Stylish midtown robber strikes

Next time somebody tries to tell you Sacto is an uncool “cow town,” point out to them that even our common criminals have hip urban style:

Midtown Robber Targets Women
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A series of armed robberies in downtown and midtown Sacramento has put women on alert. …

The victims stated that the man was relatively clean-cut and well dressed.

The man was described during one of the crimes as wearing a yellow, blue and white striped shirt with clear “J -Lo”-style sunglasses and blue jeans. (via KCRA)

Sure, this makes me feel good about the status of fashion sense among my city’s street crime, but am I supposed to keep tabs on J-Lo’s fashion line in order to help maintain justice on the streets? “Oh that guy running away with that lady’s purse might be a criminal, but those are clearly Cherokee brand shades from Target he’s wearing! How common!”

Thanks, Geoff Petrie. Now we’re even more confused.

You’ve heard by now that the Kings picked Louisville two-guard Francisco Garcia in Tuesday’s draft.

There were a lot of questions surrounding the Kings before, and even more now. One thing everyone has been harping on is what this means for last year’s pick, Kevin Martin, who is considered a very similar player to Garcia.

I’m more concerned with what this means for Maurice Evans, our restricted free agent. It’s nearly consensus that Mo would be great to have off the bench the next few years, and possibly as our starting two-guard at some point. But he’s not ready to start regularly this year, and neither are Martin or Garcia. And Cuttino Mobley is thisclose to officially being a free agent – one we’d have trouble affording.

So, who’s our starting shooting guard this year? We’re not getting Ray Allen or Larry Hughes or Michael Redd. Are we going to (gulp) start Bibby and Bobby? It’d be thoroughly entertaining, but we’d give up 140 points every time we played against decent guards (hello Kobe, Baron, Nash, Ray Allen and Tracy McGrady! Good to see you each four times a year!)

I think either a trade will bring us our starting shooting guard or we have a strong sense that Doug Christie will sign here cheap once/if Orlando releases him. I’m all for trades, because at this point, I’m barely eager to watch the assembled team. And Doug would be a nice fill-in and a defensive mentor for Mo (who we really should re-sign) and Francisco. Kevin, I’m afraid if I ran the team, I’d be saying it was nice knowing you.

By the way, hello SacRag readers! I’m Ziller, and I run a Kings blog called Pick&Droll. I’ll be posting both here and there, so feel free to visit both often. Often, I said.

Cheery Sacramento Drivers

Having lived in Boston and Los Angeles I’ve spent plenty of time in traffic jams. And I can say with certainty that what happened to me the other day was a unique Sacramento moment. I was sitting in the parking lot-style traffic jam of downtown at lunchtime when I noticed that the car in front of me had a purse sitting on top of the driver’s side. It was obvious to me and everyone around me that the driver had pulled out her keys and left it there. And it was also obvious that when she finally made her way out of traffic she would get going fast enough to lose everything in it. After my attempts to get her attention by honking, flashing my lights, yelling out the window and doing all three at once failed I put my car in park, got out and knocked on her window, handing her the purse. She looked slightly terrified but I don’t blame her. Anyway, I expected that on my dash back to the driver’s seat I would get some honks and maybe the dreaded bird (which for some reason really hurts me personally) but NO – not in Sacramento. At least six drivers rolled down their car windows and clapped for me, and a few were actually cheering things like “good save” and “way to go.” I felt like Rocky and Shirley Temple combined (emotionally, not physically – that would be disastrous). So thank you, Sacramentans, for the spontaneous affirmation. You may not be the safest drivers (see posting below) but you are probably the friendliest!

Galt officially has nothing better to do

The Sac Rag is, as can be expected of any group of people dominated by 25-35 year old males, huge fans of Napoleon Dynamite. But this is going a little too far:

… Napoleon Dynamite Day, a half-day event for kids and teens put on as part of Galt’s “I Love My Town” campaign.

It’s all part of an effort to inspire a bit of civic pride in Galt teens – and just maybe give them something to do. There’s no movie theater in Galt, no teen center, bowling alley or mall. Kids say the alternate forms of entertainment tend to involve things that are either drunk or smoked. That and just watching TV.

The Arrival of Summer

The east coast may have their gophers to tell them how much more winter is left. For us? We know summer is upon us when the Arrow People take over the River City.

Yes, the Arrow People – those dancing, sunscreened and walkman-wearing sign bearers who stand on the corners of intersections, pointing you in the direction of the latest deals to be had. Whether they’re hocking a new sandwich shop, a $5 slice of pizza, a new housing development, a car dealership, or almost anything else, you know it’s summertime in the city when these people have hit the streets.

So, the next time you see one of the Arrow People getting jiggy widdit on the corner, roll your car window down, throw your fist up in the air and give them a solid SacRag “Right Awn!!”.

After all, summer’s here!

Charity puts stakes down

From the Sac Bee (RR):

Looking to secure its foothold and financial security, the homeless services charity [Loaves & Fishes] recently bought about two-thirds of an acre of adjacent property. …

Loaves & Fishes also hopes to improve services and the entire neighborhood by building nicer facilities that are less spread out.

Business and property owners are concerned, said Connie Miottel, executive director of Capitol Station District, a property owners association.

I understand property owners close enough to be affected by the “clients” of Loaves & Fishes being a little troubled by this expansion. But come on, if you live that close to Loaves & Fishes, isn’t this just going to mean more transients at a local charity and fewer on the sidewalk in front of your house?

You know, there is a giant ball of flaming gas in the sky that’s just begging to be used for something, and plus it’s like hundreds of miles away. Can’t we just “grow” our homeless charities out there?

Taking it inside

There’s a trend in the River City and it’s nothing to hang your hat on. Panhandling is nothing new to anyone who has ever set foot in even the most rural of metropolitan areas. However, we at the Sac Rag have noticed something new; the in-store solicitation.

Now I understand the view that everyone falls on hard times and needs a helping hand, but can not this business be conducted on public domain? Is it ok that I am trouble/irritated by this trend? Is there anything we can do to discourage this behavior? What’s next? The hand held Point of Sale device where we can just swipe and go?

Perhaps this IS just us, but I’d love to read your thoughts. It’s happening in your city people, own it. Comment away.

Stockton Blvd. beautification going strong

The City has installed islands on the portion of Stockton Blvd. between Broadway and 14th Ave, which is right by Tahoe Park, the CoolDMZ clan’s whereabouts. And just yesterday they planted some small palm trees, which is super classy. Picture to follow when I get my act together about posting photos.

Now the prostitutes that troll along that stretch of Stockton Blvd. can imagine they are walking the sandy beaches of Tahiti!

Scary Park Encounters

Two horrifying park encounters this week:

  • Tahoe Park has two play structures, one ostensibly for kids 2-5 and one ostensibly for kids 5-99. As we approached the structure for 2-5 year olds with our own 2 year old, we noticed 2 older girls playing there. We thought they were probably 14 which means they were probably 12. Our 2 year old is really friendly and she loves “big girls” so she immediately warmed up to them. It was cute until one of them said “Awww, I want a kid.” Flee!
  • Yesterday at McKinley Park I spied 2 young gentlemen playing in the pond, which can only be described rather optimistically as a disgusting pit of filth with ducks and geese. As onlookers called to these rapscallions (“Where are your parents! There’s poison in the pond, get out of there!”) the lovely parental unit approached. Reeking of pot. And actually smoking. She declared that she was gonna go pee and that those kids better be out when she gets back. We tried to find an authority figure to notify (I’m thinking they come home with sweet ear infections, bare minimum) and then gave up when there were none except the Clunie pool lifeguards.

Netflix: Popular in Sacto

I wonder if anything comedic could be gathered from looking at the list of the top 25 movies that are popular in the River City?

  1. Nuns on the Run
  2. Haiku Tunnel
  3. Hollywood Homicide
  4. From Dusk Till Dawn
  5. Winning Strategies: Texas Hold ‘Em Poker with Mike Caro
  6. Tigerland
  7. The King of Comedy
  8. Family Guy: Vol.1: Seasons1-2 (4-Disc Series)
  9. Bright Young Things
  10. Holes
  11. Young Frankenstein
  12. American Me
  13. Herbie Rides Again
  14. Beautiful Girls
  15. Fascination (Heart of Stone)
  16. New York Minute
  17. The Cookout
  18. The Hunting of the President
  19. The Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Open Ocean – The Deep
  20. Northern Exposure: Season1 (4-Disc Series)
  21. Love’s Enduring Promise
  22. Seinfeld: Season4 (4-Disc Series)
  23. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (6-Disc Series)
  24. The Sixth Sense
  25. Inu-Yasha: The Movie2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass

Let’s actually talk about #1 last. #2, Haiku Tunnel, is a wonderful little film. I am proud to see a few documentaries on the list, but one of them is some sort of poker scam video and that’s just pathetic. Also some great TV on DVD, Seinfeld and Family Guy. Two anime entries is either a lot or way too little. I guess those are two pretty prominent titles. Yes, #16 is the Olsen twins movie (which starred Andy Richter as the badguy) and Sacramentans do indeed see dead people. And now to #1.

What??