Tag: The Local Angle

In the lower-left corner of the SacRag home page, you’ll often find local pictures from the Sacramento group on the image-sharing site Flickr. One of the most prolific contributors to the group is Tom Spaulding (tspauld), who follows his muse to document an urban element most never really notice: Vintage neon signs.

I tripped across Tom’s work on Flickr several months ago, and came to look forward to each of his postings. Since he lives in Sacramento, much of the neon he finds is around town. But his field trips take him all over Northern California, and show a true appreciation of a faded era.

I dropped Tom an e-mail, and asked if he’d talk about his images of Sacramento’s vintage neon, and how he sees Sacramento in general. He reluctantly agreed:
Continue reading “Bright lights, big city: The neon of Sacramento”

Long before Paris Hilton started dressing her Chihuahua, long before anyone ever dreamed about putting a small dog in a baby stroller … there was a place in Sacramento where you could buy a leather biker jacket for your dog, and much, much more. East Sacramento’s Reigning Cats and Dogs (56th and H) has been open for something in the neighborhood of 20 years, and in that time has become a favorite among area pet-lovers. Where else could you get a kitty tree-topper for Christmas? A bereavement card for a pet-lover? That perfect set of cat or dog earings or cufflinks?
Continue reading “The tail end”

In a front-page article this morning on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign — and fast-changing political views — the Wall Street Journal referred to “the technology-obsessed streets of Sacramento.” (Article here, but subsciption required, alas.)

The phrase really stopped me. Does the WSJ have us confused with San Jose? Granted, we’re likely higher on the high-tech scale than a lot of places, but aside from having Intel and H-P in the ‘burbs and wi-fi on the Capitol Mall, I can’t say I’d describe us as “technology obsessed.” Not like Orlando, where every place you open your laptop you have a wi-fi connection (or so it seemed to me).

Am I wrong here? Are we really the high-tech paradise the WSJ seems to think we are?

The online magazine Salon has a story (gotta view an ad first, sorry) about a book chronicling the post-World War II phenomenon of sending away young women from “good families” before their pregnancy showed …. and then taking away the babies, without the young moms having a say in the matter.

I’m not old enough to remember such times, but my mother sure is. Which is why when I bought my house in Tahoe Park some 17 years ago (I’ve since moved), my mom said, “Oh! It’s near the Fair Haven Home.”

“The what?” I said.
Continue reading “Disappearing moms, disappearing babies”

As we got on Highway 80, at the West El Camino exit, we were startled to see all the cars at a dead stop. Especially so since they were neatly lined up just after our exit – with the open highway about 50 feet in front of them. Aha! we then spotted the culprit : a row of parked police cars — flashing lights and all — were blocking the road. We were stuck (or so I thought) since there was no room/movement for us to merge on to 80 (not like we wanted to get on 80 at that point) and the police didn’t appear to be in a negotiating mood.

We turned on the radio and learned that President Bush was in the vicinity, they were clearing the highway for him (so he wouldn’t be stuck in traffic? or for his safety? Call me logical, but wouldn’t his entourage be safer/unidentified without being the only ones on the road?).
Continue reading “Thank you, George Bush”

No, I’m not referencing Maya’s always engaging web log of the same name, although I’m sure she’s done this before. I’m speaking of a search on eBay for postcards from Sacramento. Have you done this? If not, give it a shot. What a nice little stroll down Sacramentocana Lane it is.

For example, check out this 1950’s shot of Sutter’s Fort. Or this great 1932 shot of the lake at McKinley Park. Look closely, no toxic green stuff to be found! Ah, the good ole’ days. How about Sacramento’s “busy” K Street postcard from the 40’s? I could go on and on.

I am no Sacramento historian, but the more I learn about this town the more I’m glad I live here.

This article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle posits that each city can be likened to a type of kid at any given high school. LA is the cheerleader with the nose job; Chicago is the keg-tapping linebacker; San Francisco is the misunderstood artiste with multi-colored hair.

Of course, Sacramento is not mentioned, but I opine that we are the kid whom everybody knows, but isn’t the one to get asked to the prom right away (if at all) — the kid who’s friends with the cool kids, but there’s not enough room at the cafeteria table, so he/she sits on the edge with one buttcheek hanging off the end of the bench.

*Free drink for the first person to identify the source of this title, if/when we ever have a SacRag happy hour

Getting back to 29th and J again, I’ve had a long standing debate with my friends on the meaning of the “No Turn on Red” sign (see photo) located in between the left turn onto J lane and the continue on to 29th Street lane.

While I am sure I could give my new friends over at the DOT a call to clarify, I thought I’d hassle you folks first. So what say you, Sacramento? In the interest of fun, I’ll refrain from offering up my interpretation of the sign. Also, if I don’t hear from anyone by the end of the day, I’m going to change the title to “To BOOBS! or not to BOOBS!” and see what happens…

Update (11/13/06): The sacbee addressed this very issue in today’s paper.

Update: Because we’re nothing at the Sac Rag if not complete nerds, please to review people’s exhibit B, an edited version of Google’s satellite image of the intersection in question.

Sacramento, and moreso, Elk Grove, is the setting of a murder mystery novel called The Houseboat Murders by local writer Paul Wagner.

Given the description of the plot, why do I get a sense that this is something that could really happen?