Ok, folks, I’m looking for help settling a bet between a couple of buddies. Years ago there was a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store located at Watt & Fair Oaks next to the Casablanca restaurant. I’m looking for an approximate year that the store closed to become one of many cell phone retailers.
In similar news, I had to let go of my memory that there once was a Leatherby’s in Loehmann’s Plaza where Giovanni’s pizza no resides.
As you were.
I had a rough experience the other day at my local gymnasium. I needed to drop an add-on feature from my account. I wasn’t using this feature and therefore felt my money was being thrown away each month. A simple request, right? You would think. I was told by the front desk employee that this wasn’t a simple request and I would have to meet with a sales representative at their convenience (they work from, uh, 9 to 6, fancy that, so do I!). I am sure you see where this is going so suffice it to say that when I finally sat down with the sales rep I was none to pleased to find out I was going to be charged $10 to make a simple notation on my account via a keyboard stroke.
I wanted to go home and rant about this on the Sac Rag, but alas the customer service Gods saw my dismay from up above and threw me a celestial bone. A few days later I visited the Jack’s Urban Eats restaurant at Loehmann’s Plaza as I do enjoy me a Jack’s salad. It was a crowded evening (I know, shocker) and we were dining with another couple so finding a table was imperative. As such, I sent Mrs. TopofIt to scout out the scene. She left me with specific instructions as to the type of salad she prefers. The list of ingredients is a simple one, but it all hinges on the salad dressing. Short story long, I finished up my order, paid, and sat down with my party salad in hand. My wife took one bite and quickly realized that I had chosen the wrong dressing.
Frequent Sac Rag readers know that the Man loves to put his foot down on the people. From preventing our hearts from indulging in heaping helpings of trans fats to sticking hard working, tax paying citizens with bills to fix sidewalks, the madness continues. So much so that this story about banning screaming on thrill rides has me perplexed. Am I shocked? Am I amazed? Or am I just so numb to the comings and goings of government interference (I realize that Scandia is not the Government, but it’s close enough, work with me on this) that I’m better off just pointing my web browser back over to nbc.com so I can watch that hilarious Peyton Manning sketch from SNL a few weeks back for the 100th time?
The new no-screaming policy took effect less than a week ago. Neighbors across Interstate 80 complained the screams were constant, rattling their homes and their patience. Scandia owners took community suggestions and came up with the no-screaming policy and say so far visitors have complied. For those who don’t follow the rules, the ride is stopped immediately and the riders must get off and get back in line.
Now this I gotta see. What level of screamage warrants a ride stoppage? And is it too obvious to mention the name of the ride? You know what I’m thinking Sacramento, right? It rhymes with Play Sassy…
From the “I don’t wanna go off on a rant here” files we learn today that Sacramento County prosecutors will not file any criminal charges against radio staff in the water-drinking death of a Rancho Cordova mother of three (read Runnergirl’s comment).
“Any reasonable person wouldn’t have concluded that she was seriously ill or in danger of dying,” said district attorney’s spokeswoman Lana Wyant. “There were no red flags.”
Uh, uh, really? The Sac Bee article goes on to cite facts to the contrary (saving me the trouble). My hunch is (and you legal eagles out there can help me out) that this is cost saving move to the County and the taxpayers. Thus allowing the civil case to move forward and the real fireworks to begin.
As much as I am behind personal accountability I just can’t come to terms with the footage of the DJs flippantly dismissing the callers who tried to warn of the dangers of such a contest.
Back in January of 2006, frequent Sac Rag contributor “Runnergirl” wrote a post about the area’s worst parking lots. Tops on her list was the Natomas Marketplace. And anyone that has ever had the misfortune to shop there has witnessed the Grade A Fuster Cluck (GAFC) that ensues on a daily basis.
Fear not, Sacramento, as the City has listened (probably, maybe) and responded!
The city of Sacramento is taking steps to improve access to Natomas Marketplace, a half-million square foot shopping center with a single main driveway.
Bravo! Now if they could just do something about the drive through line at In & Out Burger (it’s a burger, people, sure it’s good, but it’s a BURGER!).
Beginning at 11am this morning, Tower Records will be auctioning off their equipment from the recently shut down stores.
Boxes of DVDs and CDs along with forklifts, desks and file cabinets are some of the items that will be up for grabs.
The proceedings will be webcast by Great American. Online bidders have to register at the Web site. A quick browse of the auction catalog finds lots of standard office equipment. You know, air compressors, banding machines, label makers, printers, pornography, etc.
“What!” you are saying to yourself. I know, I know. Who couldn’t use a banding machine, huh? Totally.
Oh, the porno you say? Yeah, well it appears that, for the right price, Lots 38 and 39 can be yours. With such hits as “Spanish Fly” and “Deep Inside” topping the list.
Man, it’s worth going just to be there to hear the auctioneer play those up…
I shouldn’t have to post this, but Sacramento never ceases to amaze me. From News10.net:
Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman Christian Pebbles said the fire spread rapidly, stretching across the length of a football field within minutes. Fire officials said they have not determined how the fire started, but the creosote-soaked trestle fueled intense black smoke that could be seen from more than 50 miles away.
The fire brought rush-hour traffic to a halt on the Capital City Freeway bordering the state fairgrounds as commuters stopped to look at the blaze. Some even got out of their cars and began walking towards the flames, forcing officials to use megaphones to warn spectators away.
As if the blazing heat wasn’t enough to keep folks from stopping? Gadzooks:
Brief direct contact with large amounts of coal tar creosote may result in a rash or severe irritation of the skin, chemical burns of the surfaces of the eyes, convulsions and mental confusion, kidney or liver problems, unconsciousness, and even death. Longer direct skin contact with low levels of creosote mixtures or their vapors can result in increased light sensitivity, damage to the cornea, and skin damage. Longer exposure to creosote vapors can cause irritation of the respiratory tract.
As always, stay classy Sacramento…
News 10’s Sharon Ito will be leaving “News 10 Good Morning” on March 23. She will be replaced by Kelly Jackson from KSDK in St. Louis.
Kelly is replacing Sharon Ito, who is championing a new initiative on news10.net. Sharon is currently developing a new approach to news that will engage and inform internet news users.
I wonder if part of that “new approach” is to proofread stories before publishing (or after even, I’m flexible). At any rate, I’m all for making the news we receive via the Internet engaging and informative. Trail blaze, Sharon, trail blaze!
News10.net reports that California is moving to ban the use of trans fats in restaurant menu items.
The bill is being challenged by restaurant owners across California who worry the trans fat ban will force them to use more expensive alternative oils that could change the flavor of their food for the worse.
Why is it that I can hear sac-eats’ stomach grumbling now as it ponders a world without artery clogging, heart attack creating, yet oh so creamy industrially created as a side effect of partial hydrogenation of plant oils – a process developed in the early 1900s and first commercialized as Crisco in 1911, trans fatty acids?
“It’s going to be a big fight,” said Terri Mead, manager of Sacramento’s Pancake Circus Restaurant. “We don’t want them telling us what we can and can’t use in the restaurant.”
You tell’em Terri (a nay sayer from the Pancake Circus? Get out…). We don’t want those health freaks telling us what to do. Next thing you know we’ll have the government telling us that we have to maintain a certain level of “cleanliness” and “freshness” in order to “pass” a random “inspection” or face being “shut down”.
As someone who just threw back 3 or 8 zero trans fats per serving Tagalongs, let me just say that I don’t miss the trans fats at all. And if it is good enough for our Girl Scouts of the USA, it’s good enough for me.
I would make this one a “Make us laugh” post, but that clearly doesn’t motivate folks. But, you know what motivates people? MySpace (a place for friends) discussions. With that said…
Access to MySpace has been blocked at the Lodi Police Department.
Police officials say they decided to block access to MySpace on the department’s internal network because officers were spending too much time browsing online.
But, never fear, officers who use the site for investigations or other authorized reasons will still have access.
Hmm, if you have a site that may need to be visited from time to time for investigations and other authorized reasons, do you really need to be on that site for non-investigations and unauthorized reasons?
The Sac Rag 