Since I mentioned the accident at La Fiesta on Alhambra Blvd. a few weeks ago, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the store’s reopening.
Author: RonTopofIt
RonTopofIt is a complex personality, as are most of the small breed of modern day renaissance millionaires. He wishes more people were like him and yet believes that it takes all kinds. You've met RonTopofIt many times, you just don't remember him.
Fresnans get defensive
Another list came out recently ranking America’s smartest cities and Sacramento came in at T35 with Oklahoma City.
Metro Area Population: 2,109,832 – Daily Beast IQ Score: 84
On paper, Sacramento has a lot going for it, intellectually. It’s the capital of California, a draw for the Golden State’s best and brightest. And it’s just 90 minutes east of the Bay Area, which almost topped this list. Yet Sacramento wound up with below-average scores for almost every one of our criteria.
We do have a lot going for us, you know, on paper. It’s hard to swallow our IQ score of 84 (the winner, Raleigh-Durham, had a score of 170!), but when you consider they included college education, presidential voting turnout AND nonfiction book sales in their study it starts to make sense. Two out of three ain’t bad, right?
Fresno finished last (IQ of 3!) and the Fresno Bee’s Mike Osegueda took issue with it.
Where was I? Rainbow
Due to the overwhelmingly lukewarm response to my new “Cap’n Obvious” category last week, I would like to add another one labeled “Where was I?” We will snap random photos about town and we’ll test your knowledge of the 916 by asking that you tell us where we took the photo. Some will be easier than others. I rate this one a 5 out of 10.
With yesterday’s storm we were treated to a lovely rainbow.
Kings on Twitter
Via twitter-athletes.com, here is a listing of Sacramento Kings on Twitter.
It looks like Jon Brockman leads the way with over 30,000 followers (blog about that, JT!).
Former River Cat, Nick Swisher, cracks the overall top 10 list with 936,016 followers.
What does this all mean? I have no idea. Twitter is still lost on me, but apparently the kids love it so who am I to judge?
Souza leaves (left) News10
I still think I am the last to know these sorts of the things as I rarely watch local news, but I did notice that Patty Souza resigned her position as meteorologist early last week. I did not notice, however, that she had not been on the air since July August!
After a very difficult decision, I have decided to leave News10 to pursue other interests and life dreams. This is nothing but positive for me as my life focus and purpose has shifted in a different direction.
These statements are always tough to translate. And, of course, the comments are very useful and constructive.
Luckily, we can follow her on the Twitter pages.
Cap’n Obvious: Speakerphones
I’d like to introduce a new category to help organize our thoughts and opinions about topics we at The Sac Rag feel are, well, obvious. I am labeling this category “Cap’n Obvious” in reference to what I call people who say things like “Hey, that reminds me of that one episode of ‘Seinfeld’” when I make a joke about having a contest to see who can go the longest without pleasuring themselves.
Now that I have your attention …
Hey, Sacramento, holding your cell phone up to your mouth using the speakerphone feature is still dangerous even if you think it is somehow allowed under the Hands Free law that went into effect last year.
(e) This section does not apply to a person when using a digital two-way radio that utilizes a wireless telephone that operates by depressing a push-to-talk feature and does not require immediate proximity to the ear of the user, and the person is driving one of the following vehicles:
You know, unless you are operating an implement of husbandry of course. Carry on, please.
There is, however, an exception for dialing.
Hey, that’s not funny
When our beloved Peet’s at Lyon Village took a car through the window earlier this year we took our medicine. Accidents happen, right? However, anyone that has been to that location and has seen where the car entered the store may wonder HOW exactly it happened, but I digress. It’s been repaired, no one was injured. Press on.
Well, Sacramento, it’s time to officially send out a “WTF!” now that our favorite burro spot, La Fiesta Taqueria, has taken one on the chin.
Surveillance video from inside the business shows two customers exiting the building through the front door less than five seconds before the car slammed through it from the opposite direction. The car ended up completely inside the building, coming to rest after hitting the counter near the cash register …
The La Fiesta Taqueria boarded up the new hole in the building Sunday evening and will remain closed for about 10 days.
People suck.
Take that Columbus!
Who doesn’t love a list? What about a list pertaining to Sacramento? Not you? Great, because here’s one that should have you scratching your head (especially if you’ve been to some of the cities that took us down. Riverside?).
Sacramento has the 32nd-largest economy in the nation, and the sixth-best in California, according to a new federal report … GMP measures the total output of goods and services within a given area in a given year.
Not bad for a “middle of the road community“, right?
Sacramento’s higher-than-average cost of living and modern-day record jobless rate, coupled with lower earning potential after graduation hurt the capital region on the top 20 list, according to the American Institute for Economic Research. But Sacramento fared much better than Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City and Las Vegas, which suffers from a dismal number of college graduates and staggering low research funding.
Columbus you say? Owned. Seriously though, is there a connection to be made here?
Slam! Crash! Plow!
If you live here (this is mainly for you new readers), you know that cars find their way into buildings. Home, businesses, you name it. Young drivers, old drivers, and elevated drivers alike, we have it all in the 916. What is fascinating to me, however, is how we report these incidents and what information we reveal.
For example, on Sunday morning in Natomas an off-duty sheriff’s deputy “crashed” her sport utility vehicle into a Starbucks.
Police charged an off-duty Sacramento Sheriff’s deputy with felony DUI Sunday after she plowed into an open Starbucks coffee shop in Natomas, injuring an elderly woman … Brown said the driver of the car continued to push on the accelerator even after the car had come to a stop … Authorities believe Gargano, 37, was taking prescription medication, Leong said. He declined to name the specific medication, citing health confidentiality.
Sorry, the officer “plowed” into the coffee shop. What, no “continued to gun it!” And we are OK with her name but not her medical condition?
More details surface and the Sac Bee offers up a new article, SUV slams into Starbucks; deputy charged. We learn the deputy’s name and of course her personal tidbits in the comments section.
Then, two more crashes occur … Continue reading “Slam! Crash! Plow!”
California has a garage
Jimmy Kimmel Live did a funny bit about the “Great California Garage Sale” coming soon to a broke state near you.
“This is a win-win for the state and for shoppers,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement Tuesday announcing that a selection of items also would be sold on eBay and Craigslist. “Together we are eliminating waste and providing great deals in this tough economy.”
Wow. Big Scary Knives.
Can we leave negative feedback? What would yours be? Apparently their eBay approach is raising some eyebrows.
UPDATE: Items are going fast after day one.. Final sales are over 1.5 million.
The Sac Rag 