Davis mom drives to Nebraska to abandon her 14-year old son. Nebraska’s safe-haven law passed in July had no age limit. I’m sure there will be plenty of time to post feel good stories this week so we have something to be thankful for, but this law and some of the stories are just terrible. Happy Monday!

UPDATE 11/25/08 10:02 am It looks like the boy will be returned to Yolo County.

With all the national attention focused on the worldwide economic meltdown, it’s easy to forget the local effect. Now, more than ever, there are hungry families, struggling citizens, and unfortunate folks in our community that could use a hand.

Check out last year’s post for information on how you can help at local food banks, local athletic fund raisers, and volunteer organizations throughout the city. Be thankful for what you have, and help give others something to be thankful for.

My day just starts off wrong if my morning paper is not on the doorstep.

As someone who grew up in a multi-paper-reading family (Auburn Journal***, The Sacramento Bee***, The Wall Street Journal*, The San Francisco Chronicle**, The Sacramento Union*, and The Klam-Ity Kourier* — later known as just The Kourier*, which we received by mail long after leaving the reservation), not to mention the newspaper carrying dynasty my brother and I created along the greater Auburn Ravine Road corridor, I can’t not have my actual morning paper.

It’s no secret that readership and subscription rates of the hard-copy newspaper have plummeted. In my opinion, this is not just because people are getting their news online, but also because the concept of what is “news” has changed, so many people have tuned out. (Really? Your breaking story is about Britney Spears?)

In today’s Forum section, Bee editor Melanie Sill talks about the changes coming to the actual newspaper — different size paper will be used for easier handling by readers and also to reduce the amount of paper used. Continue reading “The Paper Chase” »

Today’s Bee reports that Haagen Dazs is donating $100,000 to UC Davis to help find out why honey bees are disappearing at alarming rates. (OK, so I grew up watching Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of and being frightened about the impending killer bees, and now the nice bees are vanishing? What gives? I want to keep bees.)

What products or companies would you suggest as possible sponsors or tie-ins to other issues plaguing our region, and why can’t I think of how to work Mayor McCheese into any of this?

I spent today at the Metro Chamber’s annual Perspectives event, and this year’s theme was “Great Minds Don’t Always Think Alike,” so it was no surprise that someone as flagrantly conservative as Rush Limbaugh would be followed up by someone like Colin Quinn.

I’ve long been a Colin Quinn fan, going back to his Remote Control days; however, today cast him in an entirely different light.

While there were a reported 3,100 people at today’s event, like most happenings in Sacramento, lots of people know each other. Anyone who has lived here for any length of time know that the six degrees of separation is practically non-existent in the 916 (and parts of the 530.) So, these 3,100 people are more of a community, rather than a random grouping of strangers — and this made Colin’s comments especially cutting because they were pointed at one of our own.

What could he have said that was so bad?

Continue reading “Colin Quinn: A Geographically-Challenged Jerk” »

In our ever-diligent pursuit to keep you well informed about the stuff that we, The Sac Rag board of directors, are planning to do with our down time, and consequently what you, The Sac Rag Readers, should think about doing with your down time since we, The Sac Rag board of directors, are screwed in to the local scene like a CFL bulb (since we respect a flex alert too), we bring you another edition of “Watcha’ Doing This Weekend?” In this edition we talk about college football, comedy, outdoor sports, the parting of a local celebrity, and cheese. Continue reading “Watcha’ Doing This Weekend?” »

Let’s put this one in the “unintentionally funny” category.  On the corner of Fulton and Alta Arden, a small massage parlor called VIP Spa used to serve its clients well into the night, seven nights a week.  Anecdotal evidence (and the fact that their blinds were always closed) points to VIP Spa as a house of ill repute or at least a shady pseudo-sexual massage parlor.  Well, move to the present day.  VIP Spa has been shut down for almost a year and the new tenant of the building is a smoke shop called–wait for it– “Blow & Tell.” 

Maybe I don’t give the stoners at B&T enough credit.  If this is an intentionally funny renaming of the property, then my hats off to them for their snarktitude.

In today’s Bee, the Arden/Carmichael section talks about the new “public art” that decorates the median of Watt Avenue from Butano to El Camino.  Apparently the artistic barrier (it’s really a fence to keep people from j-walking) shows the “symbols and images of the area’s past, present and future.”  This includes fish, birds, and a palm tree made from stone.  Two things stand out here: 1) There is one scene in the piece that shows a four-legged animal that Mrs. Eats and I have a debate going on about.  She says it’s a wolf, I say it’s a goat.  We may need your help with this.  2) Depressingly, the dedication will be held tomorrow in the Wal Mart parking lot, which may be a comment on the future of public art, or the weight given to current art, or the ridiculous gigantor-size of the Wal-Mart parking lot.

HeyMeg brings up an excellent point today about inevitable zombie attack, one that deserves more than a passing mention. Also it’s Thursday and everybody needs a little pick-me-up on Thursday afternoon. For more clarification I turned to her husband, The Game Guy, who asks:

If Zombies attack, where’s the safest place in Sacramento to hide out/what’s the best escape route.

I mean, contemporary wisdom would say Arden Fair mall, but I don’t think that’s such a great idea - given its land-locked location, and close proximity to soon-to-be jammed freeways.

And K Street Mall is looks like its basically infested with zombies right now, so I think it’s something worth thinking about.

I say secure the levees. Get to high ground.

As a counterpoint to the lengthy calendar sections of the local media outlets, we here at the ‘Rag will not inundate you with events and happenings and cultural brouhahas that may not appeal to you.  We will, however, tell you what we, the writers of the Sac Rag, plan to do this weekend.  Please keep in mind that not only are we independently wealthy, but also attractive and tied in to the local scene tighter than a fat chick’s Wranglers.  So, here’s what we’re doing this weekend.  We don’t want to tell you what to do, but be aware, if you choose to join us in any of these outings, you will be a better person for it.

Continue reading “What Are We Doing This Weekend?” »