“1st-Grader Threatens To Shoot Classmate”

green gun
not this kid… or WAS IT???

KCRA reports:

A first-grader at a Sacramento school threatened to shoot a classmate over an argument, police said.

Authorities were called to Caroline Wenzel Elementary School at 6870 Greenhaven Drive at 11:45 a.m. Monday to assist school officials with an investigation, Officer Norm Leong said.

The 6-year-old’s father was contacted and advised of the threat. No arrests were made.

Investigation? No arrests made? You don’t say. I’m glad the principal, Judy Montgomery/Philip Moore according to SCUSD’s website, didn’t decide to go off book and handle this themselves. If this was my kid, I would be so livid that I would probably forget to scold him for being such a dingbat. Is that really the district’s policy when it comes to these things?

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!!! to play Austin City Limits festival

The just-announced lineup for this year’s Austin City Limits music festival includes former Sacramento band !!!. (I thought about ending that sentence in three exclamation points.) The font size of the band’s name on the lineup poster puts them in the same tier as Sonic Youth and The B-52s.

The festival will be held October 2-4 in the Austin of Texas.

Swine Flu in Sacramento County

{NOTE – This story contains out-of-date info about the number of cases in our area. For updated Sacramento-specific information, see the County’s DPH website.}

The first case of Swine Flu has been confirmed in the Sacramento area, so get ready for the en-sooey-ing panic.

Sorry.

To avoid unnecessary panic and worry, it is important to understand the facts behind the 2009 Swine bug. The strain(s) of the virus that have been popping up in the United States appears to be a milder version of the more lethal strains that have been found in other countries. Only one patient has required hospitalization, an elderly woman. Everyone else has gotten a nasty flu and recovered. This is the only the 8th case in California and the 40th in the US, so the chances of getting it appear to be quite slim. (Update: 3 positive cases in Fair Oaks, making a total of 10 CA cases as of 4/28)

This is not a deadly superbug. Let’s hope it stays that way.

It is also not spread by eating pigs. Please maintain your normal bacon consumption level.

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Democratic Parties

This weekend, the California Democratic Party is holding their 2009 State Convention. For the next three days, more than 3500 suspected carriers of a new disease will be clustered in Downtown and Midtown. Epidemiologists have observed a localized outbreak among conventioneers of a disease they are dubbing “Obama Fever”. Symptoms include leftward-leaning, habitual recycling and involuntary muscular reactions to seeing another conventioneer, where both will sound a celebratory “whoop” followed by a ritual sign of camaraderie, notably a variation of the high five.

More serious cases of OF are identifiable by the “Flair Count” observed in the patient. A mild case is defined by 5 or less pieces of flair (button, hat, t-shirt, etc), with a moderate case having a Flair Count of 6-15, and a serious case having a 16+ Flair Count. Uninfected parties are not in any serious danger of catching OF as patients need to be exposed to OF vectors for at least two months, and average media exposure has not been shown to be infectious. If you are concerned that you may have OF, even if you are not exhibiting flair, please click on this link for additional medical advice.

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Women in Brewing at Rubicon

womeninbrewNothing affirms the sense of renewal that comes with Spring like seeing mother critters care for their young. I’m lucky to have several bird nests in the backyard and have spent the past month watching hummingbirds zip about. At first, they were just mothers building nests, but now there are several tiny reminders of their diligence and care searching for bugs, learning to fly and yelling for mom.

Rubicon Brewing Company salutes women and their life-giving generosity with their annual Celebration of Women Brewers that benefits W.E.A.V.E. and the fight against domestic violence. Some of these beers are made specifically for this event, so be thankful that California has several members of The Pink Boots Society. Our hometown brewers are Darcie Quinn and Brenda Studabaker from Rubicon and Sarah Irwin from SacBrew.

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Layoffs Even Affect Kings

nattSacramento Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced today that the team has decided not to pick up the option on Kenny Natt’s contract for next season, thus relieving him of his coaching duties. In a related move, assistant coaches Rex Kalamian, Jason Hamm, Randy Brown and Bubba Burrage were also relieved of their existing coaching responsibilities.

I guess you can’t lead a team to the worst record in its history and expect great riches (unless you’re in the insurance business).

Happy Earth Day, Sacramento

Earth Day is a birthday. On April 22, 1970, twenty million Americans joined together to promote a healthy, sustainable environment and gave birth to the modern environmental movement. Today, we celebrate activism, community development, and altruism. We celebrate a growing empowerment among people who believe that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness includes a healthy environment and that habitat preservation includes every one of us. tree-hugger1

At age 39, environmentalism is gaining general acceptance. We drive hybrid cars and leave carbon footprints. As more people learn of the universal importance of healthy living, they see beyond the “environmentalism” stereotype of hemp granola munching hippies versus the corporate suits. Today, the suits are eating hemp granola to control their cholesterol and the hippies run companies driven by sustainability, green energy and corporate responsibility. Groundbreaking laws, such as the California’s Global Warming Solutions Act and Senator Steinberg’s Sustainable Communities Strategy may steer a 21st Century California toward a healthier future in a cost-effective manner. On the federal level, the new administration is working to reverse eight years of practices that were disastrous to clean environments and healthy habitat.

Come celebrate with your community. Sacramento Earth Day 2009 will be at Southside Park this Sunday from 11-6. Walk, bike or take public transit. More than 100 vendors and booths will educate you on amazing new technologies and ways you can save money and make your life greener. Delicious, healthy food will be widely available with music, entertainment and fun all day, including classic rock jam band Deadlocke and reggae grooves from Zion Roots.

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Segregation(?!) at Elk Grove schools

Supernintendo ChalmersAs the Bee reports today, administrators at several schools in the Elk Grove school district are going “old school” to motivate their kids to take standardized tests this spring — as in segregating them by race for motivational speeches:

Students at Laguna could go to any rally they wanted, but the gatherings were designated for specific races – African Americans in the gym, Pacific Islanders in the theater, Latinos in the multipurpose room.

What incredible bad taste and stupidity on the part of the district. If their concern really was to allow staff to “talk about test scores without making any one ethnic group feel singled out in a negative manner,” why not take ethnicity out of the question! Why not give all the kids a pep talk about how they can all do better?

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Hunt the Grid

One of my favorite kids’ comedies was Midnight Madness, which featured an all night scavenger hunt through Los Angeles. Riding the coattails of Animal House, Disney released a safe-and-sane college comedy that got its street-cred for casting Stephen Furst, featured the great Eddie Deezen (king of all nerd actors) and introduced the world to an young Canadian named Michael Fox. Wackiness ensued.

Where is Sunshine Today?
Where is Sunshine Today?

Now, it is finally my turn. Thanks to the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen and MidtownGrid, I can live out this childhood fantasy in a wacky urban scavenger hunt. On May 9th, you can, too, if you come to the first annual Hunt the Grid. Zip around Midtown on your bike for glory and prizes with an after-party sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company.

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My favorite closed-up businesses

All of us who have lived here for any length of time (even 6 months) have had a favorite business close its doors, leaving a big hole in our routine. I’ve been a resident since 1982 so I’ve got my fair share. I’ve already mentioned Franke’s and Sidewalk Pizza, and I could probably list several dozen but the following 3 have been on my mind recently, so here goes my list of favorite businesses that are no longer among the living…

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