, and would like to add that you use words like “liberty” and “democracy,” and maybe you could remind your Republican politician that cannabis is more popular than any political candidate and perhaps they should respect the will of the people. I am not a fan of the “respect states’ rights” argument, mostly because “States’ rights!” is the battle cry of the folks that want to bring back Jim Crow and rampant homophobia.

Remember, the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery, it was a battle over “States’ rights.” (Snicker.)

Another thing that was mentioned in the panel was that cannabis just isn’t a big priority for the White House right now. I think they are correct. Sessions and President Bannon will probably be too busy taking away health care from millions of people and keeping minorities and liberals from voting to worry too much about all the rich, white Republicans looking to take over the cannabis game. We should be fine. For now. Ω

Cannabis just isn’t a big priority for the White House.

Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert.

Email him questions at ask420@newsreview.com.

VOTED BEST 420 PHYSICIAN IN SAC! ’15

420 MD MEDICAL MARIJUANA EVALUATIONS

WINTER COMPASSION SPECIAL

39 49

$

$

RENEWALS

MUST BRING AD.

Limit one per patient. Some restrictions apply.

NEW PATIENTS MUST BRING AD.

Limit one per patient. Some restrictions apply.

916.480.9000 2 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU

2100 Watt Ave, Unit 190 | Sacramento, CA 95825 | Mon–Sat 10am–6pm 2633 Telegraph Ave. 109 | Oakland, CA 94612 | 510-832-5000 Mon–Sat 10am–6pm | Sun: 12am-6pm RECOMMENDATIONS ARE VALID FOR 1 YEAR FOR QUALIFYING PATIENTS WALK-INS WELCOME ALL DAY EVERYDAY 420 MD OPERATING IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

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

www.420MD.org 02.23.17 | SN&R | 49

SN&R’s

GOT A MARIJUANA

CONVICTION? Call California Record Repair for a

FREE

CONSULTATION with one of our experienced attorneys.

REDUCE OR DISMISS PRIOR MARIJUANA CONVICTIONS California Record Repair is a legal clinic offering low cost legal assistance for prop 64.

SAturDAy

916-573-1001 • CALIFORNIARECORDREPAIR.COM

eighth SpeciAl with any $40 min donation

munchie monDAyS ........buy any 2 edibles get 1 (free of equal or lesser value) top Shelf tueSDAyS ....FEB. ONLY $10 off all top shelf 1/8ths, $250 cap on all top shelf oz wAxy weDneSDAyS......buy 3 top-shelf full melt for only $90 hAShtAg thurSDAy ......all bubble hash is only $15 per gram free j friDAy ..................get a free joint with any $10 min donation SunDAy funDAy ..............4 gram 1/8ths all day Cannot be combined with other offers. Strain determined by HHWC. Expires 03/01/17.

SS gle

hin

50

Rd

d k RParking on

c ro

4020 Durock rD, Ste 1 • Shingle SpringS, cA (916) 757–0980 • open monday – friday 10am to 8pm • saturday 10am to 8pm • sunday 10am to 6pm Du

Oakmont Drive

Compliant with California Proposition 215, S.B. 420 & Attorney General Guidelines. Must have doctor’s reccomendation and California ID to join.

50 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Expires 03/01/17

concentrates

4 for $100

plus tax, exp. 3.1.17

all $30 wax

plus tax, exp. 3.1.17

6x

BEST OF WINNER all $40 wax

concentrates

3 for $100

Never Rushed.

Always Organic.

DAI LY SPEC IALS EVERY WEEKDAY Text RHOUSE to 71441 to receive offers, gifts, specials and more.

OPEN EVERY DAY 9AM-7PM

8112 Alpine Ave Sacramento, CA 95826

916-739-6337 • Open Mon - Sun: 10am-8pm

GIF TS FOR NEW PATIENTS & REFERRALS!

8848 FRUI TRIDGE RD | SAC RAMENTO | 91 6.381.3769

Sierra Medical

CANNABIS SUBSCRIPTION

03/01/17

Monthly Home Delivery

LABTE ORG STED A CAN NIC NAB IS

FROM O U R FAR M T O Y O U R HO M E MORE A FFORD AB L E T HAN T R AD I T I O NAL D E L I V E R Y

Find out more & sign up at www.smcs.company 02.23.17 | SN&R | 51

SN&R’s

Monday: 11am - 7pm Tuesday: 11am - 7pm Wednesday: 11am - 7pm Thursday: 11am - 7pm Friday: 7am - 7pm Saturday: CLOSED Sunday: CLOSED

Ask us abou out our hom t visit concier e ge service!

• Pain (Chronic and Acute) • Headaches/Migraines • Low Appetite • Poor Sleep • Nausea/Vomiting • Neuropathy • Depression 52 | SN&R | 02.23.17

• Anxiety • ADHD • Muscle Spasms • Poor Digestion • Glaucoma • Seizures ...and much more...

Photo by Anne StokeS

Jetty Extracts vape cartridges and pen

by DAniel bArneS

MONDAY SPECI A L:

A StAndOut ExtrAct

10 % OF F A L L E DI B L E S

TUESDAY SPECI A L: 1 F R EE GR A M OF BU BBL E H A SH W HEN PA T I E N T H A S A S U B T O T A L OF $ 10 0

WEDNESDAY SPECI A L:

Jetty Extracts vape cartridges and pen

Discretion ..............★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Potency .................★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

A

s the parameters of recreational cannabis legalization take shape in the state of California, and as the market inevitably gets flooded with carpetbaggers, it will be important for companies to find a way to distinguish their brand. For example, Jetty Extracts is fairly new to the medical cannabis world, only in operation since 2013, but they have already found several ways to stand out in a crowded market.

First of all, they have a great origin story, as they were founded by ecominded San Diego surfers, a claim they back up with ample evidence on their Instagram feed. Second, they’ve based the identity of their product on an ethos of eco-friendly packaging and production, and they back up their talk with The Shelter Project, a program in which enrolled cancer patients receive a free gram of medicine for every gram purchased.

Finally and arguably most important, Jetty Extracts delivers a high-quality

THURSDAY SPECI A L: 10 % OF F A L L C B D R IC H M E DIC I N E

FRIDAY SPECI A L: G E T A F R E E C A R T R I D G E W H E N A PA T I E N T H A S A SU BTOTA L OF $ 250 OR MOR E

S AT U R DAY SPECI A L:

Jetty Extracts is fairly new to the medical cannabis world ... but they have already found several ways to stand out in a crowded market.

All three cartridges were very flavorful and clean, free from the semi-metallic taste of many vapes. The CBD Blend tasted the best, offering a piney and grassy flavor, while the J-1 had more of a nutty, popcorn-like taste, and the 84.9 percent THC level Gold Indica put forth a strong minty flavor.

GET A 4 GR A M TOP SHEL F 1/ 8T H

SUNDAY SPECI A L: GET A F R EE HOUSE PR E -ROL L W HEN YOU H AV E A S U B T O T A L O F $ 5 0 O R M O R E

FREE GIFT FOR NEW PATIENTS FREE SERVICES FOR MEMBERS 3015 H Street • Sacramento, CA 916.822.4717 • 9am–9pm Everyday www.ATherapeuticAlternative.com *

Doctor’s recommendation & CA I.D. required

G St

Alhambra

Value .....................★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

product — they use the supercritical fluid extraction method, which results in a more potent, more pure, solvent-free cannabis oil. We sampled three different Jetty Extracts vape cartridges (priced between $50 and $70) — a CBD-rich blend, an indica strain with an extremely elevated THC level, and a more balanced but still THC-heavy strain called J-1.

BUS-80

Review

Ease of Use ...........★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

G E T A F R E E 5 D O S E K O R O VA W H E N A PA T I E N T H A S A S U B T O T A L OF $ 8 0 O R M O R E

H St

Produced by the Custom Publications division of News & Review.

02.23.17 | SN&R | 53

SN&R’s

WANT TO START A CANNABIS BUSINESS? s program d r a w e r t n Patie

LIVE SEMINAR IN SACRAMENTO MAR. 11 & 12 • Complete break down of MCRSA, (Medical Cannabis Regulation & Safety Act & Adult Use of Marijuana Act) ONLIN • Learn how to start a California compliant Collective E COUR VIDEO • Cultivation, edibles, exctraction and more AVAIL SES A ANYTI BLE • Professional cannabis business referrals ME • Networking opportunities with contacts in the industry SIGN UP ONLINE OR CALL TODAY! www.420college.org | TOLL FREE 855-420-TALK (8255)

buy 3 1/8ThS get one

scan the QR code to score a freebie from Two Rivers

10%

aNy EdIbLE*

aNy cONcENTRaTE*

off

free* *Exp. 03/01/17. caNNOT bE cOmbINEd W/ aNy OThER OffER.

20%

off

open new years day 10am - 4pm OpEN 7 dayS a WEEk 9am – 9pm

TWO RIVERS WELLNESS • 315 NORTh 10Th STREET, SacRamENTO /TWORIVERSSac 916.804.8975 • TWORIVERSSac.cOm

/two_rivers

t a L t U I onS S n o c Grow S Letter bLe avaiLa Lified to QUa tS patIen

$50 new

patients

we’LL atch anY Lm o cLiniccaL SPeciaad L! w/ coPY o thIS ad f

Get approved or no charGe! one step evaluation process • walk-ins welcome

$40

renewal with copy of ad

downtown Sacramento 2015 Q Street, 95811 • (916) 247-3636 oPen monday through Saturday 11am to 6pm • cLoSed SUndaY • valid through 3/1/17

54 | SN&R | 02.23.17

02.23.17 | SN&R | 55

SN&R’s

SAVE 50% ON THESE AWESOME EVENTS with

$27.50

$10

Amador Vintner’s Behind the Cellar Door (March 4th & 5th):

Old Sugar Mill 5th Annual Brazilian Carnaval (March 4th)

$55 tickets for only $27.50

$20 tickets for only $10

SNRSWEETDEALS.NEWSREVIEW.COM

We are live on the air thanks for watching, today’s guest claims she can fart smoke.

How is this possible?

Beans with cracked pepper and flint.

I dab heavily before enjoying a fresh organic vegan gluten free meal rich in protein fiber calcium and omega 3’s.

You heard it here 1st folks, we are now the nation’s capital for farm to fart!

THIS COMIC BREAK HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

NEW VIDEOS

5 DAYS A WEEK

HANGOUT WITH US! 916.750.0420 BUDMANANDBOOGER

CITY OF SACRAMENTO ACCEPTING CULTIVATION APPLICATIONS APRIL 3RD, 2017 Abdallah Law Group, P.C.

• Cannabis Compliance Attorney • Conditional Use Permit (CUP) applications for cultivation & manufacturing facilities • Cannabis business applications • Consultations available

CALL THE FIRM (916) 446-1974

555 Capitol Mall, Suite 766 Sacramento, CA 95814 56 | SN&R | 02.23.17

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DELIVERY

Sign-up, view menu, and order online $30 min. delivery

3X SNR DELIVERY WINNER

FREE DELIVERY TO Sacramento • Roseville • Folsom • Elk Grove • Davis Open everyday 10am-8pm • 916-661-7324 • eztree.com

Time To Grow once said, “any place where you can grow good tomatoes, you can grow good marijuana.”

Whether you are a veteran backyard pot grower, or want to try growing indoors for the first time, our area is blessed with sun and state-of-the-art grow shops. Still, there are choices to make. One of the biggest is whether to grow outdoors or indoors. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so we listed the main ones. Happy growing!

the First oF Four articles on cannabis cultivation.

Watch For more in next Week's capital cannabis Guide.

O

nce the first warm, sunny weekend comes along, Sacramentans hit the local nurseries with gardening fever, a strange Central Valley phenomenon compelling them to get an early jump on those summer tomatoes.

Cannabis growers are no different when it comes to getting their fingers into the soil this time of year.

A local outdoor grower named Ben

ouTdoor

by Ken Magri

Free sunlight: Cannabis flourishes with as much direct sunlight as possible.

Lower start-up cost: A good clone, bag of dirt, container and fertilizer will cost between $50-$75. relatively easy: With a little attention, you can grow good smoke-able buds.

conS Code violation: If your county isn’t named Alameda or Calaveras, and the neighbors complain, you could get a letter from code enforcement. bugs and weather: Without a greenhouse, insects can destroy otherwise healthy plants. Cannabis also stresses-out above 85 degrees and below 55 degrees, and unexpected rain can create mold inside the buds.

Smell: Pungent cannabis accounts for many complaints to the sheriff’s office in late summer and autumn.

Discretion: Keep your growing activities more private.

indoor

Like spring training and gardening, cannabis growing season is right around the corner

ProS

Control: Choose your own starting times and light cycles.

Keeping bugs and weather out: There may still be problems, especially with soil, but they are less severe and easier to remedy. better quality: “Top shelf” cannabis is most often grown indoors.

More expensive: Our setup cost $300 for one plant. Add more for additional plants and electricity costs.

Less tolerance for mistakes: Because you are controlling everything, you need to pay attention, especially with hydroponics. a matter of taste: Many growers say soil-grown cannabis tastes better than hydroponic strains.

Produced by the Custom Publications division of News & Review.

Good Nature Garden Supply &

HYDROPONICS EXPERT ADVICE & LOW PRICES EVERYDAY

PREMIUM CANNABIS SEEDS

Start growing today with our hand-picked, premium quality cannabis seeds.

Cloning • Lighting • Ventilation • Soils • Pest Control

10% off

Grow your own!

*

YOUR FIRST PURCHASE

use code: GROWSAC10 *limited time offer

20% OFF

YOUR ORDER! EXCLUDES SALE ITEMS. W/COUPON.

6290 FOLSOM BLVD. | 916.454.9376

SACRAMENTO, CA | M-F, 10A-6:30P | SAT 11A-5P | CLOSED SUNDAYS

GIVE US A CALL TOLL-FREE 1.855.811.GROW

growerschoiceseeds.com

find us on

02.23.17 | SN&R | 57

SN&R’s

sign up now!

To get the latest info, coupons & deals text weed to 42828

capital cannabis newsletter

2201 Northgate Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95833 *No coupon stacking, not valid for @sherbinski415 & @the_real_king_cookie strains ** some exclusions apply *** of equal or lesser value. exp. 3.1.17

Buy 3 1/8ths

GET ONE

we got clones!

buy 3 grams of

FREE* 4th FREE

concentrates get

*

exclusive strain

orange tree santa cruz genetics

DAILY SPECIALS Monday

Patients Choice Choose from any daily special

Tuesday

@greenlineorganicsseedbank @greenlineorganics420

Thursday

Saturday

Free Gram w/donation towards any 1/8th

Free Gram w/donation towards any 1/8th

Shatter Day 15% off all concentrates**

Vape Day 15% off all vape products**

Free J Friday w/min donation of $30

Donate towards 3 edibles, get the 4th free!***

Wednesday

www.ZEN916.com | 916.292.8120 @ Zen_Garden916 follow us open 10am-9pm 7 days a week 58 | SN&R | 02.23.17

Friday

Sunday

Free gram 916.469.9182 1404 28th Street

Corner of 28th & N, Midtown Sac Open 10am-9pm 7 days a week www.GreenSolutionsSac.com

N e w pat i e N t

SpeCialS & GiftS!

/greensolutionsmidtown

* e x p.

03.01.17 /greensolutions420

y l n o l a Medic

m a r g e e r f L L O R E R P +

nts* e i t a P l a r r Refe d n a s t n e i t a For New P

we proudly sponsor

*while supplies last

$35 cap

$10 cap 3 grams on All grams flower and hash

for $50 wax special

916.254.3287

on Concentrate Grams

Korova Demo February 24th 4-7pm FREE SAMPLES

135 Main Avenue • Sacramento CA, 95838 • Open Mon-Sat 10AM–7PM • Now Open Sun 12-5 02.23.17 | SN&R | 59

SN&R’s

GET EVALUATED TODAY

FREE

AND RECEIVE PLATINUM PERKS LIKE A PERSONALIZED PORTFOLIO, ID CARD, LAMINATE PROTECTION AND 24/7 VERIFICATION

Get Your Recommendation!

North Of Hwy 50 @ Bradshaw & Folsom Blvd ReNewalS

40 $50

$

Photo ID

available for

$15

w/ couPoN exP. 03/01/17 SNR

New PatieNt w/ couPoN exP. 03/01/17 SNR

50

Routier

Bradshaw

Blvd om Fols

Sun 11am-5pm NOTICE TO CONSUMERS: The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ensures that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use cannabis for medical purposes where medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit from the use of medical cannabis. Recommendations must come from an attending physician as defined in Section 11362.7 of the Health and Safety Code. Cannabis is a Schedule I drug ’14 according to the federal Controlled Substances Act. Activity related to cannabis use is subject to federal prosecution, regardless of the protections provided by state law.

’13

caNN-Medical

60 | SN&R | 02.23.17

- Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

9719A Folsom Blvd. Sacramento, CA 916-822-5690 • www.cannmedical.org

WATT AVE.

EL CAMINO AVE.

FULTON AVE.

ARDEN WY.

21 ST ST.

16 TH ST.

1

19

11 7

AUBURN BLVD.

HAZEL AVE.

RALEY BLVD.

NORTHGATE BLVD.

25

160 60 18

C ST.

GREENBACK LN.

80

26 24

12

WHITE ROCK RD. J ST.

17

5

2

50

FAIR OAKS BLVD.

4

80

13

FOLSOM BLVD.

6 FRUITRIDGE RD.

15

24TH ST

3. A THERAPEUTIC ALTERNATIVE 3015 H St

22

99 FLORIN RD.

23

14 20

9 8

16 FLORIN PERKINS

2. 515 BROADWAY 515 Broadway

3

POWER INN RD.

1. 1841 EL CAMINO 1841 El Camino

5 12 Th ST.

CAPITAL CANNABIS MAP

21

10

4. ABATIN 2100 29th St

12. HIGHLANDS HEALTH & WELLNESS 4020 Durock Rd

5. ALL ABOUT WELLNESS 1900 19th St

13. HORIZON COLLECTIVE 3600 Power Inn Rd

20. S.A.S. 8125 36th Ave

6. ALPINE ALTERNATIVE 8112 Alpine Ave

14. HOUSE OF ORGANICS 8848 Fruitridge Rd

21. SAFE CAPITOL COMPASSION 135 Main Ave

7. AMC 1220 Blumenfeld Dr

15. FLORIN WELLNESS CENTER 421 47th Ave

22. SOUTH SAC CARE CENTER 114 A Otto Circle

8. CC 101 6435 Florin Perkins Rd

16. GREEN DOOR METRO 6492 Florin Perkins Rd

23. THC 6666 Fruitridge

9. CLOUD 9 5711 Florin Perkins Rd

17. GREEN SOLUTIONS 1404 28th St

24. TWO RIVERS 315 N 10th St

10. DOCTOR’S ORDERS 1704 Main Ave

18. NORTHSTAR HOLISTIC COLLECTIVE 1236 C St

25. VALLEY HEALTH OPTIONS 1421 Auburn Blvd

11. GOLDEN HEALTH & WELLNESS 1030 Joellis Way

19. RIVER CITY PHOENIX 1508 El Camino Ave

26. ZEN GARDEN WELLNESS 2201 Northgate Blvd 02.23.17 | SN&R | 61

SN&R’s

62 | SN&R | 02.23.17

FRee will aStRology

by Dave Kempa

by ROb bRezsny

FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23, 2017 ARIES (March 21-April 19): My astrological radar suggests there’s a space-time anomaly looming just ahead of you. Is it a fun and exotic limbo where the rules are flexible and everything’s an experiment? That might be cool. Or is it more like an alien labyrinth where nothing is as it seems, you can hear howling in the distance and you barely recognize yourself? That might be weird. What do you think? Is it worth the gamble? If so, full speed ahead. If not, I suggest a course correction.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Someone on Reddit

asked readers to respond to the question, “What is the most liberating thought you’ve ever had?” Among the replies were the following six: (1) “If new evidence presents itself, it’s OK to change my beliefs.” (2) “I get to choose who’s in my life and who isn’t.” (3) “I am not my history.” (4) “You can’t change something that has already happened, so stop worrying about it.” (5) “I am not, nor will I ever be, conventionally beautiful.” (6) “I don’t have to respond to people when they say stupid shit to me.” I hope these testimonies inspire you to come up with several of your own, Taurus. It’s a perfect time to formulate liberating intentions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It has been a while

since I told you that I love you. So I’m doing it now. I love you. More than you could ever imagine. And that’s why I continue to offer these horoscopes to you free of charge, with no strings attached. That’s why I work so hard to be a playful therapist and an edgy mentor for you. That’s why I am so tenacious in my efforts to serve you as a feminist father figure and a kindly devil’s advocate and a sacred cheerleader. Again, I don’t expect anything in return from you. But if you would like to express your appreciation, you could do so by offering a similar type of wellcrafted care to people in your own sphere. Now would be an excellent time to give such gifts.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “I like the word

‘bewilderment’ because it has both ‘be’ and ‘wild’ in it,” says poet Peter Gizzi. I propose that you go even further, Cancerian: Express a fondness for the actual experience of bewilderment as well as the word. In fact, be willing to not just tolerate, but actually embrace the fuzzy blessings of bewilderment. In the coming weeks, that’s your ticket to being wild in the healthiest (and wealthiest) ways. As you wander innocently through the perplexing mysteries that make themselves available, you’ll be inspired to escape formalities and needless rules that have kept you overly tame.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Are you familiar with

psychologist Carl Jung’s concept of the shadow?

It’s the unflattering or uncomfortable part of you that you would prefer to ignore or suppress. It’s the source of behavior about which you later say, “I wasn’t acting like myself.” Jungians say that the shadow hounds you and wounds you to the degree that you refuse to deal with it. But if you negotiate with it, it leads you to beautiful surprises. It prods you to uncover riches you’ve hidden from yourself. I mention this, Leo, because any shadow work you do in the coming weeks could generate rather spectacular breakthroughs.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You could make a

vow like this: “Between now and April 15, I will be relentless in getting my needs met. I will harbor a steely resolve to call on every ploy necessary to ensure that my deepest requirements are not just gratified, but satiated to the max. I will be a dogged and ferocious seeker of absolute fulfillment.” If you want to swear an oath like that, Virgo, I understand. But I hope you will try a softer approach—more like the following: “Between now and April 15, I will be imaginative and ingenious in getting my needs met. I will have fun calling on every trick necessary to ensure that my deepest requirements are playfully addressed. I will be a sweet seeker of unpredictable fulfillment.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): How would Buddha

ask for a raise or promotion? How would Jesus tinker with his career plans as he took into consideration large-scale shifts in the economy? How would Confucius try to infuse new approaches and ideas into the status quo of his work environment? Ruminate deeply on these matters, dear Libra. Your yearning

to be more satisfyingly employed may soon be rewarded—especially if you infuse your ambitions with holy insight. How would Joan of Arc break through the glass ceiling? How would Harriet Tubman deal with the inefficiencies caused by excess testosterone? How would Hildegard of Bingen seek more emotional richness on the job?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I suspect you

would benefit from acquiring a new bedroom name, my dear. But should I be the one to give it to you? I’m not sure. Maybe you could invite a practical dreamer you adore to provide you with this crazy sweet new moniker. If there is no such person to do the job (although given the current astrological omens, I bet there is), I’ll offer the following array of amorous aliases for you to choose from: Wild Face … Kiss Genius …

Thrill Witch … Freaky Nectar … Boink Master …

Lust Moxie … Pearly Thunder … Peach Licker … Painkiller … Silky Bliss … Slippery Diver …

Swoon Craver.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Soon I’ll be

off on my first vacation in 18 months. At first glance it might seem odd for an astrologer like myself to have selected two Sagittarians to be my house sitters. Members of your sign are reputed to be among the least home-nurturing people in the zodiac. But I’m confident that by the time I return, raccoons won’t be living in my kitchen, nor will my plants be dead or my snail mail stolen or my TV broken. The current astrological omens suggest that most of you Centaurs, at least for the foreseeable future, will display an uncommon aptitude for the domestic arts.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The near future

will be mutable, whimsical and fluky. It’ll be serendipitous, mercurial and extemporaneous.

You should expect happy accidents and lucky breaks. Your ability to improvise will be quite valuable. Do you believe in lucky numbers?

Even if you don’t, yours will be 333. Your sacred password will be “quirky plucky.” The cartoon characters with whom you will have most in common are Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. The place where you’re most likely to encounter a crucial teaching is a threshold or thrift shop. Your colors of destiny will be flecked and dappled. (P.S. I suspect that an as-yetundiscovered talisman of power is crammed in a drawer full of junk.)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Treat your body

like a sublime temple, please. And regard your imagination as a treasured sanctuary. Be very choosy about what you allow to enter in to both of those holy places. This strategy is always a wise idea, of course, but it’s especially so now, when you are extra sensitive to the influences you absorb. It’s crucial that you express maximum discernment as you determine which foods, drinks, drugs, images, sounds and ideas are likely to foster your maximum well-being— and which aren’t. Be a masterful caretaker of your health and sanity.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What would your

best mother do in a situation like this? Please note that I’m not asking, “What would your mother do?” I’m not suggesting you call on the counsel of your actual mother. When I use the term “your best mother,” I’m referring to the archetype of your perfect mother. Imagine a wise older woman who understands you telepathically, loves you unconditionally, and wants you to live your life according to your own inner necessity, not hers or anyone else’s. Visualize her. Call on her. Seek her blessings.

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.

On socialism and Nazi punching If recent polls on young people’s opinions on capitalism are any indicator, America’s future is socialist.

Purple-haired, tattooed and ready to pave the way for the Left in California’s capital city, Linda-Ann Mattox is co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Sacramento chapter. During the day, Mattox is a social work student at Sacramento State, but in her free time she’s out doing her best to help wrangle DSA’s burgeoning new batch of political activists.

You don’t see any or many candidates running for office under the DSA logo. Is it a political party?

We are not a political party, but we actually did endorse Russell Rawlings, the socialist candidate for mayor in Sacramento. So we interfere, I suppose, in politics. We’re a political organization, but we don’t have our own candidates, I guess.

So if DSA is not a political party, what is it?

That’s a really good question. I don’t know how I would classify this. We do education— we’re running a reading group every week.

We support other organizations and causes in the area. We’re organizing for certain campaigns in Sacramento right now, so we do a little bit of everything.

What kind of campaigns?

We are in the infancy of doing a student union as well as possibly a riders’ union for transit and a tenants’ union.

Fill in the blanks: Donald Trump is ________.

A fascist.

PHOTO BY EVAN DURAN

this enemy force and socialism as the answer to that.

What are the harmful symptoms of capitalism that people might start noticing?

In Sacramento, it’s rent prices being off the charts in comparison to what minimum wage is. It’s food being off the charts. It’s a lack of affordable transportation. It’s the fact that rather than building housing for the homeless in Sacramento we built an arena, and most of the working class is pissed off about that. They don’t understand why this thing that was supposed to make Sacramento better is just benefiting the rich people in Sacramento.

Hillary Clinton is _________.

Does DSA Sacramento have an official position on punching Nazis?

A puppet.

No, but I have one.

Bernie Sanders would have __________.

OK, what’s your personal position?

Started the revolution.

DSA’s membership is exploding.

Over 14,000 members nationwide, and they’ve doubled in the last nine months. Why is that?

I think it’s a combination of things. I think we’re a little more socialist than Bernie Sanders, but because he identifies as a democratic socialist people are Googling that, and then we show up. It’s also that people are tired of capitalism, and a lot of them don’t even know that that’s what they’re tired of because they don’t have those connections of capitalism as

communists, and I love that because it gives me a way to understand where people are coming from. It gives me more tools to organize campaigns because I know more ideologies. It means that we can have a bigger power base because we have more members. It’s less rigid in ideology, there’s more room for growth in ideology.

Everyone’s in their own place in their awareness in what we’re doing.

When you say “liberal,” you’re talking establishment Democrat?

I would say liberal is a Democrat. Maybe an establishment Democrat, maybe a progressive Democrat. A Berner would be a liberal to me.

And yet you’re saying you see value in discourse with them and you’re open to them joining DSA. Yeah, of course. I kind of skipped the liberal step because I grew up with a Republican father. I went from libertarian to socialist, but I know a lot of people who came into socialist knowledge, and liberalism was the starting point for them. So as much as it’s not where I want people to be, I want to meet people where they’re at and work with the understanding and knowledge that they currently have and give them as much information as possible to hopefully swing a little more left. Ω

I’m not going to punch a Nazi, but I think that it’s justified. There’s a huge difference between violence against oppressors and violence as a means of oppression. Those are very different concepts. I think that violence against the oppressor as a means to liberate yourself is a lot different than using it as a way to keep people down. But I’m not going to punch Nazis.

Neither am I. I don’t want to go to jail.

Neither do I. What do you love about being a democratic socialist?

The democratic socialists are a big umbrella.

We have everything from liberals to full-on

Learn more about the Democratic Socialists of America at www.facebook.com/DSA.Sacramento.

02.23.17 | SN&R | 63

ALL AGES WELCOME!

1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95811 • www.aceofspadessac.com SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25

THURSDAY, MARCH 2

THURSDAY, MARCH 9

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

FRIDAY, MARCH 17

SATURDAY, MARCH 18

TUESDAY, MARCH 21

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

TUESDAY, MARCH 28

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29

THE WALTERS FRIDAY, MARCH 31

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5

THURSDAY, APRIL 6

SATURDAY, APRIL 8

COMING SOON 02/26 03/08 03/14 03/19 04/09 04/11 04/12 04/13 04/14 04/18 04/19 04/20 04/21 04/22 04/24 04/25 05/04 05/11 05/16 05/27 08/26

Tickets available at all Dimple Records, and www.aceofspadessac.com

William Singe Sold Out! Skillet Sold Out! Social Distortion Sold Out! Dance Gavin Dance Sold Out! Mayday Parade Modern Baseball The Damned Tech N9ne Beats Antique Oh Wonder Jai Wolf Granger Smith Katchafire Jimmy Eat World Sold Out! LANY Kehlani Sold Out! D.R.I. Real Friends Blue October Jack Russell’s Great White Y&T