Becoming Detroit(s)

I found some time to catch up on the latest news regarding the California budget crisis. If ever there was a reason to tag a post in the “ugh.” files…

Both legislative houses were pondering 27 hastily drafted bills that cover state budgets for two fiscal years: the current one that ends June 30 and the next one that begins July 1.

Should the words “hastily” and “budget” ever be used the in the same sentence?

In the Senate, the debate included cliff-hanging metaphors and disparaging references to Detroit.

“California is on the edge of a financial cliff, and some would say we’re just about over the cliff, hanging on by our fingernails,” Steinberg said. “We are running out of cash, and the situation is getting worse.”

But state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, said that if the package were approved, Feb. 14, 2009, would be remembered as “the Valentine’s massacre on California taxpayers.”

“If we pass this budget,” he said, “Los Angeles and San Francisco will become the Detroit(s) of the West.”

You sports fans will recall the incident with the Kings and the Pistons from 2005. Damn you, Karma.

Continue reading “Becoming Detroit(s)”

“Mastering the Mysteries of Love”

City Parks & Rec are offering a saucy class that would make a great gift to share with your sweetheart: “Mastering the Mysteries of Love”…

Talk about it, watch others do it, practice it yourselves.

Hey-O!!! They are talking about communication, of course. Though presumably there is the possibility of communication about watching others doing it and practicing it yourselves.

free play care will be included for children

What more do you need!

Watch Your Prepositions

Is it just me, or was anyone else confused by the following Bee headline: California Fugitive Caught with $70,000 in Shoes.

It turns out that the man, Rosevillian Christopher Warren, did not, as I had originally thought, have $70,000 worth of shoes on him when caught, but rather had $70,000 in cash stuffed in his shoes.  I had just pictured this man burdended with a Santa-sized sack of stilettos trying to cross the Canadian border and it made me smile.

Run them out of town

This is a major scandal. It’s old news by now, but back in 2007 when the city council agreed to transfer $55 million to Thomas Enterprises to help the company buy the rest of the railyard land, it apparently overpaid by several orders of magnitude because it didn’t take the time to get an appraisal done. Most of the money came from the transportation fund and thus couldn’t be used to get us out of the $50 million hole we’re in — though how it was able to be transferred to a real estate developer in that case is beyond me.

This whole mess stunk before, but this is an outrage. The Sac Rag does not do political endorsements, but let’s just say I personally hope the city council’s unemployment rate soon becomes 100%.

The (un)official haiku contest of The Sac Rag

In these troubled times, expressing ourselves artistically is how we survive — the hope of a new sunrise (and perchance that Laurence Fishburne can deftly fill William Peterson’s shoes.) RunnerGirl thusly introduces The Sac Rag haiku competition.  That’s right — with no authorization from our esteemed founders, I am going all rogue and am offering the grand prize of a genuine canvas bag from THE actual Mood Fabrics in New York City, as seen on Project Runway. You can only buy these at the Mood store.

Here are the rules:
1. Your entry must follow the traditional 5-7-5 syllable structure of haiku
2. It must address a current event
3. Entries must be received no later than noon on Friday, February 13.

Here is an example to get you started:

Obama, save us
Billions* and billions, like stars
We’re shovel-ready

*Assuming you pronounce it like “bill-yuns”  and not “beel-ee-ons”

OK. GO!

Tre: It Takes a Big Man to Admit When He’s Wrong

So I must be an enormous goliath of a man to say that I love Tre.

I’ll admit it, I was a bit of an asshole when poo-poo’ing the Haines Brothers’ latest endeavor, but I’ve been forced to eat my words as I try to eat everything that comes out of Tre’s kitchen.

I’m telling you, the food is simply awesome, and the menu is enormous — which to me usually spells doom like at those Chinese/Korean/Italian/Barbecue joints that have 256 menu items and prefer that you just order by number — but Tre isn’t like that. (Why do i feel like I’m trying to justify dating some crappy girlfriend that none of friends or family like?) Continue reading “Tre: It Takes a Big Man to Admit When He’s Wrong”

Epicureanized! at Boon Boon

Boon Boon
from Midtown Grid

Mrs Cool and I try to patronize Boon Boon at least every couple of weeks. I heard somewhere that the economy is bad (…), and since Boon Boon is located in a major dead zone, we like to do our part to stimulate the micro-economy of this odd little fusion restaurant.

I’m not accustomed to seeing any other patrons at the ‘Boon, but this particular visit the place was packed, with a massive party of diners who almost filled the place to capacity. The small crew was working like mad — there is usually one one gal manning the counter, with a small cooking crew in the back making with the yummy. The massive group of diners seemed to have a leader who was picking up hosting duties, passing out some appetizers and, ahem, spicy Thai soup. Turns out it was none other than the Sacramento Epicureans and their fearless leader, Paul Somerhausen. I checked in with Paul about their meal.

Continue reading “Epicureanized! at Boon Boon”

Taking it to the Streets

Taking a page from RunnerGirl’s Guide to Job Hunting, Christopher Adams is letting everyone know that he needs a job. Everyone. I found him last night at Alhambra and K in the middle of rush hour traffic.

Chris lived in Sacramento before, but transferred back three months ago for love. One week, he and Michaela got engaged; the next week, he was laid off.

While I am inspired by his pluck, I am getting worried. I am also job hunting, as are 61,000 other residents of Sacramento County, which had an 8.7% unemployment rate in December. It looks like February will be a month of tough competition for a scarce commodity, so job hunters will need to go bust their asses before their asses go bust.

Chris does sales and marketing management, but is open to new opportunities. If you want to see Chris’ resume, contact him at thechristopheradams at gmail dooooot com. Good luck!

Coming soon to Sac – new Trader Joe’s?

While the private school market may be experiencing a downturn, the niche grocery market appears to be full steam ahead. Last night at the East Sac Trader Joe’s I was asked my Zip code at checkout, surely the first sign of a massive identity theft ring development plan in the works at TJ’s HQ for a new store in the area. For once I had small talk to make with my checkoutperson — he said Davis folks can be rabidly for and against a new store, and that he has heard talk of a new store in Auburn. Yeah, that’s actually all I got. Anybody else have anything to say?

Loretto High School Closing

According to an official press release, Loretto High School is closing at the end of the semester. I have to tell you, I’m blown away.  I had no idea that schools could just disappear after being a part of the community for half a century.  My aunts went Loretto, my friends went to Loretto, people I’ve never met before went to Loretto.  In a few short months, the place will be shuttered up like so many businesses in the surrounding streets. I’m starting to worry for the health of my neighborhood, honestly.  With schools, businesses, and houses standing empty, what could be next in the greater Del Paso Manor/Arden Oaks area shuttering?  Will we lose our post office?  Our grocery stores?  Let me tell you this: if the Hof Brau closes, we’re leaving.

In all honesty, I am really upset by this. And I’m having difficulty explaining why.  Anyone else a bit shocked?