s-2018-07-19 by News & Review

08 NEW LIFE

20 FESTIVAL RETURNS

HISTORIC SCHOOL’S

Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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Volume 30, iSSue 14

thurSday, july

ATTACK OF THE SACRATOMATOES

19, 2018

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2 | SN&R | 07.19.18

July

19,

2018

Vol.

30,

issuE

Editor’s notE

05 07 08 13 14 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 34

SpoRT DiSh STAGE FiLM MuSiC CALENDAR CApiTAL CANNAbiS GuiDE 44 ASK joEy 47 15 MiNuTES

28 20 Creative Services Manager Christopher Terrazas Creative Director Serene Lusano

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Editor Eric Johnson News Editor Raheem F. Hosseini Managing Editor Mozes Zarate Staff Reporter Scott Thomas Anderson Copy Editor Steph Rodriguez Calendar Editor Maxfield Morris Contributors Daniel Barnes, Ngaio Bealum, Alastair Bland, Brad Branan, Rob Brezsny, Skye Cabrera, Aaron Carnes, Jim Carnes, Michael Cella, Maia Paras Evrigenis, Joey Garcia, Kate Gonzales, Becky Grunewald, Howard Hardee, Ashley Hayes-Stone, Jeff Hudson, Rebecca Huval, Jim Lane, Ken Magri, Michael Mott, Rachel Leibrock, James Raia, Patti Roberts, Steph Rodriguez, Shoka, Stephanie Stiavetti, Dylan Svoboda, Bev Sykes, Graham Womack

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Defeat Trump’s local ally

STREETALK LETTERS NEwS GREENLiGhT FEATuRE SToRy ARTS & CuLTuRE

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You Me We They, Stay Thai Food

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I had intended to write this week’s note about the two land-use stories in these pages—Scott Thomas Anderson’s stirring yarn about shady dealings in Folsom, which could have huge regional consequences, and my own news piece about a small Midtown development, and local efforts toward preservation, sustainability and affordability. It’s a coincidence that the two articles are running simultaneously, and they represent crucially divergent planning philosophies. But that’s all I’m going to say about this topic for now, because … Trump. By now you’ve likely seen the Helsinki press conference, heard the outraged response and read about Trump’s pathetic deceit (“I said would instead of wouldn’t”). There is one thing you may have missed, and I want to call your attention to it because it’s of great local significance in this devolving national tragedy. It’s a statement from Jessica Morse, who is running for congress against Tom McClintock: “Our troops have sacrificed too much for us to give a foreign adversary a pass. Why hasn’t Tom McClintock followed the example of Senator McCain in speaking out? I have never waivered from my oath to ‘defend our constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic,’ and when in Congress, I will use my vote to defend our country and honor the brave men and women who protect us.” The day before Morse posted this on Facebook, The Bee published an article, by Emily Cadei, who reports from McClatchy’s D.C. bureau, under the headline “Democratic challenger raises more than three times as much as Tom McClintock.” The article went on to report that this represents “the fourth quarter in a row that Morse has outraised McClintock, who has not faced a competitive challenge since being elected to Congress in 2008.” McClintock did not live in District 4 when he won that 2008 race—he lived in Thousand Oaks. He does not live in the district today; he lives in Elk Grove. (In a Morse meme, Rep. Ami Bera is identified as “Tom McClintock’s congressman.” ;-) I believe McClintock is beatable. Word is getting out that, like Trump, he is shamelessly dishonest and utterly ineffective; he has authored three laws since he’s been in office; two renamed post offices. The best way folks in the Sacramento region can fight Donald Trump is to help Jessica Morse.

—ERIC JOHNSON e r ic j@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

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“... Any TAylor SWifT Song.”

asked at arden Fair Mall:

What’s your favorite (or least favorite) earworm song?

Christian Clinton

andrew k awaMur a

model

Probably my most favorite is a song by Logic. It’s called “Anziety.” Because, you know, I have lots of anxiety and it reminds [me that] … everything’s going to be all right.

alleneChia sMith

gymnast

“Lucid Dreams” by Juice WRLD. I’d say favorite because it’s catchy.

parent

Keke Wyatt, [she’s] my favorite. The singer is Keke Wyatt … “Who Knew?” That’s her song. I can just relate to her song. It makes me feel in a sexy mood. … I love her songs.

Mariah edwards college student

I think any Taylor Swift song. I don’t really like her as an artist, but her songs are so catchy. They just constantly get stuck.

eMMa sordi

david lope z

high school student

guitarist

The Stanley Steemer jingle gets into my head all the time. … “Stanley Steemer makes carpet cleaner!” Least favorite.

Probably like the Titanic song [“My Heart Will Go On”]. If I just watched the movie, I’ll have it stuck in my head for like a month.

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Email lEttErs to sactolEttErs@nEwsrEviEw.com

Gnat-sized problem Both Sasha Abramsky’s recent Bee column decrying the treatment of immigrant children and the comments from the political right in response aren’t so much lying as changing the subject. Currently, 40 percent of America’s population does not have $400 in savings to deal with an emergency. Medical bankruptcy threatens sick people. Poverty, joblessness, and their knock-on effects in crime, incarceration, homelessness and even starvation and opioid overdose are much bigger problems than Abramsky’s worry about “thugs” in power and the intrusive government those opposing him decry. Separating immigrants from their children, right or wrong, is small potatoes in comparison. But whenever possible, the officious, [ahem!] I mean “official” commentariat and their sanctioned opponents prefer straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel.

marK DempSey S a c ra m e nt o v i a s act ol et t er s @ n ew s r e v i e w . c o m

Bring on tasty veggie burgers Re “Vegan meals on wheels” by Shoka (V Word, July12):

I tried several of the vegan burgers in the Great Sacramento Vegan Burger Battle. As a self-styled omnivore, The Vegan Van

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burger is the only burger in the contest that actually had a taste and texture of meat. The rest tasted like an assortment between gunpowder-laced sawdust and shredded velvet. I hope she lets us know when the actual van hits the streets. William major Sacramento via newsreview.com

A birth-control conspiracy Re “The conspiracy issue: Planned Parenthood was created to control the black population!” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Feature, July 5): Regardless of whether Planned Parenthood was founded to “control the black population,” it is no conspiracy that abortion kills the unborn of those whom “progressives” claim to advocate for, including females, African-Americans, immigrants and the handicapped

... “Pro-choice” means supporting only abortion on demand and never other options such as adoption. After Planned Parenthood profited with tax support from performing abortions following the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, they changed their position. A 1960s brochure from Planned Parenthood stated that abortion was not birth control: “An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun,” it explained. How far has Planned Parenthood gone by proclaiming abortion is birth control as well as vital for women’s health care and civil rights? michelle Kunert Sacramento via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Be as happy as horses

birds and horses are not often unhappy is that they are not trying to impress other birds and horses. Look at the trees! Listen to the creatures. Gaze upon the clouds, the sea and stars. If you have eyes, ears and an open heart, you will know that the whole of existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Plants are happy for no reason in particular. They will not become president, they will not become rich and they will never have a bank balance. Look at the flowers: It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful. Have a great summer and remember to smile back at the flowers! ron loWe

read more letters online at newsreview .com/sacramento.

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nevada city via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Have you ever seen an unhappy horse? How about a bird who has the blues? One reason why

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The Marhsall School, designed by Rudolph Harold, the architect who designed Sacramento City Hall, has been empty since 2009. Photo by Eric Johnson

Leveraging history The Marshall School, one of Sacramento’s last abandoned masterpieces, could get a makeover by Eric Johnson

Lou Demas walked into a public hearing at the Clunie Center in McKinley Park, casually hobbling with the help of a black cane, white hair flowing from under a black beret. The meeting had already started, but Demas seemed as comfortable as if he owned the place—or the place under discussion. And that’s pretty close to the truth. Six-plus decades ago, Demas was a student at the Marshall School, an abandoned and slowly deteriorating 1903 architectural gem that spans G Street between 27th and 28th streets, just blocks from the 8

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auditorium he had just entered with calm authority. He still lives around the corner, in a house his family built in 1939. This, clearly, is his neighborhood. Over the next 40 minutes or so, Demas listened with about 40 of his neighbors as the three principals of two partnering companies described their ambitious plan to turn the Marshall School and the crumbling parking lot surrounding it into a notably ambitious housing project. Builder Katherine Bardis, her partner and cousin Rachel Bardis, and architect David Mogavero were familiar to most present

e r ic j@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

at the meeting after more than a year of outreach. The project, which would revitalize one of the most historically significant undeveloped structures in the region, and replace a neighborhood blight with a community resource, is still in its early stages, but the concepts are pretty much in place. The Mogavero-Bardis team, which will take possession of the property through a 99-year lease from the Sacramento City Unified School District, is preparing final plans to submit to the district in coming weeks.

The inside of the old school will be gutted; its top three floors will feature units of various configurations. The ground floor, which is referred to as the basement, where the school’s big, bright kindergarten was housed, will likely include a publicly accessible facility—Mogavero referenced the Hacker Lab on I Street. A gazebo would be built in the front yard. “We imagine it will be a gathering space for the entire community,” Mogavero said. On either side of the old school building, two new four-story structures would be built. In each of these wings, above ground-floor parking, plans call for two floors of six units each, and a set-back fourth floor of four units each. More than 50 units total, in a place that now houses only occasional squatters. Mogavero explained that the project is aimed at upscale residents, and opined that if built, the Marshall School project would be “some of the nicest housing built in the city since the Sawyer”—the luxury downtown hotel and condominium complex. In this era when NIMBY naysayers might dominate any local-government

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the online tax jungle effort to substantially alter a neighborhood, this public hearing was stunningly civil. William Burg, the local historian and president of Preservation Sacramento, was in attendance, and he credits the overwhelming support to the developers. “David came to a Preservation meeting to show us early plans more than a year ago,” Burg says. “They got the neighbors involved right away. When you do that, it isn’t ‘your’ project anymore; it becomes ‘our’ project.” It helps that the development team has the kind of track record that inspires trust in neighborhood watchdogs. Mogavero was the president of the Old City Association, which later became Preservation Sacramento. Burg recalls that the architect was on the barricades of the fight to save the historic structures in the R Street corridor, which were slated to be torn down and replaced with office towers. Similarly, Bardis Builders has been involved in the kind of infill-development favored by fans of progressive city planning. “The [Bardis] family was once more well known for the destruction of historic homes than their preservation,” Burg quipped—referring to Chris Bardis, Katherine’s father, who battled preservationists back in the 1980s before becoming a hero by relocating and thereby saving the beloved Dunn Mansion. “Katherine and Rachel don’t have a long history of building with an eye toward historic preservation,” he said, “but they are definitely moving in a new direction.” during a Q&a session following the presentation, the first question came from a woman who said she was a long-time resident of the neighborhood, and had recently experienced several months of homelessness. She said she was quite concerned that there wasn’t an affordable housing component in the project and asked a pointed question: “Do you have any sense of civic duty?” Mogavero responded that the majority of his business involves designing and building affordable housing. In fact, he worked with Mercy Housing on the city’s last true affordable housing project, a 150-unit development at Seventh and H streets—one of many projects he’s developed with that missionoriented nonprofit. With this property, he said, something like that was not possible. Katherine Bardis said the team had dug around to see if any kind of funding was available to subsidize the project, to no avail.

“If the redevelopment agency was still preservation-oriented developments are around, we might have been able to do aimed to confront one of the area’s pressing something,” she concluded. problems: limited housing stock driving Afterward, the formerly-homeless rents skyward. woman, who asked not to be named, said, Burg points out that many of these “I suppose I can see their point.” projects are possible thanks to government Burg looks back longingly to the time programs. Local preservationists, housing before Gov. Jerry Brown dismantled the advocates, public officials and developers state’s redevelopment agencies, when worked together to secure federal tax incenlocal municipalities could raise money tives earmarked for affordable housing and for projects like the Marshall School. But historic preservation. he says Sacramento is still very good at Twenty percent of the cost of rehadoing development that fosters bilitating the Marshall School will sustainability, conservation and come from federal preservation preservation—three values programs. “The that he says are “deeply intertwined.” katherine bardis says greenest “We are now on her passion for historic building … is one our third generation of buildings came from that’s already been people moving back birth. to the city,” he says, “My dad built a built.” “so we have a wealth lot of new buildings, William Burg of experience as to how but he does have a president, Preservation this works.” very large appreciation Sacramento He explains: The first for historic buildings generation of urban resettlers and materials, and likes to arrived in the late ’60s. play homage to that. And so I “The baby boomers went off and think that’s carried forward with us. And got college degrees and decided they when you have a beautiful asset like the wanted to come back to Sacramento, and Marshall School, although it’s sometimes when they got here, they had no interest easier to tear a building like that down, it in living in the suburbs,” he says. “They kind of does a disservice to the commuwanted to live within walking distance of nity,” she said. “Sacramento’s such a downtown. Some of them had jobs in the cool, funky, historic town. You go to big Capitol and they wanted to walk or bike cities like Boston, Chicago, even certain to work.” areas of San Francisco, you see a lot of Burg himself witnessed the second these historic buildings preserved, and it generation of resettlers when he himself was really helps complete the community.” part of the punk-rock and DIY-art scene that Developments like this can require boomed in Midtown in the 1980s. (Burg extra effort—a fact that was apparent at the documents both of those historic events in Clunie Center public meeting. Three days detail in his book, Midtown Sacramento: earlier, Mogavero and the Bardis cousins The Creative Soul of the City.) learned that federal guidelines making “What we’re seeing now is a bunch of historic preservation monies available for returning millennials, who famously don’t projects like this do not allow the units to be feel that they need a car to get around. They sold as condominiums. want to live within walking distance of a The team pivoted, and now the homes place that’s active, like Midtown.” that will be built inside the old school will He argues that there’s no reason to tear be rental units—for at least five years. None down the old to make room for the new. of the development team is in the business “The greenest building,” he says, “is one of renting apartments, but they are going to that’s already been built.” roll with it for now. He points to the Warehouse Artists Lofts “We believe ownership is good for on R Street, as well as the new condominineighborhoods,” Bardis said, “but some of ums down the street, in former industrial the best neighborhoods I’ve ever lived in lofts above the Shady Lady Saloon and were mixed-use, with some owner-occupied the Fox & Goose Public House. The old and some rentals.” Globe Mills flour plant, a blight in Alkali Asked whether that means she and her Flats 10 years ago, was converted to senior team have hatched a plan to make these affordable housing. The Ransohoff Building units available for renters indefinitely, was recently developed as a mixed-use Bardis couldn’t say. project including 22 residential units and “It’s been three days,” she explained. Ω a ground-floor restaurant. In several cases,

The u.s. supreme court ruled last month that online retailers such as amazon have to pony up sales taxes to cities and states, creating a question of how much the Sacramento region can expect. The answer, according to local tax experts, is not all that much. Michael Coleman, a policy adviser for the League of California Cities, told SN&R that while the U.S. General Accounting Office recently estimated that as much as $1.7 billion in online sales tax goes uncollected in California annually, only $120 million to $220 million of this goes directly to cities. Thus, in a state with roughly 40 million people, Coleman’s figures suggest the city of Sacramento could likely expect an extra $1.5 million to $2.75 million annually from the new ruling. “It’s not the huge amount of money that some people might think,” Coleman said. Local governments seem to agree and at least two are staying focused on raising money through new tax hikes. The roseville city council voted unanimously June 6 to place a half-cent sales tax measure on its November ballot. The following morning, Sacramento Mayor darrell steinberg launched a campaign to place a 1-cent sales tax on the November ballot in hopes of generating some $92 million a year for his city’s general fund. Sacramento’s current half-cent sales tax, Measure U, generates $46 million annually and is scheduled to expire March 31, 2019, said the city’s finance director and budget manager Leyne Milstein. “We can’t afford to have that expire,” Milstein stressed. Milstein estimates that without the 1-cent tax, the city could face a $30 million annual deficit from unfunded pension liabilities by 2023. (Graham Womack)

lynching is legal? After 100 years and numerous failed attempts, California Sen. Kamala Harris is leading an effort to finally make lynching a crime in the United States. Historically, lynching was one of the most disturbing acts perpetrated against blacks and other minorities in America. The Equal Justice Institute estimates that more than 4,000 african-american men, women and children were the victims of mob violence and intimidation during the late 19th and 20th centuries. There are few details about the most recent lynching in California, except that it occurred 71 years ago in the Siskiyou County town of Callahan, and that the African-American victim was

accused of “cattle rustling.” While the legacy of publicly torturing accused lawbreakers to death eventually fell out of favor in the United States, it never officially became a federal offense. “Lynching is a dark, despicable part of our history, and we must acknowledge that, lest we repeat it,” Harris said in a statement. Harris made her statement before the California Department of Justice revealed that hate crimes increased for the third straight year. While still lower than they were a decade ago, authorities around the state reported that hate crimes rose 17 percent in 2017, to 1,093 incidents. In sacramento county, 37 hate crime offenses involving 36 victims and 16 suspects were reported by law enforcement and medical personnel last year, but only seven hate crimes were referred to the county district attorney’s office. Zero of the crimes reported to the DA’s office were prosecuted as hate crimes, however four were charged as non-bias related crimes. (Tashana Davis and Raheem F. Hosseini)

07.19.18 | sN&R | 9

The Citrus Heights branch of International Christian Adoptions, which helps find foster home placements for child refugees in California, has been pulled into the national debate about family separations. Photo illustration by Maria ratinova

Mitigating disaster Inside the local Citrus Heights nonprofit that’s been drafted into Trump’s war on immigrant families by Raheem F. hosseini

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

SN&R

The only sign that migrant children came through here was a literal one, pinned to the brick chimney column of a stately, two-story home anchoring a sleepy cul-de-sac in Citrus Heights. The sign read, “Institute for Children’s Aid | Division of: International Christian Adoptions.” Since the federal government began splitting families apprehended at the border in May as part of a zero-tolerance crackdown on asylum-seekers, some of the separated children had passed through this way-station on Birdcage Street. Last month, International Christian Adoption’s executive director Charlotte Paulsen told The Sacramento Bee that her nonprofit had found temporary foster home placements for at least a dozen kids “who crossed the border alone or were separated from parents at the border,” the newspaper reported. Paulsen couldn’t tell The Bee how many children exactly, or where in California they ended up. The inability to track some 3,000 children through the federal government’s immigration process has become an epic quandary for President Donald Trump. It was his administration that conspired |

07.19.18

to separate families and missed a court deadline to reunite them. In the meantime, child-aid providers such as International Christian Adoptions, which rely heavily on federal funding, are being conscripted to warehouse the orphans that the White House has created. A receptionist at ICA’s Temecula headquarters referred all questions to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, which has long paid nonprofits, shelters and foster homes to soften the landing for migrant children fleeing desperate circumstances. A resettlement spokesperson didn’t return three calls seeking comment. Paulsen declined an interview after not responding to two earlier emails. The silence isn’t surprising. In the weeks since Trump, at the urging of senior policy analyst Stephen Miller, exploded U.S. and international norms, much of the world has recoiled at the seemingly punitive whims of the administration. But that doesn’t mean ICA’s lips are sealed. “Grantees are free to talk to the media about what they do. … There is just no basis for a grantee saying, ‘We refuse to

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

tell you what we do.’ That is their choice, that is not federal policy,” said Mark Greenberg, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. “Not talking despite the fact that they’re clearly able to is something to note.” Greenberg would know. Before joining the nonpartisan think tank in July 2017, he spent eight years in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division that oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, and helped loosen restrictions on government-subsidized care providers speaking to the media. Paulsen was emailed a link to ORR’s media policy, but referred questions to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service out of Maryland, which works with organizations like hers to advocate for migrants and refugees entering the country. LIRS has been sharply critical of the family-separations policy, and says its network of local partners is trying to mitigate the damage the administration has done by finding accommodations for the children and connecting their parents to transportation, legal referrals and mental health counseling.

But providers such as ICA may be constrained by the strings of their funding agreements, Greenberg noted. While they can choose to accept federal money, once they do they may be unable to refuse cooperating with federal policy decisions that go against their values. Not unless they want to lose funding, that is. “Overall, this policy has put the shelters in a terrible position, essentially forced to be the places that are implementing the family separation policy,” Greenberg said. ICA claimed almost $1.2 million in revenues in 2017, more than two-thirds of that in federal grants, according to Foundation Center, which collects 990 tax-exempt filings from nonprofits to the Internal Revenue Service. ICA’s reliance on government funding actually increased between 2016 and 2017: The adoption charity experienced a $20,000 drop in donations, according to its member profile on the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Paulsen and president Laura Duke average humble take-homes of about $40,000 a year, according to 990s. On its 990 filing, ICA says its mission is “to offer children hope in the love and compassion of Jesus Christ, hope for basic needs, hope for an education and bright future, and hope for a home in a family they can call their own.” Hope. That mission has taken a beating under Trump. The White House missed its courtordered July 10 deadline to reunite 103 separated children under the age of 5 with their parents. On July 12, the administration announced it had reunited 57 children with their parents, but deemed the rest “ineligible” due to safety concerns or because 12 of the children’s parents had already been deported. ProPublica identified ICA’s Citrus Heights branch as one of the disparate nonprofits that assists the federal government by temporarily housing unaccompanied minors seeking refuge in the United States. On a recent weekday, the blinds were drawn at the home where ICA runs its foster care program for immigrant and refugee children. Inside, a woman said what the others had: She couldn’t discuss the nonprofit’s work. She wasn’t even allowed to explain why the federal government was answering questions on its behalf. Not without the permission of the executive director, who hadn’t responded to phone calls or emails. No children could be seen or heard in the lobby. Ω

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Putting the ‘dick’ in Dixon City’s vice mayor faces heat after homophobic op-ed by Kate Gonzales

The city of Dixon got shout-outs in The Hill and In a July 6 tweet, Sacramento Mayor Darrell HuffPost early this month, but the attention Steinberg joined the growing call for Hickman to online was nothing to relish. step down. In the June 29 edition of Dixon’s Independent Nearly 30,000 people have signed an Voice, the vice mayor of the Solano County city online petition for recall, although Heather of about 20,000 wrote an op-ed calling for what Eckert, one of the organizers behind the recall he dubbed “SPAM: Straight Pride American Facebook page, said last week that their goal Month” to kick off July 1. is for Hickman to either resign or be voted out “Hundreds of millions of the rest of us can in November. They decided against pursuing a celebrate our month, peaking on July 4th, as recall because of the high taxpayer cost. healthy, heterosexual, fairly monogamous, keep “We don’t want to cost the city any money,” our kinky stuff to ourselves, Americans,” he wrote Eckert said. “That $60,000 can go to a lot of in one of the piece’s gentler moments. He ends the other things.” column, adorned with clip-art images that include a They don’t plan to change the name of the crossed-out rainbow flag and a buff bald eagle, by Facebook page because of the national press it calling gay men “faries.” Hickman also included the has received. edition of his weekly column, “That’s Life,” on Eckert was one of a couple hundred his personal website. protestors who packed the July 10 A photo of the print version Dixon City Council meeting to call began circulating on social media for Hickman’s resignation. He that weekend. The Facebook again defended the op-ed as a page “Recall Ted Hickman, First Amendment issue that Vice Mayor of Dixon, CA” night. garnered 1,000 likes in three Eckert said community days. On July 2, HuffPost organizers have identified a covered the homophobic rant strong candidate to challenge in its Queer Voices section. On Hickman. Late Monday night, July 3—the same day The Hill Dixon Planning Commissioner had its first piece and HuffPost Jim Ernest announced on ran a second opinion column—actor/ Facebook that he would run for the activist George Takei shared a story about District 2 seat and was endorsed by ted Hickman Hickman with his 10 million followers. Councilman Devon Minnema. “Let them have their straight pride “The tactic now is to have boots on month—it’s going to be a hoot,” Takei the ground in his district, canvassing said in a phone interview Monday. “I believe in night and day. All day every day,” Eckert said. people showing off their ignorance and stupidity. Bilbo and other Solano Pride members also … We’ll make a mockery of that.” attended the meeting, and distributed information Hickman declined a recent interview request, about the LGBTQ-serving nonprofit. Solano but defended his words to The Sacramento Bee Pride is one of several organizations behind as “tongue-in-cheek.” The newspaper reported Dixon’s LGBTQ+ Pride Day on July 28 in that Hickman has also previously written response to the op-ed. columns disparaging Muslims. “The Solano Pride Center is here for people,” The region’s LGBTQ community and Bilbo said. “We’re also there to help the city of supporters say he needs to face consequences for Dixon with cultural competency training, and to the insensitive column. let them know what is right and what is wrong as “[Hickman] tries to disenfranchise and also far as the LGBTQ community is concerned.” to make light of the fact that we have struggled “The one favor that Hickman did us, was he for acceptance and equality,” said Thomas Bilbo, galvanized this community against hate,” Eckert chair of the Solano Pride Board of Directors. said. “We had pastors, we had teachers, we had “Words have ramifications not just for the former representatives, a former police chief who people he tried to inflict them upon but also for stood up and said, ‘This cannot be tolerated.’” Ω himself.”

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SN&R

TO THE CURRENT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION 2018 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Somewhere along the line you have forgotten that the United States of America is a democracy not a dictatorship! You have gone out of your way to destroy everything that President Obama had done to make our country better! You have divided our once united country with your hatred and bigotry. Your administration breeds hatred! You have fired all who disagree with you, or don’t give you 100% loyalty. You run the White House like your TV show. AMERICA WAS FOUNDED BY AND FOR IMMIGRANTS! ALL IMMIGRANTS! Just in case you have forgotten, even your family were immigrants! Your wives! Maybe even some of your hookers! You have alienated all our allies! You have greeted communist countries run by dictators with open arms. They have played you and you have fallen for it! You and your family have shown that you care nothing for the average American who isn’t in the 1%. Your wife’s motto should be “Let Them EAT Cake,” since we know she doesn’t care about immigrant children! Do you? Her war on bullies should begin with you, Trump! Now you are kicking out immigrants from the military who are willing to fight for our great country and sacrifice their lives for it. Has any of your family served in the military or do they all also have bone spurs? What kind of person enjoys tearing families apart? Those families come to us for help and a better life. They risk their lives to get here. And this is how you treat them. God Bless AMERICA! Here’s an idea for you … since you already have the camps and the people in them and running them with our tax dollars, start the legalization process there in the camps for all immigrants, give them a starting chance. Show them that AMERICA REALLY DOES CARE! Turn this bad situation into a good one, you can take the credit for it, just DO IT! You cut health care, social security, started a tariff war, still trying to build a wall, you are against Roe v. Wade, LGBT, you never showed your taxes, you started internment camps, concentration camps, and holding camps. You use I.C.E. like Nazi Gestapo to do your dirty work. THIS IS NOT OUR AMERICA, TRUMP! You must learn from the mistakes of past history. Do not repeat them! As Americans we should all be proud of our country and the person voted to be our President. But you Trump, have embarrassed us throughout the whole world. I am sorry to say that you represent us. YOU DON’T REPRESENT US! OUR CONGRESS, BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT, SHOULD STAND UP TO YOU WITHOUT FEAR OF LOSING THEIR JOBS! HATS OFF TO THOSE WHO DO, FOR YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE POSITION OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Regretfully by an American citizen whose family was also immigrants!!

Richard Alcala

12 | SN&R | 07.19.18

Prescription for a broken health-care system by jeff vonkaenel

“ASTONISHING. ONE OF THOSE FORCE OF NATURE PERFORMERS.” —VARIETY

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

I am a doctor’s kid, from a little town lives in the hands of their physicians, in Northern Ohio where my dad and they would like be able to trust delivered one-third of my classmates their doctors’ motives. Because the into the world. Our family received stakes are so high, and because of the bottles of milk from a dairy farmer in built-in profit motive in the health-care exchange for my father’s health-care system, consumers can’t know who to services. Our family outings were trust when making decisions about how routinely canceled because my dad had to spend their health-care dollars. to leave to take care of someone else’s Can you imagine large numbers family. of people willingly paying more When I was growing up, I heard than the sticker-price for a car? But over and over again that there people regularly choose more was more to life than expensive health-care plans making a buck. That so they can feel safer. Patients was how my dad felt They go along with about medicine. a doctor’s advice to put their lives in Before he went to have a few extra the hands of their medical school tests, “just in case,” physicians, and they on the GI Bill, he or request a drug worked in the steel that they’ve seen would like be able to mills. He thought of advertised on TV trust their doctors’ himself as a working that they hope will motives. class guy who had a fix a problem they are job as a doctor. having. Coming from his When a physician or background meant caring for his hospital group suggests that I patients and included considering their come in for a procedure or to have a pocketbooks. Around one out of every test done, I would like to know that if four bills that he mailed out was not they were paying the bill, they would paid. He knew that a medical bill could have this same procedure or test done. mean a canceled vacation or no shoes I do not want to find out that their for the new school year. He believed recommendation is based upon making that the white coat meant something a buck, rather than on making me beyond a knowledge of medicine. better. There was also an empathy for the When Americans spend two-andfinancial realities of his patients’ lives. a-half times more for health-care I am a businessman. When I buy than other industrialized countries; a delivery truck, I expect that the car when Northern California hospitals dealer wants me to pay more than I are charging $90,000 more for similar want to pay, and the car dealer expects services than the more competitive that I want to pay less. When I take out Southern California hospitals; when a loan, I would prefer lower interest, doctors too often are unwilling and I know my banker would prefer or unable to tell patients what a higher interest. I do not hold this proposed procedure will cost—the against my car dealer or banker, nor do system is broken. Ω I expect them to hold my self-interest against me. It’s just business. Jeff vonKaenel is the president, CEO and majority But health care should be different. owner of the News & Review. It’s not just business. Patients put their

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hidden money,

weAponized disinFormAtion and

a dark development

Bulldozers tear into the rangeland south of Folsom’s Highway 50.

photo by devon mcmindes

by Scott tHomaS anderSon / s c o t t a @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

A sprAwling mystery in Folsom hAs regionAl implicAtions 14 | SN&R | 07.19.18

t was a cold night in February, and my car was inching through a rope of ruby taillights spilling across north sacramento. rain swept the idling bumpers as my cellphone suddenly lit. i tapped its screen to kill the rumbling in my subwoofers. “good evening mr. Anderson,” a cigarette-singed voice boomed into the cab. “we’re conducting a survey tonight of Folsom residents to learn how they feel about their city.” the stranger had an east coast edge to him. “can i ask you some questions?” i took a slug of lukewarm coffee. “sure.” the man started firing away. what was my opinion of the Folsom city council? what was my opinion of the chamber of commerce? what was my opinion of the direction the city was heading? i gave some half-awake answers. “now i’d like to ask some questions about Folsom ranch, commonly known as south of 50,” the stranger continued. that perked me up. Folsom ranch, an embattled series of housing developments, is on track to be the largest of its kind in sacramento county in decades—which means an enormous loss of open space, agricultural land and wildlife habitat. i searched for words to describe the disappearing open range. i said that it mattered in a region already threatened by similar sprawlswallowed vanishings south of elk grove and on the outskirts of rancho cordova. But did it matter? in this murky world of faceless development interests, secretive political pacts and dark money, it can feel like the truth never matters.

I didn’t know it yet, but this anonymous call was part of a proud American tradition of weaponizing misinformation to steer hearts and minds. Karl Rove once showed that “phone surveys” could manipulate racist voters into thinking of a war hero adopting an orphan as a philanderer hiding “a black love child.” Sacramento’s district attorney recently used phone calls to suggest her political challenger, a longtime homicide prosecutor, was secretly enamored with violent criminals. Now social media has elevated the game. Efforts to discredit a politician on Facebook can spiral into guns blazing inside a family pizza parlor. That tradition was zeroing in on Folsom; I just didn’t know it yet.

‘If you were to learn...’ Back in the car, the tenor of the stranger’s questions was starting to change. “If you were to learn that Folsom Ranch, commonly known as South of 50, would have little to no negative effect on the city’s water supply, would that change your opinion of it?” the stranger asked. I stammered a little. Officials at the State Water Resources Control Board continue to warn that the city has no stable water supply for the 11,000 new homes and 23,000 new residents coming with the South of 50 project, especially in severe drought years. “Well, I know what the state experts say,” I shot back. The stranger was undeterred. “If you were to learn that Folsom Ranch would have no significant impact on traffic in the city, would that change your opinion of it?” he ventured. My eyes drifted into the lagoon of vehicles stalled on Exposition Boulevard. Folsom’s council members had already voted to exempt the South of 50 project from normal traffic standards and were at that moment preparing to downgrade traffic standards for the entire city from a letter-C mandate to a letter-D mandate, which will bring new levels of gridlock over time. “Where are you getting this information from?” I pressed. The stranger muttered something about “the survey.” “If you were to learn that Folsom Ranch,” he went on, “is going to preserve a large amount of natural open space, would that change your opinion of it?” I took a hard turn onto Ethan Way, pulling near the front of the Century Arden Theaters. I knew that the South of 50 project was razing 2,600 acres of grasslands and splitting another 1,000 acres into manicured pockets of artifice. The Environmental

Council of Sacramento had been raising alarms about what this habitat destruction means for endangered hawks and migratory birds, not to mention Sacramento County’s air quality. I glanced down at the telephone number. It was a Long Island area code. A teal fluorescence was beaming off the theater’s obelisk, leaving glints of emerald in the dusky rain. I wondered what the purpose of this “survey” really was, and what kind of data one might later claim to extrapolate from it, based on the assumptions impregnating its questions. I’d soon learn that other Folsom residents had received the same phone call—and no one knew who was behind the calls. The riddle seemed to take on a new intensity a couple months later, when a sponsored story appeared on the homepage of The Sacramento Bee’s website on April 10, 2018. It was anchored between similar-looking (but real) news pieces written by staff reporters, including reports on federal lawsuits, economic trends and historic preservation efforts. The sponsored headline wrapped in all that genuine journalism read, “Folsom residents charting the city’s growth.” Clicking its link, readers found paragraphs of sponsored text sprawling under The Bee’s masthead, prose that trumpeted the virtues of Folsom

“

administrator began posting videos that were bolstered by paid “boosts,” Facebook’s way of using its mighty algorithms to insert content directly into the personal feeds of thousands of Folsom residents. The Folsom Way’s video opens with the assuring voice of a man saying, “It was us, Folsom residents, who took control of the land south of 50.” The Ken Burns-esque narration continues over poignant music as the imagery morphs into aerial drone footage of green, rolling hills—a bird’seye view of valley oaks and pastoral spring splendor—and a look down on land that was, at that very moment, being torn to pieces by backhoes and bulldozers. There was enough dizzying irony here to feel like I was stepping into the pages of a Raymond Chandler novel. I knew from earlier reporting that Johnny wasn’t the only Cash that had moved around Folsom. There had been hidden money in the politics of open-space obliteration. Now there was hidden money in the marketing of it. Who paid for the puzzling survey? Who is The Folsom Way? I was about to learn what kind of anonymity good money can buy. It was enough to keep any puppeteer in the shadows.

“a Dark Development”

continued on page 16

if you were to learn that Folsom ranch, commonly known as south of 50, would have little to no negative “feature story” effect on the city’s water supply, continued on page XX

would that change your opinion of it? Ranch, insisting the megalithic development happened via the will of the people rather than the area’s wealthiest real estate magnates. The byline on the sponsored story read, The Folsom Way. Around the same moment, a Facebook business page materialized for The Folsom Way. From it, an unknown

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“a dark development” continued from page 15

Folsom conFidential I sensed a growing tension in the chambers. It was June 26 and Folsom City Hall was filled with people about to watch a showdown: On one side, planning commissioners Kevin Mallory and Aaron Ralls; on the other, Mayor Steve Miklos and Councilwoman Kerry Howell. With the support of fellow commissioner Jennifer Lane, Mallory and Ralls were making an argument that the latest draft of Folsom’s general plan is illegal because it was prepared mainly by out-of-town consultants in violation of the city’s code. If the folks in attendance came to watch the exchange get chippy and confrontational—to see the ballooning blood pressure that’s triggered by development issues in Folsom—then they got what they came for. I, on the other hand, was scanning the room for suspects in an anonymous info war. There were certainly faces connected to Folsom’s building boom. One of them, the mayor, was getting flustered at that very minute. I glanced at Miklos, the longtime real estate broker who’s served on the council since before Folsom Ranch was a glimmer in the first multimillionaire’s eye. The stranger who’d called me back in February had asked what I thought of him and Folsom’s other longtime incumbents. The stranger definitely asked my opinion of Councilman Roger Gaylord, the underdog reform candidate who’d driven Jeff Starsky from office in 2016. That upset came on the heels of an SN&R article revealing how much money developers associated with Folsom Ranch spent to keep those who’d greenlit their contentious project—Starsky, Howell, Andy Morin and Miklos— safe behind the dais. Now, as word of the survey spread, some thought the mayor, with all his influence, might know who commissioned it—might have an idea where those persuasive but hoodwinking questions came from. Folsom Utility Commissioner Cyndi Shreve was another resident who was contacted. Shreve was put off by the bizarre slant to the probing. “It was pretty biased toward the developers,” Shreve recalled. “I told the woman [the assertions] wouldn’t change my mind, because I actually knew some facts about the project.” February strangers, I thought to myself. A burst of irritation from the mayor steered my eyes up. “Don’t patronize me,” Miklos told one of the commissioners. “Just get to your point.” Miklos wasn’t running for reelection and wanted to finish the general plan before he rode into the real estate sunset. Later, Miklos would tell me that, not only was he in the dark about who commissioned the phone survey, but he’d also been reached to take it. “I said, um, did you even look at the number you’re calling?” Miklos remembered. “I wouldn’t even get into it, so I don’t really know what it was like.” The mayor added that he had no clue who was behind The Folsom Way. Some people assumed The Folsom Way was a front for the organization linked to a man sitting next to me, Will Kempton. Kempton is the head of economic and business development for the Folsom Chamber of Commerce. An SN&R analysis of campaign finance disclosures revealed that, for at

who paid for the puzzling survey? who is the folsom way?

Folsom Mayor Steve Miklos

Some thought the

mayor,

with all his influence, might have an idea where those persuasive but hoodwinking questions came from. least three years, the chamber acted as a financial conduit between Folsom Ranch developers and local politicians: Builders and landowners tied to the project donated more than $20,000 to the chamber’s political action committee, which in turn spent nearly three times that much to help reelect Miklos, Howell, Starsky and Morin. The PAC spent most of its $54,639 independently, on behalf of the council members, rather than giving it to them—which made the money invisible on individual candidate filings. Knowing that the chamber never advertised that “dark” cash flow, it wasn’t hard for some people to imagine it operating a shadow entity like The Folsom Way. I chatted a little with Kempton. He was friendly. He later told me he didn’t know who was behind The

Folsom Way, but it wasn’t the chamber. Ditto with the survey. As I sat in the chambers weighing other possibilities, the mayor suddenly sounded exasperated. “You’re wordsmithing something that doesn’t exist,” he snapped at the commissioners. I scanned the room for reactions and paused at former Mayor Bob Holderness. After leaving his elected post, Holderness became a consulRichie “the Kingmaker” Ross illustration by james mchugh

There may not be much fence-jumping around Folsom’s old prison, but there’s been plenty around its City Hall. Holderness started the trend. Similar to The Folsom Way’s story-weaving in The Bee—and the meditative voice-over work on its skysoaring Facebook video— Holderness discusses the South of 50 project as if it was approved by locals when they passed Measure W. But that vote for the city to take control of the rolling land’s future, instead of leaving that up to the county, nowhere mentioned 11,000 homes and suburban sprawl. In fact, the measure specifically forbade housing without a new, secured water supply, which remains in doubt. Did Holderness know who was behind The Folsom Way? Before I could think more about it, he stood up and decided to jump into the kerfuffle unfolding in the chambers. Holderness strolled over to the podium. “I’m frankly disappointed to see that two of our planning commissioners don’t have a good understanding of what their role is in our city government,” he said. “Perhaps they didn’t understand their assignment, and that’s unfortunate.” Commissioner Mallory, who’d just finished arguing that consultants have too much power in the city, glanced wearily up and replied, “You, sir, are one of the consultants.”

As a consulant and lobbyist, he’s generated countless pages of newsprint ... His name is

richie ross

and for nearly four decades he’s been a force of nature.

The KingmaKer

tant for prominent developers and then spearheaded the campaign for Measure W, the 2004 ballot initiative for the city to annex the land on its southern border, which would be taken over by Folsom Ranch. Today, Holderness represents Westland Capital Partners, a major developer of Folsom Ranch, as well as AKT Development, a major seller of its land. His jump from elected leader to special-interest contractor was mirrored by former City Manager Martha Lofgren, who helped prepare the South of 50 project on the taxpayers’ dime until 2006, and is now serving as legal counsel for the New Home Company, one of the project’s main developers. But wait, there’s a three-peat! Former city planner Mike McDougall is now a top-ranking manager for Folsom Ranch.

Standing under a Spanish arch on 17th Street in Midtown Sacramento, I took a long look at the building past the intersection. It was a bone-white, mission-style bunker with odd Gothic flourishes. Built the year that Al Capone went to prison for tax evasion, the structure was originally the headquarters for the California Automobile Association. It had been a center for old-school lobbying from the very start; and to many, the man working inside it now represents a throwback to the sharpest elbows in that world. As a consultant and lobbyist, he’s generated countless pages of newsprint, with writers calling him “a political demagogue,” “a Svengali-like figure,” “Willie Brown’s Warlord” and “the Puppeteer of City Hall.” Years ago, my own newspaper had simply called him “the Kingmaker.” His name is Richie Ross, and for nearly four decades he’s been a force of nature. Ross was also my best chance for navigating the information shadows around the South of 50 project. When the propaganda about “Folsom residents charting the city’s growth” first appeared on The Sacramento Bee’s homepage back in April, most mobile devices only showed its byline as The

“a Dark Development”

continued on page 18

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“a Dark Development” continued from page 17

Folsom Way. However, a few noticed that by clicking on the sponsored story with a PC desktop, a second tag-line appeared under the piece’s video component—Ross Communications. That’s the name of the registered business from which Ross has blurred lobbying lines, made politicians sweat and drained untold barrels of newspaper ink since the Gray Davis administration. When it came out in 2001 that Congressman Gary Condit was having an affair with a young intern who’d vanished, Richie Ross was the marketing man the ensnared representative turned to. That’s the kind of representation someone advocating for Folsom Ranch felt they needed, the same Richie Ross who allegedly threatened two legislative staffers in the halls of the state Capitol when a vote went sideways; the same Richie Ross who’d inspired a California task force in 2003 on the topic of consultants getting candidates elected and then lobbying those candidates; the same Richie Ross who was fined $165,000 in 2014 for violating laws about putting public officials under personal obligation; and the same Richie Ross who reportedly told a group of Sac State students in 2016 that “cheating is OK.” The Los Angeles Times wrote of Ross, “You don’t want to be his enemy. You don’t necessarily want to be his friend.” For a development project that claims to have no water issues, no traffic issues and no reason to feel guilty about land loss, Folsom Ranch, by someone’s estimation, needed the biggest gun in town to massage its image. And given what I’d read about Ross, he could probably facilitate a shell entity like The Folsom Way in his sleep. But I was also aware that if Ross didn’t want me to know something, I probably wouldn’t. Still, I was desperate. Even Bob Holderness, possibly the most-connected consultant in Folsom, with a direct link to South of 50’s biggest developers, had told me he didn’t know anything about the infamous Facebook page. The phone survey? Holderness said he didn’t have a clue. With Ross evidently serving as a middleman for The Folsom Way, he seemed my best shot for answers. I sent an email requesting an interview. He didn’t respond. No surprise: For a guy who dines with Jerry Brown and has California’s most powerful unions on speed dial, a shopworn field reporter for an alt-weekly newspaper probably ranks pretty low on the radar. I decided to try to meet him in person. I approached 1700 L Street and grabbed the handle of its heavy door. It didn’t budge. I heard a sharp, unexpected buzz.

18 | SN&R | 07.19.18

The door clicked open. A second later, I was wandering into a vintage showroom. It had the feel of an indoor courtyard flanked by rising, ornate columns. In one corner, the largest American flag I’d ever seen indoors was dropping down like a theater curtain. A woman appeared by some handrails along the gallery above me. I asked for Mr. Ross. “Do you have an appointment?” “I tried to email him yesterday,” I said, “but I don’t know if he got it. I just thought I’d swing by.” “He’s on a conference call right now,” the woman told me. Before I could speak, I heard footsteps in the corner of the gallery. A face emerged above the railings. Careful eyes. Concrete features. It was the legend himself, a cellphone plastered to one ear, a hard, unreadable expression aiming down at me. I stood waiting. And then he drew back slowly, and the legend faded out of sight. The woman began for the stairs. “Do you want to leave a card?”

consider meeting. I wasn’t going to do that. I reminded him that I’d already outlined the topics of discussion. Cornell declined to speak with me. I decided to swing by his workplace to see if this was a misunderstanding. That’s partly because the great Richie Ross still hadn’t been in touch. Who could blame him? Ross seems to like talking to reporters, but whoever his apparent client is—whoever The Folsom Way is—obviously doesn’t want their identity revealed. Besides, Ross was busy working on a multimillion dollar campaign to make Eleni Kounalakis the next lieutenant governor. Kounalakis happens to be the daughter of Angelo Tsakopoulos, the developer who’s the driving force behind Folsom Ranch.

frequently at City Hall. Voicemail. No return calls all around. I began to wonder: If Cornell or McDougall knew something about The Folsom Way, maybe they weren’t saying because it was arguably a failure. All those paid boosts that the unknown administrator pulled the trigger on led Facebook’s algorithm to put the page’s video in front of 8,000 target users. Out of that number, only 23 of them had “liked” the post. Some 14 more shared it, but many did so by leaving comments that blasted the page. The Folsom Way’s administrator couldn’t do anything about comments attached to shares, but it did take down negative comments left on the page. That only stirred more intrigue.

So now I was walking through this parking lot looking for Ross’ unknown client, and trying to ferret out the phone survey, guided by an old Roman question: “Cui bono?” Who benefits? Cornell’s office was a cube of uninspiring stucco and fake-rock columns. I’d heard he was a less foreboding figure than Ross; but, judging purely on offices, I’d already formed an opinion on who had better tastes. Cornell’s door was locked at 2 p.m. I tried calling from the parking lot. I got put through to his voicemail. Frustrated, I later tried calling Mike McDougall, the Folsom Ranch manager who appears most

“Everybody’s been asking who it is,” Folsom Planning Commissioner Justin Raithel told me. “A site just appearing like that, the comments people leave disappearing, that’s something we haven’t seen before.” The Folsom Way is also something that hasn’t been seen before by Siva Vaidhyanathan, director for the Center for Media Citizenship and an expert on social concerns around Facebook. Vaidhyanathan told SN&R that someone creating a Facebook business page and then refusing to reveal any information about the business is virtually unheard of. “In general, a Facebook business page is meant to provide access and

Mas k off? A screen of oaks separated the featureless Folsom parking lot from Highway 50’s drone of traffic. Before this year, drivers cruising its lanes would glance one way to see Folsom’s newer business district, a frantic checkerboard of shops, hotels, chain restaurants and open-air malls. But if they looked south they’d catch a glimpse of a much The Folsom Way is a Facebook business page older California dream. that refuses to disclose They’d see an open what business owns it. horizon over gently rambling cattle land. It looked Celtic green in the winter. It was a harsh, dry gold in the summer. Unlike most Sacramento suburbs, Folsom had an open vista on the edge of town where people could gaze out at an uncluttered sky. Now that’s changing; and, at this moment, I was approaching the office of the man who’d been hired to defend that change. Publicist Ian Cornell is the primary spokesman for the Folsom Ranch developments. I asked Cornell for a sit-down interview, so we could discuss the marketrate and affordable housing situation South of 50, as well as strategies that were being used online to control the project’s image. Cornell insisted that I email him a list of written questions ahead of time before he’d

CAMuseum_CAatBat_HomeOpener_SNR_2-5V_July19_FINAL.pdf 1 6/28/2018 4:31:06 PM

Trump’s Tariffs

These tariffs are already being collected. Local newspapers, printers, and book publishers cannot absorb these costs. This will lead to fewer jobs and less access to local news in our community.

back, old iron pens and barbed-wire crosses straddled the incline—a final remnant of the hard-knuckle work that kept the land open for so long. To my front were scraped and scarred hillsides, mounds of barren, broke-open earth that rose over some model homes and a line of cheap-looking, newly planted windbreak trees. And directly across the street, as if staring straight at me, was a large billboard for Folsom Ranch. It featured a monocle-like loop to the side, and I could almost see one half of the “Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg,” that billboard that kept peering over a choked valley of ashes in The Great Gatsby. At least I knew that the South of 50 project would have a more clinical look. But there was still a lot I wasn’t sure of. Would unknown agents keep gawking into our social media lives, dropping motivated hints and misleading whispers on how to feel about our region? Would we still get nighttime calls from February strangers, hinting about “what if” the facts were just a little different? In the coming years, as people fight to save the last of the county’s open space, would we see the rise of entities like The Elk Grove Way? The Cordova Way? There’s a new reason to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Now, if the man gets what he wants, he never has to step out of it. Ω

The Department of Commerce has assessed preliminary newsprint tariffs, which range as high as 32%.

SIva vaIdhyanaThan Center for Media Citizenship

tell congress that news matters. ask them to end the newsprint tariff.

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“The only reason I can imagine someone doing something like this is to pump out information without participating in any

threaten local news.

accountability,” Vaidhyanathan said. “The only reason I can imagine someone doing something like this is to pump out information without participating in any meaningful conversation.” And there’s a reason to keep pushing out that information. Even though the current Folsom City Council, with the exception of Gaylord, voted to grant the land entitlements for the South of 50 project, only a few subdivisions have made it into the zoning and permitting process so far. The other developers will have to get the details of their projects approved by a City Council different than the one they funded through campaign contributions. Miklos and Morin will be gone. Starsky was already voted out. Howell faces numerous challengers in November. Someone still needs craftily worded surveys. Someone still needs The Folsom Way. On a hot July evening I stood near a cattle chute that was lifting off the weeds above White Rock Road. To my

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Shinobu Terajima dons a blonde wig as “Lucy,” or so Josh Hartnett’s character calls her.

Photo courtesy of the sacramento jaPanese film festival

War, family and sisterhood Seven contemporary classics make the Sacramento Japanese Film Festival’s 14th year by DanieL BaRneS

Now in its 14th year, the Sacramento Japanese Film Festival remains only one of four film festivals in the continental United States that is exclusively dedicated to Japanese movies. Most of the seven films showing this weekend at the Crest Theatre debuted in American theaters a year or two ago, but only one of them ever played theatrically in Sacramento, so the festival gives local cinephiles an opportunity to catch up on contemporary Japanese cinema. Take Hirokazu Kore-eda’s sedate yet surprisingly prickly After the Storm, for example. It played at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2016 and received a limited theatrical release in early 2017, but never had a single showing in Sacramento. Teeming with Kore-eda’s trademark observational humanity and genre-subverting introspection, the film stars Hiroshi Abe as a once-promising writer who frittered his family away, and now pins his hopes on an encroaching monsoon to bring the brood closer together. An SJFF favorite (his Our Little Sister played last year), Kore-eda has already made two more films since After the Storm, including Shoplifters, winner of the Palme d’Or last May in Cannes. Atsuko Hirayanagi’s melancholy crowd-pleaser Oh Lucy! also skipped over the Sacramento area during its theatrical run earlier this year, sticking instead to Bay Area art houses. The film features a fantastic lead performance from Shinobu Terajima as Setsuko, a lonely, middle-aged woman tricked into taking “American English” classes. When the handsome professor (Josh Hartnett) puts a 20 | SN&R | 07.19.18

blonde wig on her head and redubs her “Lucy,” Setsuko begins to embrace her brash new personality, even lustily following the teacher to America. Oh Lucy! doesn’t have much momentum or shape, but Terajima is wonderful. Another Mill Valley veteran, Sunao Katabuchi’s handdrawn animated epic In this Corner of the World is the one film from this year’s schedule that received a local theatrical release, playing briefly at the Tower Theatre last August. Based on a Japanese manga, the film concerns Suzu, a daydreaming teenager from Hiroshima married off to a young naval clerk in the early days of World War II. Fascinating and frustrating in equal measures, In This Corner of the World offers a compelling look at life in Japan during and directly after wartime, putting a rich female character at the center to boot, but it’s also maddeningly choppy. Not surprisingly, the crown jewel of this year’s festival comes from Japanese legend Kenji Mizoguchi, one of the world’s greatest filmmakers both before and after World War II. Coming from his pre-war period, the black-andwhite battle-of-the-sexes drama Sisters of the Gion is set in the “pleasure district” of Kyoto, and the story follows two struggling geisha sisters with opposing opinions on dealing with needy men. Over an airtight 69 minutes, this gorgeously composed film presents a harsh assessment of the connections between gender inequality and economic inequality that feels more progressive and relevant than most modern movies. Other films playing this year’s festival include the ninjas vs. samurai blockbuster Mumon: The Land of Stealth, Yoji Yamada’s Ozu-esque drama Tokyo Family and The Ito Sisters: An American Story, a new documentary with local ties. Visit sacjapanesefilmfestival. net for complete schedule and ticket information. Ω

held at the crest theatre, the sacramento japanese film festival runs july 20 through 22. single movie tickets are $10, $40 for a festival pass. Purchase tickets at the crest (crestsacramento.com) or at the sacramento japanese united methodist church (6929 franklin Boulevard). for more info, call (916) 421-1017 or visit sacjapanesefestival.net.

In this week’s episode of Sacramento musicmakers doing newsworthy things: A Midtown bluesman scores an opening slot with two rock legends; a local rapper and soul-singer invite us to catch a glimpse of the Broadway struggle; and the rise of Hobo Johnson has yet to peak. If you’ve found yourself at one of the downtown dives that regularly host open-mics and chill music sets—spots like Kupros Craft House, Torch Club and the Shady Lady Saloon—Then you’ve probably seen michael ray in mid-hustle on the mic and the guitar, playing B.B. King-style licks solo or with his backing band. Well, next Thursday, July 26, Ray will play to a soccer stadium full of rock ’n’ roll fans who likely wear cheap sunglasses or drink alone, this time at Papa Murphy’s Park in Cal Expo. He’s opening for ZZ top, the bearded brothers who wrote the iconic “La Grange,” and George thorogood, the hard rock lone-wolf most famous for “Bad to the Bone” (accompanied by his band, The Destroyers). Call it a steady incline for the Sac native, who’s opened for blues master robert cray a handful of times, released a full-length album this year titled raw, and put out a Snarkypuppy-esque live LP recorded by neighborhood soundengineer-extraordinaire Ira Skinner at the name-worthy Gold Standard Studios. Tickets to the Papa Murphy’s Park show are $49.50-$275. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. For tickets: ticketmaster.com. Meanwhile, can postal carriers struggling to survive be the unwitting messengers of institutional oppression? Check out the music video for “Broadway,” released last Friday, and witness emcee poor majesty’s sermon on life in Sacramento: “Barbecue spots and black-owned barbershops, cameras on every block while them boys just watch. Hard to feel at home with hella cops in helicopters over these modern day sharecroppers … the landlords say they’re building condos, and they don’t want the rent raised so we’re out, pronto.” POOR, one-third of the rap trio Tribe of Levi, collaborated with singer-songwriter Sené Goss, who in the chorus invites the listener to experience what she calls a “beautiful struggle” and “invisible tragedy” downtown. POOR rhymes about rent control, police brutality and the New Jim crow as the neighborhood mailman, and the video’s heavy turning point is something that—spoiler alert—you should watch for yourself. And Hobo Johnson & the LoveMakers are still coming for everyone. On a North American tour leg right now, Johnson and the gang have been selling out 500ish- capacity venues across the UK, U.S. and Canada since June, riding the viral wave of their unrequited-love song “peach Scone” and promoting the band’s second album, The Rise of Hobo Johnson. The band canceled its concerts in the park show slated for July 13 (Rituals of Mine headlined instead), and the closest they’ll come to Sac this summer is for outside Lands in San Francisco (Sunday, August 12), sharing the bill with Janet Jackson, Janelle monae and the internet. Tickets range from one-day passes ($149.50) to 3-day VIP ($795). For tickets and lineup info: sfoutsidelands.com.

—Mozes zarate mo ze sz@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

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The only reason I tune in to watch NBA OK, maybe Boogie isn’t that guy, games is to see if any team, with a but he and Durant are both ridiculously lot of luck and some talent, can beat talented NBA stars who apparently the Golden State Warriors. I’ll admit would rather play for the squad that’s to something most foul. I’m not a typically up 25 at the start of the fourth Sacramento Kings fan. I’m a King James quarter. fan—which means I’ve been all in for Are there any elite NBA players left the Cavs several years running. who’d rather beat the Warriors than be a But before I was a Cavs fan, I was a Warrior? Kings fan. And before that, a Lakers fan. It’s possible that we, the social It’s complicated. media-bar-barbershop-cable TV NBA I’m an L.A. native who supported the fan base, are to blame. Maybe our home team until I moved to Sacramento. warped insistence on championship rings Obviously, the only ethical thing to do as the single defining confirmation of was relinquish my Laker fan rights and athletic greatness has short-circuited the swear allegiance to the Kings. innate yen of NBA ballers to play to slay And I did. Until I became a King the dragon. James fan. Anyway, I’m still planning to ride As fate would have it, I’m now or die with Lebron and the Lakers—but proudly reconnected to my Laker roots. I’ve decided to get my deferred gratificaBecause Lebron. tion ring now. While the Lakers and Warriors are in Me. A middle-aged, 5-foot 4-inchthe midst of a lopsided arms race, I’ve tall woman who hits the gym a been doing my part. I created a couple-three times a week and 2018-19 Lakers conference intentionally covers 10K finals vision board, steps most days. I have radiate positive life the fitness, fortitude and As fate would force juju to the L.A. humility to warm the have it, I’m now metropolis, and talk Warrior’s bench for proudly reconnected Lakers-talk in hostile the 2018-19 season. public spaces. I can cheer, to my Laker roots. Naturally, when I high-five and pass Because Lebron. found out an infamous water bottles and former Kings player towels—all while deftly now sides with the enemy, avoiding eye contact with it took me to a dark, exasperDraymond Green. ated place. Most importantly, I don’t need Et tu Boogie? the ball. Depending on whose reporting you I’ll be the best NBA role believe, Demarcus Cousins, a.k.a Boogie, player—ever. arguably the best center in the game, Taking my cues from Boogie’s did or didn’t receive credible free-agent inspiring outcome, there’s no way I’m offers. X factors are he’s rehabbing from sitting around at my day job waiting for a potentially career-ending injury—and the Dubs to call me. I’m going to reach has a mercurial temperament. out to them—doggedly, until we come It’s complicated. to terms. So, he was forced to work the phones And I’m available for a lot less than himself and sell his talents to the Golden $5.3 mil. State Warriors? Does he secretly want If all goes well, before I can say to be Kevin Durant—the king of burner “What the hell did I do to deserve this?” accounts? The guy who signed up to play June will roll around and I, too, will have with the then-73-win Warriors minutes an NBA championship with the Golden after having been this close to sending State Warriors. Ω them home for the summer.

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From sweet (but not too sweet) to savory, the Real Pie Company’s pies are really, really good.

Cheese on cheese QueSo fundido, mezCaLito oaxaCan CuiSine in roCkLin

Pie with heart

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE STIAVETTI

If you’re in Rocklin, make it a point to stop by Mezcalito Oaxacan Cuisine on Pacific Street. While their menu shines with a large variety of dishes from Oaxaca’s varied culinary cultures, the queso fundido ($8) is a cheese-lover’s dream that isn’t shy about fat or calories. An impressive celebration of savory decadence, it begins with a blanket of beautiful, salty melted cheese smothered with mushrooms, onions and sweet peppers. The whole thing is then topped with a crispy “cheese skirt,” piles of cheese that have been dropped on a grill and cooked until they’re flat, crunchy and deeply golden brown. Take your experience to the next level with a helping of chorizo for $2.50. You won’t be sorry. 5065 Pacific Street in Rocklin, mezcalitocuisine.com. —StePhanie Stiavetti

Arnold’s caffeinated cousin Laura PaLmer, auburn Coffee ComPany

Real Pie Company 2425 24th Street; (916) 838-4007 Good for: a sweet or savory pie fix Notable dishes: jumbleberry pie, shepherd’s pie, key lime pie

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Kira O’Donnell-Babich opened her original pie shop in 2007, then closed it a year later. There’s been a gaping hole in the hearts of Sacramento pie lovers ever since. When rumblings began that O’Donnell-Babich was opening a new shop in April, on the corner of 24th and Broadway, locals rejoiced and tweeted like pie-happy baby birds. The menu at Real Pie Company is a little overwhelming. All pies come in the full 9-inch size and by the slice, and some also come in a smaller 6-inch mini size. Both mini-pies and slices are similarly priced. It can be confusing to know what’s what—like when you buy a mini key lime pie, then come in the following week to find there is no mini key lime—but braving the menu is worth it. Because, PIE. First off: the savory pies. The seasonal shepherd’s pie ($8.75/mini) was perhaps the best thing I’ve eaten all week. Juicy and flavorful, the ground beef was perfectly seasoned and the potatoes were fluffy yet still tender. A second visit yielded a cold shepherd’s pie, but the staff were quick to warm it up for me. The chicken pot pie ($8.75/mini) was lovely as well. It wasn’t as flavorful as the shepherd’s pie, but the texture was spot-on, and it was everything I wanted a pot pie to be: warm, meaty and creamy, with a crispycrackly top crust. The veggie quiche ($5.95/slice, $28/ whole) was packed with veg, but bizarrely lacked salt. Real Pie Company’s selection of fruit pies rotates seasonally, while a handful of favorite cream- and curd-based pies remain on the menu year-round. The 22 | SN&R | 07.19.18

by StePhanie Stiavetti

selection of fruit pies is dazzling; think everything from a lovely raspberry-rhubarb to a show-stopping apricotmarionberry with a thick, crispy, oaten top crust. The perfectly balanced “jumbleberry” (blueberries, raspberries, marionberries, and cherries) is always on the menu. It’s a perennial favorite for a reason—bursting with fresh berry flavor, it’s an exercise in restraint to not face-plant straight into the plate. When it comes to fruit pies, simple is best. That’s exactly what you’ll get here. The cream pies were a little more complicated. The banana-butterscotch ($5.75/mini, $28/whole) was good but short on butterscotch, which was overpowered by the banana; a second pie was heavy on the butterscotch, which then overpowered the banana. The chocolate cream pie ($5.75/mini, $28/whole) was solid. Not a game-changer, but perfectly executed. The coconut cream ($5.75/mini, $28/ whole) was wonderfully creamy, but not a single one of my dining companions could detect any coconut flavor. It could have just been titled “cream pie.” The strawberry cream pie ($5.75/mini, $28/whole) was incredible, with a creamy, bright pink filling that channels just as much peak berry flavor as a fresh strawberry pie. It comes with a chocolate crust that overpowers the strawberry a bit, but worked overall. The key lime ($5.75/mini, $28/whole) was tart and limey, with a hint of something that’s hard to place (rosemary, perhaps?) that shot the pie over the moon. Of all the cream pies, these two were the best. If you love pie, you may fall prostrate on the doorstep of Real Pie Company. The only potential caveat is the cost. Here’s the thing, though: good food is not cheap to make, nor is it cheap to run a restaurant in Sacramento’s modern economy. What you’ll get in return is a thoughtfully-crafted pie baked by someone who truly cares about quality. And who wouldn’t want to support someone who bakes with love? Ω

It’s not often that I’m surprised by true innovation in a coffee shop. That changed when the barista at the Auburn Coffee Company, above Old Town Auburn, recommended their Laura Palmer ($2.50). It’s a fascinating combo of cold brew, lemonade and lavender extract. The barista explained that it might sound strange, but the acid-on-bitter-on-floral flavor profile worked surprisingly well. The Laura Palmer is like an Arnold Palmer on semi-flowery steroids. It’s refreshing in all the right ways, and any bitterness is counteracted by a kiss of lavender and tart lemonade. 1425 Lincoln Way in Auburn, auburncoffeecompany.com. —StePhanie Stiavetti

The V WOrD

Plant-based taco truck Chad Novick, owner and chef of Bambi Vegan Tacos food truck, said he’s “not vegan at all.” In fact, no one on the Bambi team is vegan, including its other chef, Ruben Casteneda—but all the food is. Novick chose to serve only plant-based eats because, he says, “A lot of vegan food was a compromise.” He wanted to “strike the balance of fun and indulgence.” The truck launched less than two months ago, and he anticipates the menu to evolve, but it currently includes four tacos ($4-$6), some with housemade vegan beef, cauliflower chorizo, corn-fried eggplant and aquafaba-based crema. The Breakfast Taco is a mountain of veggies, potatoes, tofu-eggs and flavorful sauces. The Barbacoa Taquitos ($8) are three beautifully arranged taquitos with crema, slaw and guacamole—and everything is served on biodegradable palm leaf plates. Novick said Bambi will eventually offer dessert and aguas frescas, so start stalking the truck now at bambivegantacos.com and Instagram @bambivegantacos. —Shoka

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The taste of summertime by Kate Gonzales

Is 2018 the year we carnivores will replace our meaty meals with veggies? Swap out chicken for eggplant parmesan, or opt for the black-bean burger from now on? Not likely. But in comes Sacratomato Week—seven days of Sutter District restaurants, bars and clubs celebrating one of the region’s agricultural gems. “The thing about heirloom tomatoes is they have a sweet taste,” said Scott Lawrence, owner of Lawrence Farms. “I love that sweet taste.” Lawrence has been growing tomatoes for 26 years at his Oroville farm. He began growing and selling heirloom tomatoes a decade ago, around the time he noticed higher demand. On a recent Wednesday at Cesar Chavez Plaza, he’d nearly sold out of heirlooms by noon. His favorite way to eat an heirloom is pretty simple: Slice it, dress with balsamic and enjoy. “Our tomatoes are also really steaky,” Lawrence’s 13-year-old son, Jabez, says. “You could just

cut off the crusts … and just throw them on a grill.” In its fifth year, Sacratomato Week spotlights the vegetable with food and drink specials. While the Sacratomato Festival won’t be held this year, raffles and other happenings are scheduled at the Saturday farmers’ market, B Street Theatre and Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. (If the word “veggie” offends here, please see the 1893 Nix v. Hedden Supreme Court decision.) As Sacratomato Week approaches, chefs and bartenders are working on items that showcase the crop. If there’s a fried sandwich you could feel only mildly guilty for chomping down, it’s chef Inocencio Cruz’s fried heirloom tomato sandwich at Ink Eats & Drinks. Cruz brings together breaded-andfried heirloom tomatoes, a generous helping of fresh mozzarella, onion, lettuce and chipotle-basil mayo between two Hawaiian buns for a filling alternative to a fried chicken sandwich.

Vegetarians be warned—he sneaks a few slices of bacon in there. Ink’s Sacratomato Week cocktail, the Basil Tov, is a gentler version of a Bloody Mary that won’t have you reaching for Tums after a few rounds. Bartender Amber Hickey created the cocktail made with basil-vodka, fresh lime, tomato juice and chili paste, with a salted-cumin rim that gives the drink a pop of spice. If you’re heading to Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub for a concert, opt for an item off the venue’s revamped seasonal menu instead of eating out before the show. Chefs Alex Alvarez and Steven Hayashida developed the new menu, which will include a thin-crust heirloom tomato and basil pizza. “To be honest, it’s easy when it’s heirlooms,” Alvarez said. “The anticipation has been really crazy. Because we are a known Farm-toFork capital, it’s important to use what’s in season.” Ω sacratomato Week runs July 23-29. For more information, visit exploremidtown.org.

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Reviews

now playing

Mostly poppin’ by Jim CarneS

1776

Presenting an all-female version of the musical 1776 is more than just a gimmick. It humanizes those who have been idolized as the creators of America by bringing a different light to some of the quirks and peccadilloes of the founders. The names are the same; the events are the same. Only the sex has been changed. Rodger Hoopman and Warren Harrison direct a large (18 women strong) cast of actor/singers. Fri 8pm,

Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm. Through 7/22. $21-$23; Chautauqua Playhouse in the La Sierra Community Center, 5325 Engle Road in Carmichael; (916) 489-7529; cplayhouse. org. J.C.

4 There’s something about this mary.

Mary Poppins

8 p.m. Fri-Sun (no show on July 29). Through August 5; $15-$18 Fri-Sat, $12 Sun; veteran’s Memorial Amphitheatre, 7997 California Avenue in Fair Oaks; (916) 966-3693; fairoakstheatrefestival.com.

Most people know the story of Mary Poppins, the magical nanny who turns bad kids nice, from the 1964 Walt Disney film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, or (for those who read) the stories of P.L. Travers. The play, which is introduced by the chimneysweep Bert (Alexander Greening), is set in Edwardian England (around the time of Downton Abbey) when the economy was tanking. The book is by Julian Fellowes, who also wrote Downton, but its Banks family is not exactly in the Crawley realm. George Banks (Jonathan Blum) works in a bank. His wife Winifred (Kimberly Colisch) is a former actress who is shunned by “all the right people” George wants to court. Their two obnoxious children, Jane and Michael (Manasa Bollapragada and Gideon Klapow, respectively) really need a nanny to take them in hand. Enter Mary Poppins (Katie Veale), umbrella and special suitcase in hand. Music, merriment and magic ensue. Greening is outstanding as Bert, displaying the most pleasant lyrical voice. The other adults also possess good, strong voices—and Corey D. Winfield as Miss Andrew really sparks the second act when Mary’s away. There’s no “Spoonful of Sugar” in his repertoire! This is the first full festival season without its late guiding light Bob Irvin, and his sly humor and wicked wit are missing in this very straight approach to a standard musical comedy. Ω

PHOTO COURTESy OF FAIR OAkS THEATRE FESTIvAL

4 Uprising writers Capital Stage presents its annual Playwrights’ Revolution, which features staged readings of four new, never-produced scripts, recently written by rising young playwrights, and presented at The CLARA, or E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts (Studio 1, 2420 N Street) July 24-27 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free, donations accepted. This year’s “revolutionary” scripts are: Tue, July 24: The End of the World, by English playwright Andrew Biss. A reclusive character is mugged and seeks refuge at a bed and breakfast ominously named The End of the World, run by a dour woman named Mrs. Anna. Wed, July 25: Welcome to Matteson! By Linda Craig-Galván (a Latina from the Midwest). This dark intra-racial comedy features a suburban couple who meet their new neighbors, who were forcibly relocated from Chicago’s roughest housing project. Thu July 26: Great White by Deborah Yarchun (who is New Jersey born and Air Force raised). A coming-of-age drama featuring teenage characters facing dangers ranging from a hungry shark to unstable, violent siblings. Fri, July 27: Monica: This Play is Not About Monica Lewinsky by Dianne Nora (who divides her life between Chicago, Brooklyn and Ireland). A series of scenes between Monica Lewinsky and different imagined lovers, asking what the cost of intimacy is, and how we reckon with our past selves. These staged readings generally play to a full house in a small studio. Reserve tickets online at capstage.org. —Jeff Hudson

The Count of Monte Cristo

Using an adaptation by Christopher Walsh, the production stays true to Alexandre Dumas’ suspenseful story, with a talented cast, imaginative staging, swashbuckling sword fights, streamlined sets and beige- and

red-accented period costumes, all under the stars and squawking ducks at the William A. Carroll Amphitheatre in William Land Park. 7:30 p.m.

7/21, 7/26 and 7/28; $16$20; Ovation Stage, William A. Carroll Amphitheatre in William Land Park; sacramentoshakespeare. net. P.R.

Mary Stuart

This taut historical drama (by F. Schiller, not the Bard) depicts two queens contending for the crown in Shakespeare’s time … and Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots both know only one can survive. Excellent performances by professionals Sharon Rietkerk and Jamie Jones make this show worth the drive to see. Thu, Fri, Sat,

The Davis Shakespeare Festival presents this classic musical by Cy Coleman, with orchestra playing the music of Comden and Green. A first rate cast, dressed elegantly, cavort on a beautiful set. What better way to spend a summer evening? Show alternates with Mary Stuart. Thu, Fri, Sat,

Tues, Wed, 8pm; Sun 2pm. Through 8/5; $30; Veterans Memorial Theater, 203 E. 14th St. in Davis; (530) 8020998; shakespearedavis. org. B.S.

Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Patti Roberts, Jeff Hudson and Bev Sykes.

Sun, performance times vary; Through 8/4; $30-$15;

Davis Shakespeare Festival at Veterans Memorial Theatre, 203 E. 14th Street in Davis; (530) 802-0998; shakespearedavis.org. J.H.

FAIR

GOOD

WELL-DONE

FOUL

sn&R

07.19.18

5 SUBLIME– DON’T MISS

PHOTO COURTESy OF JOy STROTz

Laura (Shelby Griswold, center) tells her Beehive girls a tale.

Age of the high hair The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival pairs a Shakespeare classic (this year Macbeth) with a nostalgic pop music revue like Beehive—The 60’s Musical, a retrospective featuring the high-rise hairstyles worn by “girl groups” 55 years ago, and highlights from 40 hits associated with The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, etc. The two shows alternate in a lakeside amphitheater Tuesdays-Sundays at 7:30 pm at Sand Harbor in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park (on Highway 28 southeast of Incline Village). Through August 26; $99-$30; 1-800-74-SHOWS; Laketahoeshakespeare.com.

—Jeff Hudson

On the 20th Century

fiLm CLiPS

McCall it a day, already

by DaniEL BaRnES & Jim LanE

Ant-Man and the Wasp

The once and future Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) breaks house arrest to join the father/daughter team (Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly) who first shrank him to micro-superhero size. Now she’s a superhero too (the Wasp, of course), and she and dad think, with the Ant’s help, they may be able to rescue her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), who has languished 30 years in the subatomic Quantum Zone. Yeah, it makes about that much sense. But what the hell, it’s enjoyable enough, even for those who would rather eat broken glass than sit through another elephantine CGI-fest from the damned Marvel Comics Universe. Director Peyton Reed maintains tongue-in-cheek, and Rudd (who co-wrote as well as starring) makes a fitting hero; his bemused diffidence suggests he knows how silly it all is, and we can identify with that. J.L.

Boundaries

The Equalizer 2 Glock check one-two, one-two.

Fans of the 1980s TV series The Equalizer can hang it up; the movie franchise it inspired has left it behind. Two movies may not exactly constitute a franchise, but surely there’ll be more—anytime Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua feel the need to burnish their box-office record. They’re both back for this sequel, and it has desperate need of them—of Washinton’s implacable charisma and Fuqua’s robust command of pace and style. Because writer Richard Wenk is back too, and he’s just flat out of ideas. Once again, Washington is Robert McCall, former ace government operative now living a life of quiet retirement in his spartan Boston apartment. That is, when he’s not going to bat for the abused and downtrodden. In the TV series, McCall discreetly advertised his services, but Washington’s McCall prefers to mind his own business until some injustice catches his attention. We first see him rescuing an American child abducted by her Turkish father and taken out of the country. His reason: The girl’s mother runs his favorite bookstore. So he brings the girl home—but not before killing the father’s bodyguards (what he does to the father is left to our imaginations). Then it’s a gang-rape victim whose rapists make the mistake of calling him on their Lyft app to take her home. Instead, he takes her to a hospital, then comes back to settle their hash. “It’s great you’re helping all these random people,” says his former boss Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), “and staying off the radar.” How a Lyft driver stays off the radar after maiming four rapists—no matter how much they had it coming—is also left to our imaginations.

by Jim LanE

In fact, we in the audience have to bring a lot of imagination to The Equalizer 2 because Richard Wenk brings very little. What started out in the TV series—and to a lesser degree in the first movie—as a sort of modern-day Have Gun, Will Travel is reduced this time to a simple revenge fantasy. Susan Plummer is murdered by robbers in her Brussels hotel while investigating the suicide of a Belgian CIA asset. But the suicide was no suicide, and Susan’s murder was no simple robbery; they were connected in something much bigger. McCall is able to deduce all this because—well, because he’s Robert McCall, and he’s played by Denzel Washington. He even manages to access the records of the Brussels police from the discomfort of his Boston apartment. While staying off the radar. I won’t disclose who’s behind all this. We can spot the culprit within seconds of his first appearance, before a word passes his lips—but you know the Spoiler Police. Besides, there are no real surprises in Wenk’s script; let’s just pretend to be surprised just this once. “I’m gonna kill each and every one of you,” McCall tells the four baddies. “The only disappointment is that I only get to do it once.” And he does. Because he’s Robert McCall. And he’s played by Denzel Washington. Ω

There are no real surprises in writer Richard Wenk’s script.

1 2 3 4 5 Poor

Fair

Good

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excellent

Just when you start to feel like a churl for condemning every touchy-feely indie dramedy as a creatively bankrupt, Sundancesloppy ode to mopey narcissism, here comes this dysfunction junction from writer-director Shana Feste (Endless Love). Vera Farmiga stars as Laura Jaconi, a single mother with the standard-issue misfit son (Lewis MacDougall as Henry), weird job (she’s the put-upon personal assistant of an old friend) and quirky character defect (her apartment houses a veritable zoo of strays). The easily manipulated Laura also tries to set boundaries with her naughty-boy drug dealer father Jack (Christopher Plummer), but soon enough she is driving Jack and Henry on the prerequisite road trip towards a prefabricated emotional breakthrough. Whatever the film’s admirable ambitions in terms of examining dysfunctional family dynamics and celebrating lives lived outside the norm, Boundaries is almost uniformly lowbrow, with a weak script that severely tests the likeability of Farmiga and Plummer. D.B.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler), his daughter (Selena Gomez), son-in-law (Andy Samberg) and their monster pals take a vacation cruise—never suspecting that the ship’s captain (Kathryn Hahn) is a Van Helsing plotting to wipe them all out. This franchise, a perfect example of the walking undead, started out in 2012 as a third-rate excuse for an animated feature, and each sequel has been worse than what went before, with the same nonstory, the same flop-sweat-stained torrent of lame gags, the same slumming star voices (Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, David Spade, Fran Drescher, Mel Brooks, Molly Shannon, Jim Gaffigan, etc.) who failed to make the first two movies worth watching. There’s nothing to do but endure it, pray for release and cherish the respite until Hotel Transylvania 4 comes along in 2021. J.L.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

My bar for all things dinosaur-related, including the Jurassic Park film franchise, has always been notoriously low. The first Jurassic Park movie is generally beloved and iconic, but I also ravenously consumed the sequels, sticking with the franchise through every indefensible decision like a tortured sports fan. Dr. Ian Malcolm’s adopted daughter doing gymnastics to escape the velociraptors in The Lost World? I’m fine with it. A typically moist-eyed Téa Leoni rescuing her parasailing son from dinosaur island in Jurassic Park III? Sure, why not. Jimmy Fallon as Jimmy Fallon in Jurassic World? Yes. But even by my admittedly basement-level standards, J.A. Bayona’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom still feels like a giant glob of triceratops spit lobbed right in the audience’s face. The first Jurassic World was incredibly retrograde and dumb, but it was also driven by an irresistible premise, while this dutiful follow-up just feels numb and exhausted. D.B.

Skyscraper

Sorry to Bother You

Three Identical Strangers

Whitney

A retired FBI agent, now a security consultant (Dwayne Johnson), is consulting on a 240-floor Hong Kong building when terrorists set fire to it. Oh, and his wife (Neve Campbell) and kids are trapped inside. Oh yeah, and one more thing: he has a prosthetic leg. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s script is ridiculous and unbelievable, a wannabe Towering Die Hard Inferno. CGI stunts are constant, outlandish and hilarious. When are people like Thurber going to realize that this doesn’t cut it? Genuine excitement comes from real people (whether stars or stunt doubles) really doing things; without that, junk movies like this are just photorealistic Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Johnson’s charisma lifts things a notch or two above the bottom of the barrel, but he’s not a magician— and he can’t really fly. J.L.

A rookie telemarketer in an alternatereality Oakland (Lakeith Stanfield) finds success by employing his “white voice” (supplied by David Cross)—which admits him to the upper reaches of his sweatshop company, where he sinks over his head in the sinister plans of a mad-genius corporate billionaire (Armie Hammer). Rapper Boots Riley, making his feature writing/directing debut, pulls out all the stops in a pro-union, anti-corporate gonzo fantasmagoria that becomes wilder by the minute. It’s a crazy ride, and not every joke scores a mordant bullseye. But Riley is an original voice, and not as undisciplined as he seems; his movie begins in gritty, flippant realism, then pulls us along step-by-step until it becomes a paranoid fantasy so feverish that it plays almost as a parody of paranoid fantasies. J.L

In 1980, teenager Robert Shafran arrived for his first day at a small community college in upstate New York, where people he had never met warmly greeted him as “Eddy.” It turned out that Eddy Galland was a former student at the school, and that the similarities between Robert and Eddy went deeper than their identical faces, voices and builds—they were twin brothers separated at birth and adopted out of the Louise Wise Agency by different Jewish families. When New York resident David Kellman read that already astonishing story in the pages of Newsday, he saw two doppelgangers who shared his birthday and adoption agency and realized that he was the third sibling. Thus, the separated twins turned into separated triplets, with the brothers eventually becoming tabloid sensations and pre-viral celebrities. If their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain’t heard nothing yet. D.B.

Director Kevin Macdonald’s documentary traces the life and career of Whitney Houston, a sad arc that could wring tears from a bronze statue. Macdonald’s film is likely to do the same, mixing archival footage and talking-head interviews with Houston’s family and associates. Houston’s music gets rather short shrift; Macdonald confines that amazing voice (besides her singing the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl) to a flurry of fleeting, almost passing excerpts, preferring to focus on the forces (especially her mother Cissy) that shaped her early development while sowing the seeds of insecurity that led to her tragic decline and death. Revelations of childhood abuse and adult confusion about her sexuality avoid tabloid sensationalism; instead, Macdonald traces her fall with sensitivity and compassion. J.L.

07.19.18 | SN&R | 25

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Loud & Clear is clear and loud That Kid Raja’s new album is polished and highlights his distinctive voice and influences by Maxfield Morris

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In the album’s third track, “Supersonic Waves,” he puts a lot of his experiences on the line, describing his difficulty fitting in and his burgeoning self-confidence. The music Raja makes also has a tough time fitting in. It’s hard to place the music into just one genre, a fact that he embraces. There are rap influences from Russ, Big Sean and Oddisee, but genretranscenders like Pharrell Williams and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda give Raja the blueprint and the confidence to mix things up. Recently, he’s been listening Music seems to be in raja seivwright’s dNa, as musicality runs in the family. to a lot of country music, namely Kane Brown and Sam Hunt, and it’s starting to seep into his music. For an artist already describing his music as an amalgam of rap, rock, Sacramento musician That Kid Raja dropped an funk and electronica, you’d think there’s enough album last Friday called Loud & Clear, which genres going on. doubles as a pretty accurate description of Raja Raja’s not so sure. When he’s in the Seivwright’s vocal quality. recording studio, he is actively pursuing one Without a doubt, the vocals are the defining thing: uniqueness. He doesn’t want to sound like feature of the album. There’s some groovy anyone else. Throwing some country twang into beats and fun electronica, but Raja raps like the mix certainly can’t hurt him on that front. he’s painstakingly articulating something to an Musically, the arc of the album is a bit encouraging dentist (in a good way). The lyrics homogenous. Because the instrumentation often have a nerdy vibe to them when they’re comes second to Raja’s voice, you over-pronounced, which makes for get a lot of similar-sounding some interesting dynamics. You’ll tracks. With another album, hear every single word coming Charger, coming out in a from the mouth of Raja, who couple weeks, we’ll get has a very Sacramento voice to see very quickly what reminiscent of Cake’s John different sounds Raja McCrea. is making. According No matter the genre, it’s to him, the next nice to just be able to hear album will be much everything that a songwriter more influenced by has to say. Many vocalists electronica. opt for breathy, inaudible Overall, Loud & wordplay, but Raja has no Clear is well-produced, Raja Seivwright such compulsions. His songs clean and enjoyable. Raja, local musician aren’t looking for anywhere to who listens to his work hide. By the end of the record, you obsessively to see how he get the message that he’s trying to get could have done it better, is happy across, loud and clear. with the project. He did exactly what he The content of the album is often set out to do. It’s a record that exudes a lot of autobiographical. Most of the tracks make confidence, rightfully so, because it leaves me reference to Raja’s journey toward success, how wanting to hear more and to see where Raja hard he’s working and what goes on behind the takes his style next. Ω mic. Self-exploration is a necessary part of the process, according to Raja. “When you write creatively, you don’t have that Kid raja’s album loud & Clear is available now on digital streaming platforms. on august 10, he releases another album, Charger, featuring a much structure,” he says. “You just pour out sound more influenced by electronica. Visit thatkidraja.com. what you’re going through.” Photo by Sarah hanSel

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foR the week of july 19

by maxfield morris

online listings will be considered for print. print listings are edited for space and accuracy. deadline for print listings is 5 p.m. Wednesday. deadline for nightlife listings is midnight s unday. s end photos and reference materials to calendar editor m axfield m orris at snrcalendar@newsreview.com.

Post events online for free at newsreview. com/sacramento

rUMoUrs: With The Zach Waters Band. 7pm,

m Us ic

$10. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

sPeaKer: With Atomic Flounder and Lucky/

tHUrs dAy, 7/19

You. 6:30pm, no cover. Holy Diver, 1517 21st St.

DYlan GarDner: With the Color Wild. 7:30pm, $10-$12. Goldfield Trading Post, 1630 J St.

stoYa QUartet: Getting jazzy with this four-

piece band. 9pm, no cover. Shady Lady, 1409 R St.

tanGo no. 9: This tango-ey ensemble from the Bay Area comes to the Gazebo for a night of free, danceable music. 7pm, no cover. Rotary Park Gazebo, 201 E. Main St. in Winters.

tiM MCGraW anD faitH Hill: Playing their Soul2Soul tour and stopping in at Sacramento. 7:30pm, $50. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J Stern Walk.

PHoeBe BriDGers: With Lomelda. 7pm, $15-

sat

Eric AndrE Humor. Laughing. Having a good time. Do you like these things? Then don’t stay more than 500 feet away from these Eric Andre shows. 8/2-8/4, various times, $25-$30, on sale now. Punch Line Sacramento, punchlinesac.com.

rAkim The rapper took a decade-long

hiatus before hopping back into the scene. 8/4, 8pm, $27. 50, on sale now. Harlow’s, ticketfly.com.

dAryl HAll And JoHn oAtEs

The iconic ’80s duo is playing with their full names on the marquee, along with the band Train. 8/7, 7pm, $45-$200, on sale now. Oracle Arena in Oakland, ticketmaster. com.

ronniE s pEctor Spector has a

powerful history in American rock ’n’ roll, and she’s playing it all with the Ronettes. 8/11, 8pm, $37-$85, on sale now. Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Grass Valley, thecenterforthearts.org.

m ondAy, 7/23

stePHen rUDerMan: Playing the music of

vivian lee: Playing the music of Billie

Simon & Garfunkel. 8pm, no cover. Fox & Goose, 1001 R St.

Holiday. 7pm, $25. Sacramento Masonic Temple, 1123 J St.

tHree DoG niGHt: If you were expecting a

tUEs dAy, 7/24

one or two dog night, get ready to be blown away at this show with Three Dog Night. 7:30pm, $40-$79. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

sHaWn MUllins: Soul’s Core Revival Tour, with Max Gomez. 8pm, $22-$25. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

toaD tHe Wet sProCKet: With Megan

Slankard. 6:30pm, $35-$130. Crest Sacramento, 1013 K St.

CHarlie Wilson: With Ready for the

World. 7pm, $44. 95-$179. 95. Thunder Valley Casino, 1200 Athens Ave. in Lincoln.

Community Center theatre, 1:30pm, no Cover

tiCKet WinDoW

$18. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

FridAy, 7/20

think global, act vocal Add your voice to the largest chorus ever to grace the state, Big Sing California. Over 10,000 vocalists will come together, both in person and through MUsiC live video streams, to sing a 90-minute medley of popular songs and contemporary choral works. The event is based in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, emceed by composer Eric Whitacre. Sacramentans can join the

pHoto coUrtEs y oF m Arc roycE

Sing along with Eric Whitacre, live from Los Angeles.

WEdnEs dAy, 7/25

ConCerts in tHe ParK: Middle Class Rut

beautiful cacophony at the Community Center Theatre for a performance led by Donald Kendrick, founding conductor of the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra. Individuals can participate from home if they prefer, or just watch the monumental choral event online. 1301 L Street, lamasterchorale.org/big-singcalifornia.

BrUCe CoCKBUrn: Fresh off a six-year

headlines with Black Map, Dark Signal and Blackheart. 5pm, no cover. Cesar Chavez Plaza, 9 and J Streets, 910 I St.

musical drought, Cockburn is back—with a vengeance. 7:30pm, $30-$55. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

DoKKen: With Anarchy Lace, Roswell and Dave

WorsHiPPer: With Old Man Wizard and

Friday Band. 6:30pm, $22. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

more. 8pm, $10. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

Joe KaPloW: With Blue Oaks and Eugene Ugly. 9pm, $5. Fox & Goose, 1001 R St.

s tAtE FAir

PePPino D’aGostino: The Italian guitar master

comes bearing strings. 7pm, $30. The Sofia, 2700 Capitol Ave.

tainteD love: Playing hits from the 1980s. 9pm, $18-$20. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

pAnic! At tHE dis co Kids and

adults alike should get excited, because Brendan Urie’s in a resurgence, and he’s got some well-laid vocal pipes. Hayley Kiyoko is along for the ride. 8/14, 7pm, $66. 75-$300, on sale now. SAP Center in San Jose, ticketmaster.com.

1 Stage. 8pm. no cover with fair admission-$20. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition

AlicE coopEr You’re not worthy, but you can still watch Cooper perform in a “Paranormal Evening.”

8/15, 8:30pm, $70-$85, on sale now.

Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort in Jackson, tickets.vendini.com.

Ziggy m ArlEy Maybe you missed the reggae man at his Ace of Spades show last time around, but try not to miss him this time around, okay? 8/12, 8pm,

$48-$58, on sale now.

Veterans Memorial

Blvd.

88 finGers loUie: With Decent Criminal and

Horse raCinG: Yes, you can watch horses

Yankee Brutal. 8pm, $15. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

Auditorium in Grass Valley, tickets.vendini.com.

BiG sinG California: See event highlight

Behind the wheel of a large automobile? Maybe. Either way, check out the former Talking Heads singer.

CUPCaKKe: See event highlight on page 31. 7pm,

dAvid ByrnE How will he get here? 8/21, $79-$500, on sale now.

Community Center Theatre, tickets.com.

s Am s m itH

Get some smooth Smith music from the original Sam Smith. 8/24, 7pm, $45-$70, on sale now. Golden 1 Center, ticketmaster.com.

J. colE You don’t want

to miss J. Cole, performing with Young Thug, touring his most recent album.

8/29, 7:30pm, $69. 50-$162. 25, on sale now. Oracle Arena

J., we can’t get enough of you.

in Oakland, ticketmaster. com

above. 2pm, no cover. Community Center Theatre.

$22-$27. Harlow’s, 2708 J St.

DirtY BlonDe: With Whirl. 9pm, $5. Fox & Goose, 1001 R St.

noise PollUtion: Playing the hard-rockin’

music of AC/DC. 7pm, $10. Holy Diver, 1517 21st St.

tHe siMMs BanD: Playing East Bay rock ’n’

roll. 6:30pm, $10. Momo Lounge, 2708 J St.

snoW tHa ProDUCt: With Charlie Muscle and Aaron. 7pm, $20-$90. Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St.

s UndAy, 7/22 MiKe stoUt CeleBrateD: With Hoods, Banger, Sac Storytellers, One Leg Chuck and more. 1pm, $12. Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd.

tHUrs dAy, 7/19 easton CorBin: Playing at the Golden

s AtUrdAy, 7/21 “A ticket saved is a ticket earned.” —Benjamin Franklin, i think.

snr c a le nd a r @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

racing each other. It’s a lot less fun when you realize the horses don’t have the same spirit of competition that humans have. Realistically, they should change the name to jockey racing on horses. It’s less catchy, but it’s definitely more accurate. 2:15pm, no cover with fair admission. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

sPlasH DoGs: Finally, we may get an answer to the age-old question: Can a dog jump into water? Come find out, as dogs will be trying their best all through the afternoon at the Miller Lite Racetrack Grandstand. noon.

through sunday, 7/22. no cover with fair admission. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

FridAy, 7/20 senior savinGs friDaYs: Those people who have lived more than 62 years get a discounted entry to the fair on Fridays—but that’s not all, not even close. Those same seniors get to ride the Grand Carousel

CalenDar listinGs ContinUeD on PaGe 28

07.19.18

SN&R

sEE moRE EvEnts and submit youR own at newSreview.com/Sacramento/calendar

CaLEndaR ListinGs ContinuEd FRom paGE 27

wedneSday, 7/25 $2 tastE oF tHE FaiR: There’s a lot of novelty

and Giant Wheel for free. It’s a beautiful world, after all. 11 am, $10. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

Saturday, 7/21

eats at the State Fair, but it can be hard to taste the whole field. All food vendors at the fair this year will be offering $2 deals on food on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 11am, no cover with fair admission. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

bEst oF CaLiFoRnia bREwFEst: Sample the suds minus the duds—only the best beers are up for tasting at the Miller Lite Racetrack Grandstand. 2pm, $40-$50. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

CoRn doG EatinG ContEst FinaLs: Corn dogs would be much easier to eat if they didn’t have a stick in the middle of them, but don’t ask me for my advice, no, just go watch people scarf down some foodon-sticks. 6pm, no cover. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

Sunday, 7/22 mastER Hypnotist tina maRiE: What makes

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someone a master hypnotist? Is there a standards committee that determines when a journeyman hypnotist becomes a master hypnotist? Do they need to prove themselves by hypnotizing large animals? I guarantee you that none of these questions will be answered at this show, but you still might have a good time. 7pm, no cover with fair admission. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

youtH maRiaCHi CompEtition: See the best youth mariachi bands the state has to offer compete for cash prizes on PG&E Center Stage. 2pm, no cover with fair admission-$20. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

monday, 7/23 GivinG monday at tHE FaiR: Bring three non-perishable food items and receive free admission to the fair. It’s a good deal, and it helps people faced with foodinsecurity. 11am, no cover. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

tueSday, 7/24 Kids FREE tuEsdays: Each child under the age of 12 that you bring to the fair gets free entry. If that’s not a good deal, then what is? Buy-one-get-one-free coupons for iodized salt? 11am, no cover. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.

FeStivalS tHurSday, 7/19 midtown madE: See what these Sacramentans are making. They might involve beads, they might not. I’m not going to say. 6pm, no cover. K Street between 23rd and 24th Streets, 2326 K St.

Friday, 7/20 HmonG midsummER niGHt maRKEt: The creative Hmong community in Sacramento has a new space to thrive in at this market. Music, crafts and art will on be on display. 6pm, no cover. The Falls Event Center, 8280 Elk Grove Blvd.

stoRytELLinG FEstivaL: Hearing people say things can be a common occurrence in daily life, but it lacks a certain aplomb. Try this festival on for size, which features storied storytellers telling stories. You’re encouraged to bring a journal to write down your experiences. 1pm, $18.50-$98.59. North Columbia Schoolhouse, 17894 Tyler Foote Road in Nevada City.

Saturday, 7/21 summER bLoCK paRty: You’ve just gotta get in on this sweet summer block party action. 11am, no cover. Bret Harte Elementary School, 2751 9th St.

stoRytELLinG FEstivaL: See event description on 7/20. 9:30am, $18.50-$98.50. North Columbia Schoolhouse, 17894 Tyler Foote Road in Nevada City.

Sunday, 7/22 stoRytELLinG FEstivaL: See event description on 7/20. 9:30am, $18.50-$98.50. North Columbia Schoolhouse, 17894 Tyler Foote Road in Nevada City.

Saturday, 7/21

Eppie’s Great Race William Pond RecReation aRea, 8am, no coveR

It’s the end of an era. Eppie’s Great Race is going from a triathlon to a bye-athlon, turning aerobics into ne’er-obics, going from exercise into ex-exercise. To be clear, this is the final year of the event. For 45 years, talented competitors have flocked to the American River for this day of running, spoRts and outdooRs riding and kayaking. Registration has ended, but you can still go out and cheer on the athletes—one last time. 5700 Arden Way in Carmichael, eppiesgreatrace.org.

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07.19.18

PHoto courteSy oF ePPie’S Great race

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Saturday, 7/21

Benefit Show for California Partnership to End Domestic Violence Comedy Spot, 7pm, $15

This show is a bit of a strange juxtaposition, using comedy ComEDy to combat domestic violence, but doing something positive is always better than doing nothing. In that vein, come out and support the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, an organization that helps survivors PHOtO COurtESy OF MEliSSa MCGilliCuddy of domestic violence. Betsaida LeBron, Melissa McGillicuddy, pictured right; Sydney Stigerts and improv duo Kooky Pants will be making audiences laugh for a good cause. 1050 20th Street, Suite 130, saccomedyspot.com/cpedv.

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FOOd & driNK Friday, 7/20 NIGHT mARKET: Get produce from Raley’s farms and/or buy a ticket to taste local beer and wine at this “night” market that starts while the sun is out. 6pm, no cover-$20. Westfield Galleria at Roseville, 1151 Galleria Blvd. in Roseville.

GRAPE DAyS oF SUmmER: Try 20 tastes of wine from 20 different wineries, but try to resist mixing all of the wines together to form one “mega-wine,” because that is considered a faux pas in the wine-tasting world. Noon, $30-$50. Placer Wine Trail, various locations.

Saturday, 7/21 3RD ANNUAL REVELRy & REVoLUTIoN PARTy: Pour some local wine into your local mouth at this local event. 6pm, $25-$30. Revolution Winery & Kitchen, 2831 S St.

GRAPE DAyS oF SUmmER: See event highlight

for 7/20. Noon, $30-$50. Placer Wine Trail, various locations.

FilM tHurSday, 7/19 HERE To BE HEARD: Take in the story of the Slits, ostensibly the first all-female punk band in the world. See what it was like to be an unwelcome addition to a male-dominated field. Good thing the world is nothing like that any more, he said sarcastically. 7:30pm, $5-$7. Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S St.

TALES FRom EARTHSEA: Revisit one of the (rightfully) less-acclaimed films in the Studio Ghibli Festival, depicting a land poorly dappled with turmoil. 11am, $7. The Tower Theatre, 2508 Land Park Drive.

Friday, 7/20 2018 SACRAmENTo JAPANESE FILm FESTIVAL: Through Sunday. See event highlight on page 20. 5:30pm, $38. Crest Theatre, 1013 K St.

WEdNESday, 7/25 mADE IN THE SHADE: Watch a movie that is about Sacramento’s trees and the benefits we reap from them. 6pm, no cover. Sacramento-Hagginwood Library, 2109 Del Paso Blvd.

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Morty is an actual mortician who does stand-up comedy. It’s a match made in heaven. Saturday 7/21, 8pm. $10-$15. 3101 Sunset Blvd., Suite 6A in Rocklin.

JACKRABBIT BREWING Co.: The Brewery Comedy Tour. Comedy and breweries go together like comparisons and calendar highlights. Check out this national tour of funny folks playing at purveyors of pilsners (and other beers). Friday 7/20, 9pm. $17-$20. 1323 Terminal St. in West Sacramento.

LAUGHS UNLImITED ComEDy CLUB: Say It Loud Comedy. Featuring performances by Kalvan Lathan, Natalie Starr and more. Thursday 7/19, 8pm. $20. Robert Duchaine. Comedy is such a fickle thing. If you’re not in the mood to laugh, you might not laugh. Who am I to judge a comedian based on their sets on YouTube? Anyway, the show also features Tristan Johnson. Through 7/22. $20. 1207 Front St.

PUNCH LINE: Vic DiBitetto. DiBitetto does some very yelly sets. If that’s your kind of comedy, then go sit in the audience and enjoy. 8pm. Through 7/21. $23.50. Mike E. Winfield. Winfield was in two episodes of The Office and is playing a family-safe stand-up set called Two Root Beer Minimum. Sunday 7/22, 6pm. $16. 2100 Arden Way, Suite 225.

SACRAmENTo ComEDy SPoT: Benefit Show for California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. See event highlight above. Saturday 7/21, 7pm. $15. 1050 20th St., Suite 130.

THUNDER VALLEy CASINo RESoRT: Jim Gaffigan: The Fixer Upper. See event highlight on page 30. Saturday 7/21, 8pm. $47.95-$99.95. 1200 Athens Ave. in Lincoln.

THE EmoJI moVIE: We all thought Trump being elected was the end of the world, but then they made a movie all about emojis. Well, it’s the new world order, so go watch it. 5:30pm, no cover. North Natomas Regional Park, 4989 Natomas Blvd.

CALENDAR LISTINGS CoNTINUED oN PAGE 30

07.19.18

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see more events and submit your own at newSreview.com/Sacramento/calendar

TURN UP

THE VOLUME ON YOUR NIGHT WITH BURLESQUE

CaLendar ListinGs Continued From PaGe 29

on StaGe CaPitaL staGe: The End of the World. As part of Cap Stage’s Playwrights’ Revolution, this staged reading has the makings of an artsy take of life. It follows a man’s untimely visit to a bed and breakfast that shares the name of the play.. tuesday 7/27, 7pm. no cover. Welcome to Matteson! A suburban family has dinner with a recently displaced couple from projects in Chicago, and attempt to welcome them to the neighborhood. wednesday 7/28, 7pm. no cover. 2215 J St.

FinnisH temPeranCe HaLL: The Wedding Singer. This is unrelated, but once, Adam Sandler cut in front of my dad in line at the airport. Anyway, this musical based on the Sandler movie brings romance and the ’80s to the stage. through 7/27. $17. 4090 Rocklin Road in Rocklin.

musiC CirCus at tHe weLLs FarGo PaviLion: Gypsy. Based on the life of burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee, the musical by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim is a real blast. through 7/29. $45-$99. 1419 H St.

nevada tHeatre: James and the Giant Peach. If you want a larger-than-life musical experience, please, please don’t look any further than this musical based on Roald Dahl’s classic story. through 8/4. $15-$35. 401 Broad St. in Nevada City.

roseviLLe tHeater arts aCademy: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In an event that’s sure to be at least as entertaining as an actual spelling bee, it’s a musical-comedy version of the storied childhood pastime. 7:30pm, through 7/28. $13$15. 241 Vernon St. in Roseville.

staGe riGHt PerFormanCe sPaCe: The Music

JULY 19 - SEPTEMBER 8

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PURCHASE TICKETS AT HARDROCKCASINOLAKETAHOE.COM Must be 21+ Live entertainment tax of 9% not included in ticket price. Show dates subject to change. No shows on 7/28, 8/4, 8/11 or 9/1.

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#MADEFORMUSIC @HRHCLAKETAHOE

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07.19.18

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Man. You haven’t heard of Harold Hill? Have I got news for you. He’s the new music man in River City, and he’d certainly never pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. Come check out this performance of the classic by Meredith Wilson. through 8/5. $7.50-$15. 4000 San Juan Ave. in Fair Oaks.

sutter street tHeatre: On Golden Pond. This love story concerning one septuagenarian and his wife gets mixed up when a teenage boy gets thrown into the picture. Needless to say, life lessons are learned all around. through 8/12. $15-$23. 717 Sutter St. in Folsom.

veteran’s memoriaL amPHitHeatre: Mary Poppins. Whether slightly magical nannies are your cup of tea or it takes a bit of sugar to swallow the idea, you can go live in this alternate reality for a couple of hours. through 8/5. $10-$18. 7991 California Ave. in Fair Oaks.

wiLLiam a. CarroLL amPHitHeatre: The Tempest. High school interns with the Shakespeare festival stage the magical drama about the rightful Duke of Milan, Prospero, and his mystical exertions. Friday 7/19, 7:30pm. no cover. Henry V. I try not to judge 15th century kings too harshly, but I make an exception for this guy, featured in the Shakespeare festival. through 7/29. $20. 3901 Land Park Drive.

art arCHivaL GaLLery: Stephanie Taylor and Jesse Vasquez. Sculpture by Taylor and nude college photography by Vasquez will grace the gallery with their artistic splendor. through 7/31. no cover. 3223 Folsom Blvd.

davis arts Center: Ergomodern and Unveiled Visions. A chiropractor from Davis made chairs unlike any other. Check out his unique work. through 7/28. no cover. 1919 F St. in Davis.

eLK Grove Fine arts Center: The Big Art Show. Large artwork fills up a special place in your heart and living room. Come buy some. Or go to a park, you’ve got options. Don’t let me dictate your life. 4pm. through 7/25. no cover. 9080 Elk Grove Blvd. in Elk Grove.

GroundsweLL: Jeremiah Kille. The Santa Cruz native is a talented painter with a penchant for making boards of the surf and skate variety. through 8/4. no cover. 2508 J St.

Kennedy GaLLery: Triumphant Trees. More than 20 local artists all have something to say about trees through their art. through 8/4. no cover. 1931 L St.

muSeumS CaLiFornia automobiLe museum: An Evening with Matt Farah. A veritable superstar of YouTube car lovers is coming to town. Farah will talk about cars as well as his online persona and business. There will also be drinks and foods available, if you like that kind of thing. thursday 7/19, 6pm. $25-$30. 2200 Front St.

Saturday, 7/21

Jim Gaffigan Thunder Valley Casino resorT, 8pm, $47.95-$82.95

They say you shouldn’t make jokes about jokes, so I’m going to keep this very dry: Comedy Jim Gaffigan, a very visible family man, funnyman and Catholic, will be arriving in Lincoln to stand up on a stage and talk to an audience. Most people in the audience will expect to laugh. Presumably, Gaffigan will try to make them laugh—what happens next, you’ll have to buy a ticket to find out. 1200 Athens Avenue, thundervalleyresort.com.

PHoto courteSy oF eric levin

14th annual Sacramento

jaPaneSe FIlm FeStIval

Saturday, 7/21

CupcakKe Harlow’s, 6pm, $22-$27

mumon: the lanD oF Stealth Friday, July 20, 2018, 7:30pm.

To put it lightly, CupcakKe’s music does not shy away from sexual content. The lyrics are actively trying to make you squirm, and they’re peppered with over-the-top imagery and foul language. It’s a unique art form, one MUSIC with a distinct look at issues facing women and the LGBT community. CupcakKe has a musical style that will affect you in one way or another, and isn’t that what art is all about? 2708 J Street, harlows.com.

FAIRYTALE TOWN: Family Campout at Fairytale Town. Live out your own fairy tale adventure by spending the night with your family in a fairly magical place under the stars. 5:30pm. Through 7/20. $25-$30. 3901 Land Park Drive.

POWERHOUSE SCIENCE CENTER: Forces Earth & Space Exhibit. This new exhibit explores forces that make the universe do the things it does, like exist and whatnot. Through 7/28. $7-$8. 3615 Auburn Blvd.

SACRAMENTO HISTORY MUSEUM: Old Sacramento Underground Tours. It’s the classic Sacramento activity, going below ground to see how people used to live. It’s pretty strange to think about why early Sacramentans didn’t just live above ground, instead. Through 9/30. $10-$15. 101 I St.

SUTTER’S FORT STATE HISTORIC PARK: After Hours. Get your fix of historic immersion at Sutter’s Fort in this special evening event. There will be all manner of pioneer activities—including marbles. That’s right, I said marbles. Saturday 7/21, 6pm. $5-$7. 2701 L St.

BOOkS

SISterS of the GIon Saturday, July 21, 2018, 11:30 AM. In thIS corner oF the WorlD Saturday, July 21, 2:00pm.

PHOtO COurtESy OF CuPCakkE

Saturday, 7/21

oh! lucY SATURDAY, July 21, 4:30pm. aFter the Storm SATURDAY, July 21, 7:45pm.

BIRD WALK: While it would be more appropriate to take a bird flight, a bird walk is still a fun way to see what our feathered colleagues are up to. 8am, $8. Soil Born Farms American River Ranch, 2140 Chase Dr. in Rancho Cordova.

EPPIE’S GREAT RACE: See event highlight on page 28. 8am, no cover. William B. Pond Recreation Area, 5700 Arden Way in Carmichael.

toKYo FamIlY Sunday, July 22, 2:00pm. the Ito SISterS Sunday, July 22, 5:00pm.

magazine editor Annette McGivney for a discussion of her new book, Pure Land: A True Story of Three Lives, Three Cultures, and the Search for Heaven on Earth, which explores an incredibly grisly murder in the Grand Canyon. 7pm, no cover. Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St.

Saturday, 7/21 BOOK SIGNING FOR KATHEY NORTON: Get a copy of Schoolgirl In Disgrace & Collected Works signed by the author, Kathey Norton. 1pm,

no cover. Dimple Records & Vinyl, 1600 Broadway.

THE KING OF KARAOKE & OTHER STORIES: Former Sacramento Bee columnist Bob Sylva will be present physically and emotionally to talk about his new book, The King of Karaoke & Other Stories. 2pm, no cover. Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave.

SPOrtS & OutdOOrS FrIday, 7/20 SACRAMENTO STAND DOWN GOLF TOURNAMENT: Play some golf that benefits homeless veterans. This is a fair way to help a cast-aside group, and it should make for a truly delightful morning of hitting the links. 8:30am, $100-$450. Lincoln Hills Golf Club, 1005 Sun City Lane in Lincoln.

Single tic all Festiv kets, $10 al Pass, $40 creSt theatr e Box o FFIce, 11:30Pm - 1:30Pm mon. - F , rI, 1013 K Stree Sacram t, ento, c a 95814 . 916 - 47 6 - 3356

event ParKInG: capitol Garage, 10th & l Streets, city hall Garage, 10th & I Streets

FLOWER FARM U-PICK EVENTS: Cut off some plants’ reproductive parts at this you-pick flower sale. The farm site has been up and running since January 2017, and has produced a wealth of beautiful flowers in that time. 9am, no cover. Flourish Farm, 317 5th St. in West Sacramento.

WWW.creStSacramento.com WWW.SacjaPaneSeFIlmFeStIval.net

SuNday, 7/22 BLOOD, SWEAT & BEERS TRAIL RUN: Step 1: Get on the trail. Step 2: Run 6 or 10 miles. Step 3: Have some beer, if you want. Step 4: Be kind to everyone. This is a trail run in a beautiful and challenging area, with beer from Hoppy Brewing Company. 7:30am, $60. Railhead Park, 175 Pacific Ave. in Auburn.

Save 40% on

tHurSday, 7/19 PURE LAND READING: Meet author and

Buy tick ets:

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FrIday, 7/20 NCR PARTY FOR A CAUSE!: Don’t let the news isolate you. Come out and support NorCal Resist while having some fun, tacos and conversations. Show up and show that a community is stronger than the things that divide it. 5pm, $15. Organize Sacramento, 1714 Broadway.

ClaSSES Saturday, 7/21 ART BRUNCH: Do you create best with a mimosa in your hand? Well, that’s a neat coincidence for you, because this event caters directly to those two interests! You’ll be making a seashell driftwood wind chime and a hand printed towel, and the first drink is included in your ticket price. 11am, $35-$45. Blue Line Arts, 405 Vernon St., Suite 100 in Roseville.

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tuESday, 7/24 ARTIST BOOTCAMP: This class teaches artists how to document their work using outdoor lighting. Stop by if you want to have your art look its best, even when you’re a creator on a budget. 6pm, $35-$45. Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S St.

07.19.18

SN&R

THURSDAY 7/19

FRIDAY 7/20

SATURDAY 7/21

SUNDAY 7/22

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 7/23-7/25

Poprockz 90s Night, 7pm, call for cover

Fridays are a Drag with Mayhem Miller, 8pm, $10-$15

Spectacular Saturdays, 7pm, call for cover

Sidetrax Sunday Showcase, 8:30pm, no cover

Karaoke Night, 9pm, T, call for cover; Trapicana, 10pm, W, call for cover

BaR 101

Güero CD Release, 7:30pm, call for cover

Blame the Bishop, 9:30pm, call for cover

Crazy Mountain Billies, 9:30pm, call for cover

Blue lamp

Suicide Forest, Wandern and more, 8pm, Sol Peligro, Sacto Storytellers and DJ call for cover Epik, 8pm, call for cover

Badlands

2003 k ST., (916) 448-8790 101 MAIN ST., ROSEvIllE, (916) 774-0505 1400 AlHAMbRA blvD., (916) 455-3400

88 Fingers Louie, Decent Criminal and Yankee Brutal, 8pm, call for cover

The BoaRdwalk CapiTol GaRaGe

Capitol Fridays, 10pm, no cover before 10:30pm

1500 k ST., (916) 444-3633

CResT TheaTRe

Three Dog Night with the Danny McGaw Band 7:30pm Thursday, $49-$79. Crest Theatre Rock

Capitol Cabaret, 7pm, call for cover

Geeks Who Drink, 8:30pm, W, no cover

After the Storm, 7:45, $10

The Ito Sisters: An American Story, 5pm, $10

Toad the Wet Sprocket and Megan Slankard, 7:30, T, $35-$130

1013 k ST., (916) 476-3356

Mumon: The Land of Stealth, 7:30pm, $10

FaCes

Faces Karaoke, 9pm, call for cover

Absolute Fridays, 9pm, call for cover

FaTheR paddY’s iRish puBliC house

Ralph Gordon, 6pm, call for cover

One-Eyed Reilly, 7pm, call for cover

Dos Hombres Jazz Coalition, 7pm, call for cover

Stephen Ruderman Simon & Garfunkel Tribute, 8pm, no cover

The Joe Kaplow, Blue Oaks and Eugene Ugly, 9pm, $5

Dirty Blonde and Whirl, 9pm, $5

435 MAIN ST., WOODlAND, (530) 668-1044

Fox & Goose

1001 R ST., (916) 443-8825

Every Damn Monday, 8pm, M, no cover; Noche Latina, 9pm, T, no cover

Golden 1 CenTeR

1630 J ST., (916) 476-5076

Open Mic Night, 7:30pm, M, no cover; All Vinyl Wednesdays, 8pm, W, no cover Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, 7:30pm, $50

500 DAvID J STERN WAlk, (888) 915-4647

GoldField TRadinG posT

Dylan Gardner and the Color Wild, 7:30pm, $10-$12

Jim White, 8pm, call for cover

halFTime BaR & GRill

Let's Get Quizzical, 7pm, T, no cover; Bingo, 7pm, W, $10

5681 lONETREE blvD., ROcklIN, (916) 626-3600

haRlow’s

Phoebe Bridgers and Lomelda, 6pm, $15-$18

2708 J ST., (916) 441-4693

hiGhwaTeR

1910 Q ST., (916) 706-2465

holY diVeR PHOTO cOURTESY OF FRANk OckENFElS

Aethere, Wolf King, With Wolves, Lost Horizons and more, 6:30pm, $10-$12

1517 21ST ST.

Tainted Love, 9pm, $18-$20

CupcakKe and Xavier Toscano, 6pm, $22-$27

Shawn Mullins and Max Gomez, 7pm, T, $22-$25

Cuffin and Good Co., 9pm, $5

HOF Saturdays, 9pm, $5

The Trivia Factory, 7pm, M, no cover; Geeks Who Drink, 6pm, T, no cover

Wolf & Bear, Subtlety, Lonely Avenue and more, 6:30pm, $10-$12

Noise Pollution, the Chrome Boy and Madman's Lullaby, 7pm, $10

kupRos

Phoebe Bridgers

1217 21ST ST., (916) 440-0401

with Lomelda 6pm Thursday, $15-$18. Harlow’s Indie folk

luna’s CaFe & JuiCe BaR 1414 16TH ST., (916) 737-5770

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

Sac Unified Poetry Slam, 8pm, no cover

momo saCRamenTo

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

7/24 7:00Pm $22Adv

souL’s CoRe RevivAL Phoebe touR: bRidgeRs, LomeLdA shAwn muLLins

7/19 6:00Pm $15Adv

7/20 9:00Pm $18Adv

tAinted Love

7/26 5:30Pm $20Adv

Antsy mCCLAin

(Solo ACouStiC w/ Slide Show)

7/26 9:00Pm $12Adv

Ron ARtis ii & the tRuth 7/21 6:00Pm $22Adv

CuPCAkke

SN&R

07.19.18

7/27 lil darrion 7/28 honyock 8/3 lucid 8/4 Rakim 8/7 Paul Cauthen 8/10 dustbowl Revival 8/11 dJ Quik 8/12 wild Child 8/15 nicolay & the hot at nights 8/16 Casey Abrams 8/17 grateful Shred 8/18 2nd Annual Battle of the Brass Bands 8/19 SAleS 8/23 Scarface 8/24 Jocelyn & Chris Arndt 8/25 & 8/26 Anderson east 8/28 Bad Bad hats 8/29 mystic Braves 8/31 Rico nasty 9/2 Blind melon 9/5 Swingin’ utters 9/6 YoB 9/8 Rash - A tribute to Rush

Speaker, Atomic Flounder and Lucky/ You, 6:30pm, no cover

Holy Trap, 8pm, T, no cover; Bottomless Birthday Bash, 8pm, W, $15-$20

Kupros Quiz, 7:30pm, no cover

Open Mic, 8pm, T, no cover; Ross Hammond, 7:30 pm, W, no cover

Roland Velasquez & the Speak Low, the Beings and Cindy Strange, 8pm, no cover The Simms Band, 5:30pm, $10

2708 J ST., (916) 441-4693

the BeSt of the 80S live!

Worshipper, Old Man Wizard and more, 8pm, W, call for cover

Dinner and a Drag Show, 7:30pm, $5-$25

Three Dog Night and the Danny McGaw Band, 7:30pm, $49-$79

2000 k ST., (916) 448-7798

Mike Stout Benefit, 2pm, call for cover Cemetery Legacy, Aberrance, Damage Over Time and more, 8pm, $10

9426 GREENbAck lN., ORANGEvAlE, (916) 358-9116

PHOTO cOURTESY OF THREE DOG NIGHT

Pint Night and Trivia, 6:30pm, M, no cover; Open Mic, 7:30pm, W, no cover

Creative Music and Jazz, 7:30pm, M, $10; Jaime Fernandez, 8pm, W, call for cover Dabsolutely Comedy with Ngaio Bealum, 6:30pm, $10

Bourbon & Blues, Red's Blues and Jon Lawton, 5:30pm, W, $8-$28

2708 J Street www.momosacramento.com 7/21 5:30pm $10

The SimmS Band - eaST Bay BlueS Rock 7/22 6:30pm $10

daBSoluTely comedy hoSTed By ngaio Bealum 7/25 5:30pm $8

Red’S BlueS w/ guiTaRiST Jon lawTon

Ribeye steak dinner Thursdays

$10 rib $10 Prime dinner Fridays Filet Mignon $10 dinner Saturdays they start at 6Pm til they run out

KaraoKe

7/26 6:00pm $10

tuesday - Sunday nights up front country in the back

7/27 7:00pm $5

just a 2 step from downtown

The michael gRegoRy Band eliaS BuRBick sacramento’s favorite djs every fri at 10pm

For booking inquiries, email Robert@momosacramento.com

c U at stoneys

1320 Del paso blvD in olD north sac

916.402.2407 Stoneyinn.com

Submit your Calendar liStingS for free at newSreview.Com/SaCramento/Calendar Old IrOnsIdes

1901 10TH sT., (916) 442-3504

On THe Y

670 fulTOn ave., (916) 487-3731

THursday 7/19

friday 7/20

Open Acoustic Jam, 7pm, no cover

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to comment for this story. In the past, Traverso has said the state has given the industry plenty of advance warning about the regulations. The regulations that kicked in July 1 were announced in November 2017. BCC has licensed 45 “distributortransport” companies, and only one in Sacramento. Most of the companies are located in the section of Northern California with the highest concentration of growers—Humboldt and Mendocino counties. Likewise, only 30 companies have Dispensaries struggle been licensed for testing statewide, with to meet regulatory just two in Sacramento. Most of them are requirements, and customers suffer the in the Bay Area or Southern California. consequences. Revenue for commercial cannabis has been far below expectations, and illustration by maria ratinova the picture isn’t expected to improve soon. A recent report by two industry analysts, Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, says the state’s “strict regulatory regime” is a “sure limit to the legal market’s ability to compete with well-established illicit markets. Are regulations driving pot-smokers to the black market? “While the opening of California’s adult-use market has not been seamless by Brad Brannan due to the new regulatory regime, sales are expected to reach nearly $3.1 billion in 2018,” the report concludes. That’s $600 million less than the analysts’ eventually, they wanted a delay so they a Sacramento dispensary. “If we had the six months after adult-use cannabis previous estimate. could unload thousands of pounds of supply, we would have a line out the door.” became legal in California, dispensaries According to the report, not enough untested weed. RCP had more business are struggling to meet regulatory requirelicensed businesses have gotten The requirements have added more under medical marijuana ments, and customers are suffering the into the California market. work to the process of shipping cannabis laws than under the consequences. The situation has gotten One reason for the from growers to stores, and not enough existing system, he so bad that some dispensary owners are shortage of licensees Only 30 companies have taken on these new roles. said. About 100 longing for the days of California’s medigoes beyond state As a result, since July 1, dispensaries have more customers cal marijuana system, which was in place companies have regulations. It’s due had fewer products on the shelves, just a day made for two decades before voters approved to the large number days after they were offering products at purchases under been licensed for recreational weed in November 2016. of cities—roughly huge discounts because of the new testing the old system, Under the medical marijuana system, three-fourths—that testing statewide, requirements. he said. customers had to have a doctor’s recomhave banned A look at the menus for about a dozen Joe Devlin, mendation, which theoretically reduced the with just two in commercial cannabis Sacramento dispensaries showed a couple Sacramento’s pot potential number of customers. But mediactivity. had no loose cannabis—called “flower” in czar, said he’s heard cal marijuana was sold without the state Sacramento. One potential bright regulations that are causing headaches now. the industry—and was only selling concen- similar figures from spot for the industry is that trates or edibles. Other shops had few or no other dispensaries. He Some of the most vexing regulations BCC, in its recently updated concentrates for sale. said it will take several for dispensary owners are that cannabis regulations, said delivery compa“Our customers are pretty upset months before the state’s planned must be tested for mold, pesticides and nies can “deliver to any jurisdiction within because they don’t have access to the supply chain is operating efficiently. other toxins, and licensed distributors the State of California” regardless of local flowers they want,” said Mark Pelter, Alex Traverso, spokesman for the state must transport cannabis. While dispensary bans on marijuana sales. Ω co-owner of River City Phoenix, or RCP, Bureau of Cannabis Control, declined owners say they don’t object to testing

state cripples legal dispensaries

SN&R

07.19.18

Like more Sign up formoney our newsletter! with your Can’t weed?remember See online-only if you already discounts did?atDo www.capitalcannabisguide.com it again. www.capitalcannabisguide.com or text WEED to 42828

07.19.18 | SN&R | 35

These aren’t the droids you are looking for.

36 | SN&R | 07.19.18

By Ngaio Bealum

as k 4 2 0 @ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Party on, my son Good afternoon, Mr. Ngaio. Sorry to bother you, but I watch Cooking on High and you seem extremely knowledgeable when discussing marijuana. I wanted to ask you: How long does marijuana stay in your hair? I have

a hair follicle test in two weeks (I live in Tennessee, so this Bible Belt state is definitely not a legalized state). I smoked a lot of weed at the beginning of May. I’m not a regular smoker, and I have only smoked once since May. But I’m very worried. I’m sure you receive a lot of questions and comments on here, but if you have time, please give me your opinion on how likely I am to pass! My stressed/irresponsible ass would greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much for your time! —Val N. Teere

Good afternoon to you as well! You know, we don’t hear much about hair follicle tests around these parts. It’s mostly urine tests. My understanding is that hair tests are more accurate for things like meth or cocaine, and not so much for THC. However, everything I have read says that THC is no longer detectable after 90 days, so you should be all right. And by the way, using cannabis doesn’t make you “irresponsible.” It just makes you someone that uses cannabis. After all, you still have a job. And listen: If Oklahoma can pass a medical marijuana law (And it’s a pretty good law. My favorite part is that it doesn’t let cities and counties opt out of having to allow cannabis dispensaries. Looking at you, California.), then almost any state can legalize cannabis. Hell, Oklahoma is practically the buckle of the Bible Belt, so there is hope for everyone these days. Go forth and sin no more. But maybe smoke a little every once in a while.

Hello mister Ngaio! Greetings from the one and only cannabis country, the Netherlands. I was wondering: Which strain do you recommend for music festivals? Love to hear from you! —BoNgeN a. BliNTz

Hello! This is a great question. I would say that you can’t have just one strain at a festival. I mean, IT’S A FESTIVAL! One of the things I like most about cannnabis is all the different flavors and feelings you can get from all of the different strains. For dancing, I like a good sativa like Willie Nelson or Trainwreck. For trying to sleep while the drum circle continues to make thundering rhythms outside your tent, I like a good indica like Romulan or Chocolate Hashberry. Party on!

You should be

IT PAYS TO STAY MEDICAL

once a week.

CONSULtAtIONS

getting it if you would like to carry the paper for free, call GreG at 916.498.1234, ext. 1317 or email GreGe@newSreview.com

Bro, what is the best weed for a beginner?

Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento comedian, activist and marijuana expert. Email him questions at ask420@newsreview.com.

@Ngaio420

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Her cherry chapstick This cute girl where I grocery shop After high school, I wasn’t ready to flirted with me so I flirted back. She move away for college. I knew I was gay started asking what I was doing on but wasn’t out to my family and wasn’t the weekend and showed up at bars ready to be. I stayed in Sac and lived and clubs where I said I’d be. She was at home. I got my bachelor’s degree, always hammered and would hang all a master’s degree and now, damn, it’s over me. One night at Faces, she kissed time to get out of town. I have a job me, and we made out. The next day, she and a place to live in San Diego, but I’m texted and said she didn’t remember scared. What if I hate it? What if I’m anything because she was lonely? Advice? drunk. Later, I dropped Moving is ranked among by the store, and while the top five life Your we were talking her stressors, so the coworker asked crush may anxiety you feel is if she was still completely normal. be working out her dating “Lance.” Change is scary— She said yes. I and exciting. So sexuality, she might be was really hurt if you’ve spent and left. She’s curious, she could even enough time been blowing up scaring yourself, fantasize that she’s a my phone asking you may be ready if I’m mad at her. to live the joy. rebel because she She says she’s Start here: You’re attracted to me but kissed a girl. manifesting a long-term her family and friends goal. Congratulations! wouldn’t understand You trust yourself to start because she’s never been fresh. If you don’t like your new with a girl before. I asked if she home, stop comparing it to your old one. wanted to be with me, and she said If you feel lonely, take yourself on dates yes, then she said no. I’m done, but she keeps texting and calling. It’s hard not to get better acquainted with yourself and to respond. What should I do? San Diego. Learning to enjoy solitude Blame Rita Ora? Her summer anthem, is essential to adulting and to spiritual “Girls,” (like Kay Perry’s 2008 “I growth. Above all, allow at least a year, if Kissed a Girl”), encouraged some not two, to settle into your new life. Ω straight girls to think that kissing another girl is an act that accompanies “red wine” or having a “drink in hand.” By claiming to have been drunk, the straight girl can avoid responsibility— MeDITATIOn OF THe Week both for the kiss and for the feelings she stirred. You’ve been caught in that vortex. Exit now. Delete this woman’s “Problems in relationships number, unfollow her on Insta, and occur because each person start shopping at another grocery store. is concentrating on what is By disconnecting, you demonstrate to missing in the other person,” yourself that you deserve to be treated said psychologist Wayne Dyer. with respect. Your crush may be What if you are your own other half? working out her sexuality, she might be curious, she could even fantasize that she’s a rebel because she kissed a girl. None of that is any of your business. Write, email or leave a message for Focus on making choices that nurture Joey at the News & Review. Give your self-worth. Open your heart to a your name, telephone number woman who knows who she is and who (for verification purposes only) and question—all she wants. Otherwise, you’re grooming correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. yourself for angst. What good is that? Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 1360; or email askjoey@newsreview.com.

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FRee will aStRology

by James Raia

by ROb bRezsny

FOR THE WEEk OF JULY 19, 2018 ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Take a lover

who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” Whenever that quote appears on the Internet, it’s falsely attributed to painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, it was originally composed by poet Marty McConnell. In any case, I’ll recommend that you heed it in the coming weeks. You really do need to focus on associating with allies who see the mysterious and lyrical best in you. I will also suggest that you get inspired by a line that Frida Kahlo actually wrote: “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.” (If you don’t know what a bourbon biscuit is, I’ll tell you: chocolate buttercream stuffed between two thin rectangular chocolate biscuits.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Here’s what author

Franz Kafka wrote in his diary on August 2, 1914: “Germany has declared war on Russia. I went swimming in the afternoon.” We could possibly interpret his nonchalance about world events to be a sign of callous self-absorption. But I recommend that you cultivate a similar attitude in the coming weeks. In accordance with astrological omens, you have the right and the need to shelter yourself from the vulgar insanity of politics and the pathological mediocrity of mainstream culture. So feel free to spend extra time focusing on your own well-being. (P.S.: Kafka’s biographer says swimming served this role for him. It enabled him to access deep unconscious reserves of pleasurable power that renewed his spirit.)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Am I delusional to

advise a perky, talkative Gemini like yourself to enhance your communication skills? How dare I even hint that you’re not quite perfect at a skill you were obviously born to excel at? But that’s exactly what I’m here to convey. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to take inventory of how you could more fully develop your natural ability to exchange information. You’ll be in robust alignment with cosmic rhythms if you take action to refine the way you express your own messages and receive and respond to other people’s messages.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Self-described

skeptics sometimes say to me, “How can any intelligent person believe in astrology? You must be suffering from a brain dysfunction if you imagine that the movements of planets can reveal any useful clues about our lives.” If the “skeptic” is truly open-minded, as an authentic skeptic should be, I offer a mini-lecture to correct his misunderstandings. If he’s not (which is the usual case), I say that I don’t need to “believe” in astrology; I use astrology because it works. For instance, I have a working hypothesis that Cancerians like myself enjoy better-than-average insight and luck with money every year from late July through the month of August. It’s irrelevant whether there’s a “scientific” theory to explain why this might be. I simply undertake efforts to improve my financial situation at this time, and I’m often successful.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here are some of the fine

gifts you’re eligible for and even likely to receive during the next four weeks: a more constructive and fluid relationship with obsession; a panoramic look at what lies below the tip of the metaphorical iceberg; a tear-jerking joyride that cracks open your sleeping sense of wonder; erasure of at least 20 percent of your self-doubt; vivid demonstrations of the excitement available from slowing down and taking your sweet time; and a surprising and useful truth delivered to your soul by your body.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): During the last three

months of 2018, I suspect you will dismantle or outgrow a foundation. Why? So as to prepare the way for building or finding a new foundation in 2019. From next January onward, I predict you will reimagine the meaning of home. You’ll grow fresh roots and come to novel conclusions about the influences that enable you to feel secure and stable. The reason I’m revealing these clues ahead of time is because now is a good time to get a foreshadowing of how to proceed. You can glean insights on where to begin your work.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A reader asked Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle, “How does one become more sensual?” I’ll ask you to meditate on the same question. Why? Because it’s a good time to enrich and deepen your sensuality. For

inspiration, here are some ideas that blend my words with Cardelle’s: “Laugh easily and freely. Tune in to the rhythm of your holy animal body as you walk. Sing songs that remind you why you’re here on Earth. Give yourself the luxury of reading books that thrill your imagination and fill you with fresh questions. Eat food with your fingers. Allow sweet melancholy to snake through you. Listen innocently to people, being warmhearted and slyly wild. Soak up colors with your eager eyes. Whisper grateful prayers to the sun as you exult in its gifts.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “If people aren’t

laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.” So says bodybuilder Kai Greene. I don’t know if I would personally make such a brazen declaration, but I do think it’s worth considering—especially for you right now. You’re entering into the big bold vision time of your astrological cycle. It’s a phase when you’ll be wise to boost the intensity of your hopes for yourself, and get closer to knowing the ultimate form of what you want, and be daring enough to imagine the most sublime possible outcomes for your future. If you do all that with the proper chutzpah, some people may indeed laugh at your audacity. That’s OK!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This mini-

chapter in your epic life story is symbolically ruled by the fluttering flights of butterflies, the whirring hum of hummingbird wings, the soft cool light of fireflies, and the dawn dances of seahorses. To take maximum advantage of the blessings life will tease you with in the coming weeks, I suggest you align yourself with phenomena like those. You will tend to be alert and receptive in just the right ways if you cultivate a love of fragile marvels, subtle beauty, and amazing grace.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I swear the

astrological omens are telling me to tell you that you have license to make the following requests: 1. People from your past who say they’d like to be part of your future have to prove their earnestness by forgiving your debts to them and asking your forgiveness for their debts to you. 2. People who are pushing for you to be influenced by them must agree to be influenced by you. 3. People who want to deepen their collaborations with you must promise to deepen their commitment to wrestling with their own darkness. 4. People who say they care for you must prove their love in a small but meaningful way.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You will never

find an advertisement for Nike or Apple within the sacred vessel of this horoscope column. But you may come across plugs for soul-nourishing commodities like creative freedom, psychosexual bliss, and playful generosity. Like everyone else, I’m a salesperson—although I believe that the wares I peddle are unambiguously good for you. In this spirit, I invite you to hone your own sales pitch. It’s an excellent time to interest people in the fine products and ideas and services that you have to offer.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Would you do me

a favor, please? Would you do your friends and loved ones and the whole world a favor? Don’t pretend you’re less powerful and beautiful than you are. Don’t downplay or neglect the magic you have at your disposal. Don’t act as if your unique genius is nothing special. OK? Are you willing to grant us these small indulgences? Your specific talents, perspectives, and gifts are indispensable right now. The rest of us need you to be bold and brazen about expressing them.

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 realastrology.com.

Wonderwalls Matthew Trammel has succeeded in the corporate world, worked in security, walked on runways as a model and had fleeting fame on national television. But he’s more content working alone in an Indian restaurant, sports pubs, wineries, hotels or wherever his brushes, pencils and acrylic paints are needed. For the past several years, Trammel, 36, has built an everexpanding business as a muralist. He’s painted murals throughout the state, including downtown Sacramento restaurants. His controversial recent interior renovation of Sandra Dee’s was featured on chef Gordon Ramsey’s show, 24 Hours To Hell & Back. Nearly 20 years ago, Trammel, a self-taught artist, played football at Laguna Creek High School. He still has the look of an athlete who might be competitive. But a longtime hobby as a painter became a career through an odd collection of circumstances.

How did you become a muralist? I’ve always painted, but it’s always been on the side. I was a regional supervisor for a company, and I got in a bad car accident about seven years ago. That allowed me some free time because I couldn’t go to work. I had a cast around my midsection. But I was able to paint a mural at a restaurant. I was asked to put murals all over the restaurant. The owner told the manager to take everything down on the walls, and that’s kind of how the commercial muraling got started. It was a place in Elk Grove called Bull Wings.

When did your business take off? It really started to go well when I got married about one-and-a-half years ago on a national TV reality show. On the last episode, they showed seven murals I’d done in a winery, and people started blogging about it. It was kind of a big deal, so that was kind of cool.

Are you still married? No. We got it annulled like three months later.

One of your recent projects included four murals in an Indian restaurant in Sacramento. How did that come about and how long did it take? They found me on Yelp. I worked on it for about six hours each day, and each one took about three days. Basically, what I do is come in and do the background and an outline, then fill it. And on the last day, I do all the little details.

PHOTO BY james raia

What problems do you come across doing murals?

them all over the place. It’s just recently become full-time for me.

I did a huge mural recently of Venice. It was a 22-foot high mural and 30-feet wide. It was up a staircase, and the wall was curved. Measuring everything out took awhile.

What kind of paint do you use?

What other projects do you have in the works? I’ve got a huge project for a guy. I started doing trophy rooms. A lot of people have these rooms with taxidermy animals and they put them in the huge scenes, privately and commercially. I hooked up with a construction guy and he got me involved. I’m basically doing all of the painting of the scene behind the animals. It’s pretty cool. I’m doing an African scene and an Antarctica scene.

Do you still compete in sports? I played intramural football at UC Davis, and I played football at Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove, but that was quite awhile ago, in 2000.

After you did the sports murals in Bull Wings, did you have other local projects? Yes, lots of places in Midtown. I did a “Starry Night” scene in the Residence Inn right across the street from the Capitol. I’ve done a lot of restaurants, and I’ve done a Texas Roadhouse and lots of wineries and hotels. I’ve done

It’s acrylic. I used oils way back when, but it takes way too long to dry. The colors are great and I found some really good colors, but … I wish oil dried faster. So it’s easier to use acrylics. I do know some muralists who use oils, but it takes them forever to get a project done.

You also do speed painting. What’s that all about? I started about five years ago. I do one every year for the Folsom Symphony to raise money for the artisan schools. I did a similar one recently for McClatchy High School. I did a painting of their lion [the school’s mascot]. Supposedly, they’re taking the one I painted and making it into the school’s logo.

What’s the speed painting process? I do a huge painting in about 10 minutes, and I paint it with both hands and to music. The kids love to see it. Any place I do it—it’s all kinds of organizations— they’re usually raffling off something at the end of an event. They auction off the painting. It’s fun. Ω

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