Talkin’ Tomato!

This juice is made in…. Indiana!!?!??
Local tomatoes are at their best in late summer and are currently popping across town in gardens, farms and restaurants. The great thing about a good tomato is that it can practically stand alone. Toss some salt and pepper on it and work it into just about anything.

We aren’t known as “The Big Tomato” simply because the word can sorta be portmanteaued with Sacramento or because they grow so damn well here. We have been at the center of one of the nation’s largest tomato industries for decades.

If you are a fan of the love apple, as it used to be called, tonight’s discussion at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op is for you. Local historian William Burg is teaming up with local farmers to present a variety of views on the tomato, from its role in our local history and economy to new developments such as the square (!) tomato. Taste some delicious ones straight off the farm, too.

6:30-8:00 pm

Any distinguishing scars or tattoos?

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You got a little something right here, no a little lower.

News 10 reports that a man and woman were arrested for allegedly stealing a car and in connection to a no-bail warrant Saturday.

Officers then entered the house and arrested Boone after finding him hiding in one of the bedrooms. Boone was later arrested for the outstanding no-bail warrant along with Rounseville for possession of a stolen vehicle and stolen license plates.

As you can tell from the picture to the right, the alleged car thief is from the area.

The Pour House: Insert second pun here

Sporting wood, lots of wood.

Opened just weeks ago at the old digs of Whiskey Wild (20th and Q), The Pour House is doing a few things right.

The interior of this place is really pretty amazing. It feels like a converted barn, a secret hideout, a rural county watering hole rehabbed by some visionary soul with deep pockets. Dark, rough wood rings the primary bar, lighting is genius, palette ranges from rich cocoa to calfskin. I absolutely love the feel of the place.

Seems a shame that I’ll rarely go back. And it’s not for lack of service, which is more than adequate (and comely to boot), nor is it for the lack of selection, which verges on copious for beers and solid for spirits, nor for the food which is satisfactory if not memorable, nor for the prices which are highish but fair. No, it’s the crowd. Continue reading “The Pour House: Insert second pun here”

BREAKING: Kings may move to Virginia Beach, Virginia UPDATED

Virginia Beach has the largest “pleasure beach” in the world, if you’re into that sort of thing. From Wikipedia

UPDATED: Cowbell Kingdom.com outlines the update to this, which is that the Kings say it is not a real thing. WTMalooF?

I heard it first from RansackedMedia.com.

A report out of the Hampton Roads Business Journal says that the Sacramento Kings will relocate to Virginia Beach and play in a new arena to be built by Comcast.

The Biz Journal report is here. I almost want this to happen by tomorrow just to get this topic put to bed for good. I am 100% ready to root for my first NBA love, the Golden State Warriors, who I think have an exciting roster and are poised for good things. And I don’t even care if I’m jinxing things by jumping ship at this point. It seems pretty clear that between the Maloofs being checked out and Kevin Johnson and the city’s inept attempt at keeping the Kings, we should just prepare for the inevitable.

Nursing homes are ruining this state

Good news everyone, Arts & Crafts time has been extended four more hours.
If you haven’t already read this story, please to check out Unpaid fines hurting California budget over at kcra.com and let me know what you think. I can’t make heads or tails of it. Am I supposed to be angry at the state of California for not trying hard enough to collect? Maybe I’m supposed to be pissed off at nursing homes for treating their patients so poorly? And what does this have to do with the state budget?

I’m no financial whiz kid here, but it seems we don’t have as much of a problem collecting money in this state, as we do spending money.

But with California so short on cash, why does the state allow this practice to continue? The California legislature authorized it in law, more than thirty years ago. The statute reads, “Facilities that do not contest the level of the citation or the amount of the fine may, within 30 days of the citation issuance, pay 65 percent of the assessed fine.” Thus, California law allows a 35 percent reduction on nursing home fines, yet the state is routinely allowing a 59 percent discount — and collecting only 41 cents on the dollar, according to the state audit.

Ok, great, that should be looked into for sure. But, is this really what the problem is with our finances?

Last chance to enjoy City pools this summer

The City pools are gearing up to close for the season but there is still time to enjoy them before then. From the City Aquatics page:

  • Bertha Henschel Play Pool, Clunie & Pannell Meadowview Pools are open through Labor Day weekend.
  • Tahoe Pool is open through Sat. 8/25.
  • McClatchy Park and Sim Pools are open through Aug. 26.

My family and I have quite enjoyed being able to go to Tahoe Pool this year again. The staff is awesome, the facility is great and the vibe is always really nice even though there are always swarms of unsupervised tweens.

Let’s hope that this gem is open again next year!

Book Swap Sunday at Shine

Book Folk. by Orin Zebest. Flickr

Need a place to beat the apocalyptic beatdown we are getting from the weather? (I guess Father Sky’s furious anger has subsided a bit from earlier in the week when I started writing this post, but still.) One of Sacramento’s best alternative library blogs, alt+library, is putting on a book swap and meet & greet Sunday at Shine, a unique coffee house/restaurant/arts venue in Downtown that is just about to celebrate its 2nd anniversary.

If you’re the kind of person who would want to attend a book swap, it seems like a gathering of alt+library devotees and Shine patrons would be your ideal combination of people. If you don’t know all these people already, what better way to get to know them. Continue reading “Book Swap Sunday at Shine”

Blogger reaction to Amtrak changes

Strong words of disapproval for the Amtrak station changes from Heckasac, a frequent Capital Corridor rider. Sounds like a massive fail at least for some riders.

I too was struck by spokespeople comparing the size of the new tunnel to the size of much larger stations. It’s a small train station with 2 platforms. Though it is apparently one of the busiest Amtrak stations. Seems like further expansion might be called for.

You should just leave, you don’t have to sit there

Let’s all have some fun breaking down this little gem from CBS Sacramento.

I’ll start us off.

The headline of the story, really? Indecent EXXXposure?

Some food trucks just want to watch the world burn

indian street food worth waiting for
By Robert Couse-Baker

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that I should probably try harder to not suck at writing. Updates below for clarity.

I had never really gotten too fired up about the food truck controversy here until I read the Bee article this weekend about the So Cal group throwing a wrench in things by holding up a piece of paper called the US Constitution and pointing at it. Matt Geller, a “food truck advocate” from LA and head of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association wants the California Mobile Food Association, the advocacy group here in Sac, to stop trying to work with the Legislature to cooperate with “brick and mortar” restaurant owners on laws allowing cities to slap new regulations on food trucks. Continue reading “Some food trucks just want to watch the world burn”