Author: CoolDMZ

"X-ray vision to see in between / Where's my kimono and my time machine?"

Sac City Superintendent’s reading challenge aims high

Not.

Join Superintendent Raymond’s SUMMER READING challenge and Get Caught Reading a great book!

Read two or more books this summer and record the titles on a Reading Log. (Emphasis mine)

Two books! In just one calendar season?! “Get caught reading”?! Not to mention, judging at least by the 1st-2nd grade suggested list, the reading level is not exactly reaching for the stars either. It includes mostly picture books and “easy reader” type books.

Fortunately the Sacramento Public Library offers several literacy programs this summer. The Make a Splash reading contest aims to get kids to complete at least 5 literacy related activities. They also have a program with Fresh Choice that I believe encourages kids to read 5 books with a free meal as a reward. I cannot find anything about it online but it definitely is a thing — ask your librarian!

NYTimes’s grim view of housing market

The housing market has a good local angle, so I don’t think it’s out of place to point out this accidentally terrible page design in none other than the New York Times today:

These guys are so picky! Don’t they know that even only-partially-destroyed homes are getting snatched up fast these days? You want walls and doors you really have to go out of your price range anymore.

Far at Daytrotter Studios

gratitude1
Creative Commons License photo credit: justingaynor

Another Sacramento band graces the Daytrotter Studio, this time the recently reconstituted ’90s proto-emo band Far, led by Jonah Matranga. From the trippy-dippy (in a good way) intro by Daytrotter’s Sean Moller:

… [T]he band builds itself around very intense and very serious thoughts of when we’re living and when we’re doing something less than living. It could refer to dying, but more often than not, in listening to the words that Matranga pens, we get the feeling that being dead and dying don’t carry all of that permanence. These just happen to be conditions – no less serious – but situations that can be fixed if the winds and minds are right.

Daytrotter.com: We All Live On (Far session)

Monday morning transit frustrations

Sacramento Regional Transit 117 Siemons U2 1993 1
Creative Commons License photo credit: jacksnell

My commute involves cycling and light rail, and for the most part this is a really smooth setup for me (especially since I haven’t been asked to show my pass since Justin Bieber* was in diapers). So after riding hard to the light rail station on Friday afternoon, looking forward to the weekend, I took my usual spot toward where the rear of the last car would be, knowing that the front cars tend to fill up.

As the train approached, I could tell it was a 3-car and not the usual commuter-friendly 4-car train. As I hoofed it up the station to the end of the third car, only to board and find 2 cyclists already on board the back of the train, it occurred to me that it was Friday at 4:15, which should still count as peak hours. However, it was Friday, and we all know that a certain segment of riders are Furloughed on Fridays (or are they still? I have completely lost interest). Either way I feel sure that the length of RT’s trains is affected by Furlough Fridays, leaving the rest of us in the dark.

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Last day of school at John Paul II

IHMs (nuns) at work in the classroom at All Hallows Parish School 1966

When the bell rings shortly at John Paul II School in Tahoe Park, it will be Alice Cooper’s dream come true: Schooool’s out. For. Evah. The Catholic Diocese is closing the school and allowing its students to transfer to the new Saint Patrick SUCCEED Academy on the former campus of St. Patrick Elementary School in South Sac.

According to what I have been told, the Diocese currently has no plans to lease out this great old brick school facility. There are still people involved with the All Hallows Parish who might be able to use the facility in the future for educational programs. Me, I’d love to see a public charter school open up there.

John Paul II School opened in 2005 as a merger between All Hallows and St. Peter’s Parish Schools. All Hallows Parish School opened on the site in 1948.

The Sac Bee has a nice photo gallery of the last day of school at Sacred Heart (my alma mater), which opens a new campus across the street this fall. But no mention of JPII.

Cosumnes River Preserve

Weekend outdoorsy fun was had by the whole family yesterday as we finally checked out the Cosumnes River Preserve down in the Galt/Walnut Grove area. The preserve is a 46,000-acre wildlife refuge along the Cosumnes River (the last undammed river in the Central Valley), winding from Sacramento County all the way down to the delta. With a paved wetlands pathway and a rougher river walk trail, there are a few miles of walking to do, as well as boating, cycling and hunting. The weather was perfect yesterday, so we enjoyed a beautiful walk along the sunny wetlands pathway and a shorter jaunt on the river walk. The wide trails make it easy for walking with kids (since there is doubtless plenty of poison oak along the way).

We followed this up with a drive over to Walnut Grove and back home along the 160, stopping for cool treats in downtown Clarksburg. I don’t know what it is but I love the Delta area! A couple of photos after the jump…

Continue reading “Cosumnes River Preserve”

Natomas Unified school library closures

The Sac Bee brings out the sad news that Natomas Unified School District has closed all of its elementary school libraries. It certainly seems like things are spiraling out of control, doesn’t it?

The article includes a foreboding quote from Martha Rowland, district coordinator of library services for Sac City Unified:

“I’m proud of our superintendent and his vision” … “I don’t know how that vision will be funded, but he has the right idea – that libraries are important to kids.” (emphasis mine)

Sac City parents are dreading the dropping of the other shoe on that one …

County Fair this weekend

Candy factory at 2008 Sacramento County Fair
Creative Commons License photo credit: sporkwrapper

I know that the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival is the big draw this weekend, but I am partial to the Sacramento County Fair for family friendly Memorial Day Weekend activities. Admission for kids is free, and adults are only $3, so it’s a steal of a deal, and it also lacks the big crowds of Big Fun.

This year features some awesomely weird entertainment, like a Demolition Derby and Lucha Libre wrestling, in addition to the more wholesome entertainment of watching and smelling animals that were raised by local kids, which are also available for purchase (the livestock, that is) at auction. And if your tolerance for being near carnies is high carnies, you can always sample the rides on the midway.

Or you can pay $35 and see Molly Ringwald. Your choice, Sacramento.