Here are some of the concerts and music events happening this weekend and next week in the Sacramento area. For more detailed information on these events and many more go to the

homepage. Get out and enjoy!!

Concerts, Music Events, and The Sacramento Music Scene This Week:

Broadway Sacramento presents Chicago from Wednesday, March 10th - Sunday, March 21st at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Tickets are $20.00 -$57.00.

Saturday, March 13: Pink Floyd Lazer Extravaganza at The Crest Theatre. Tickets are $36.00 - $38.00. Show starts at 8:00PM.

Sunday, March 14th: Trombone Shorty at Harlows. Tickets are $17.50 ADV. Show Starts at 8:00 PM.

Monday, March 15th: Sick Puppies at The Boardwalk. Tickets are $18.00 ADV/$20.00 Door. Show Stars at 7:30 PM.

Thursday, March 18th: JR Reid at Harlows. Tickets are $25.00. Show Starts at 8:00 PM.

Saint Patricks Day Events on Wednesday, March 17th:

Saint Patricks Day Block Party Hosted by Deveres Irish Pub on Wednesday, March 17th. Event is held on L Street between 15th & 16th in Sacramento from 8AM (ya it's early..but it's an Irish Party!) - 2AM. Two Stages of live music featuring traditional Irish entertainment during the day and Tainted Love at night. Tickets are $20.00 ADV/$25 Day of Event

Saint Patty's Day 20th Annual Tour of Pub's are listed in this week's issue of Sacramento News & Review.

Saint Patty's R District Pub Crawl will take place at locations along the R Street Restaurant Row (between 14th & 15th streets) in Sacramento.

New Concerts & Tickets On Sale:

Y&T at The Crest Theatre on Saturday, August 21st. Tickets On Sale FRI 3/12 at 10 AM.

Maxwell and Jill Scott at Oracle Arena in Oakland (No Sacramento Show). Friday, June 4th. Tickets are $58.00 - $144.25 Tickets On Sale FRI 3/12 at 10 AM.

Sting at The Concord Pavilion on Sunday, June 20th. (No Sacramento Show) Ticket Prices TBA when they go On Sale MON 3/15.

The Local Music Scene:

Friday, March 12th:

Jerry Perry presents Nevada Backwards - Shayna & The Bulldogs - Universal Steve at Old Ironsides 9PM/$7

Cypher 2010 - Floe Mnontana - Reflective Intelligence at Blue Lamp 9PM

Comedy & Music with Doug Stanhope - Keith Lowell Jesen - Crazy Harris Band at Marilyns 7PM/$25.00

Kevin Russell at Torch Club 9PM/$8

F*ck Fridays Prom Shaun Slaughter – Jon Droll – Roger Carpio at Townhouse 9PM/$3-$5

The Hits at Harlows 10PM/$10

The Polymers at Fox & Goose 9PM/$3

CrookOne TGIF at Golden Bear 10PM/No Cover

The Varones - Tom & Sophie - Earl Brooks at Lunas 8PM/$6

DJ Tina T with DJ Billy Lane at Park Ultra Lounge 10PM

Ladies Night with DJ Gabe Xavier at Social Nightclub 10PM

Get Down To The Champion Sound with DJ Esef & Selektor KDK at Capitol Garage 10PM/$5

Grand Opening Party at Venue Night Club (Formerly Empire) with Pop Fiction 8:30PM

Saturday, March 13th:

2nd Saturday Nu Jazz Architects - Chikading at Marco Fuoco Gallery 7PM 

2nd Saturday Spring Fever Music Festival by Concerts 4 Charity with Two Sheds - James Finch Jr. at Clubhouse 24 at 5PM/No Cover

Natasha Kmeto - Slugwoth Chocolate at Marilyn’s 8PM/$10

Fascination at Old Ironsides 9PM/$3

Sex Type Thing at 10PM/$10 at Harlows

Dick Larson - Musical Chairs at Capitol Garage 10PM/$5

This Charming Band Tribute to The Smiths - The Snobs at Blue Lamp 9PM/$10

Harper at The Torch Club 9PM/$7

Manoline Avene - Ricky Berger at Fox & Goose 9PM/$3

DJ Whores at The Golden Bear 10PM/No Cover

Mix Saturdays with DJ Michael Moss at Mix Downtown 9PM

DJ Jus James at Park Ultra Lounge 10PM

Sunday, March 14th:

Brunch Beats with DJ Katz at Aura 11AM

The Ross Hammond Trio at Naked Coffee Lounge 8PM/$5

Blues Jam at 4PM & Mind X at Torch Club 8PM/$5

Salsa Sunday at MoMo Lounge 7PM

Alex Jenkins Trio at The Shady Lady Saloon 9PM/No Cover

Looking for Israeli dancing? A piece of Judaica? A falafel, perhaps?

You can find all that and more on May 2, 2010 when the West Steps of the state’s Capitol are transformed into an Israeli shuk during the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region’s Jewish Heritage Festival.

Coinciding with Lag B’Omer and in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, this annual event kicks off with an Israel Unity Walk and the release of dozens of doves, the universal symbol of peace.

“As American Jews we get the best of both worlds,” said Festival Project Manager Caren Zorman. “We get to openly celebrate and embrace our Judaism, while also participating in a public celebration of Israel’s independence and statehood.”

In honor of this year’s theme, “The Centennial of the Kibbutz Movement,” Sacramento-area religious schools are creating displays that highlight different kibbutz industries, such as drip irrigation, flower production, and spas/retreats, and educating the public about what each industry does while offering hands-on activities.

“We want to show everything about kibbutzim,” Zorman said. “How they started, how they have grown, what they are today, and their value to the Israeli economy.”

Master of Ceremony Sen. Darrell Steinberg will address the crowd as will Congressman Dan Lungren. Invited guests include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinberg, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, and Councilman Steve Cohn.

This year’s entertainment features Matisyahu, whose 2009 release, One Day, was a theme song of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Grammy-nominated artist has toured in the United States, South America, Europe, Canada, Israel, and Australia and recently appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, and the PBS series, The Jewish Americans.

Also on the entertainment program is The Los Angeles Israeli Dance Team, directed by David Dassa, son of Israeli dance choreographer Dani Dassa. The dance troupe has performed at Festival Aviv in Mexico City, the Boston Israeli Dance festival, the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, and two NBA halftime shows for the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

“Everyone will find something to do and learn— from the Ultra Orthodox to those who are completely unaffiliated and Jewish in name only,” said Zorman. “This event will have something for everyone.”

She’s not kidding either. Slamson of Sacramento Kings fame and Dinger from the Sacramento River Cats also will make appearances, as will juggler and storyteller Izzy Tooinsky. Additional festivities include a fashion show featuring local designers and models; a food court with everything from schwarmas to falafel to hot dogs; and a variety of vendors who will showcase jewelry, Judaica, custom quilts, glass art, and more. Children’s activities include a bounce house, a rock climbing wall, and carnival games. A special tikkum olam section offers an opportunity for visitors to donate blood and to register for bone marrow transplants.

On April 20, 2006, Pres. George W. Bush proclaimed May as Jewish American Heritage Month following the successful celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History in May 2004.

With an anticipated attendance of 3,000 people, Zorman, who has been a project manager for Intel, Hewlett Packard, and former Gov. Pete Wilson, said, “People who are Jewish should celebrate being Jewish and learn about their culture. This event is for people who want to reconnect with Judaism in a non-threatening way.”

The ultimate goal, she added, is that “the Jewish community as a whole can feel good about themselves. This is about how we, as Jews, celebrate our heritage.”

The Jewish Heritage Festival is Sunday, May 2, 2010, 1:00-4:30 p.m. at the West Steps of the Capitol. For sponsorship opportunities or general information, contact Zorman at 916.486.0906, x. 303. To volunteer, contact Michelle Masoner at 916.486.0906. To sign up in advance to donate blood, visit www.jewishsac.org.
 

Wednesday night was Tyreke Evans' night at ARCO Arena.

The Sacramento Kings rookie guard had limited-edition T-shirts and printouts of his face on sticks handed out on a night that was used to promote his rookie of the year campaign.

His choice of music was played during warm-ups before the game. There was a special introduction, which included pyrotechnics and a banner rising in honor of his night, for him. An announced crowd of 13,412 was introduced to the rookie of the year chant, "R-O-Y."

By the end of the game, RekeROY night was more than a success. It sealed the award for him.

Evans, the frontrunner for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, notched his first career triple-double with an assist to Francisco García late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 113-90 blowout win over the Toronto Raptors.

His memorable night also bumped his stats over 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game – stats only LeBron James and hall-of-famers Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan averaged as rookies.  Evans is currently averaging 20.3 points, five rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.

After receiving a standing ovation from the fans, he said it was all for them.

"I had a lot of fun," Evans said. "I came out in attack mode, and the crowd was in it. I wanted to come out and have a good night with them honoring me."

Evans had a hot start to the game, grabbing four rebounds in the first quarter. Going into the game, he was averaging 4.9 rebounds per game.

On a drive to the basket, he had an unbelievable shot over the backboard after getting fouled by Toronto's superstar power forward Chris Bosh.  The basket was originally waved off, but after a brief meeting they counted Evans' circus shot.

The R-O-Y chants gave him even more motivation after the Kings' slow start in the first half.

"They chanted every five seconds. I just started laughing," he said. "It gave me confidence in the second half."

Evans said he was a little embarrassed due to the fact that he was the center of attention for the entire night, on and off the court.

"They had the NBA all-stars talk about my game," he said about the videos shown on the JumboTron. "I had fun looking up at myself. (The fans) had little sticks with my face."

Another feature on the JumboTron was Mystery Karaoke, where Evans would sing a song, and teammate Beno Udrih would guess it. Both were busy watching it during the time-out.

Evans knew he was close to a triple-double near the end of the game, and he went to García to help him secure it.

"He told me to look for him off the curl," Evans said about the play that gave him the triple-double. "He did it a lot in practice, so I went for him. Hopefully he'd make the shot, and he did."

Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal said that he and the rest of the Kings players enjoyed RekeROY night.

"It was really exciting to see Tyreke have such a fitting night," Westphal said. "There are a lot of (good) rookies this year. For this year, it's not even close (for the rookie of the year award)."

Raptors forward and former Kings rookie Hedo Turkoglu also gave Evans praise after the game.

"The kid is going to be a great player in this league," Turkoglu said about Evans. "Already he's making a huge impact as a player and a leader. I wish him the best, and hopefully he becomes one of the greats."

Evans had two near-triple-double games earlier in the season. After rookie point guards Stephen Curry and Darren Collison for the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Hornets, respectively, had triple-doubles of their own, LaMont Peterson, Evans' trainer, said it best.

"It's long overdue," he said.

Sacramentans love their local businesses.

A handful of local businesses recently won $500 grants from Intuit Inc. as part of its "Love a Local Business" competition, in which customers nominate businesses for grants. Three businesses are awarded weekly, and nine local businesses have already won the grant from the software company known for its TurboTax and QuickBook programs.

"Sacramento overwhelmingly wants to support their local businesses," said Heather McLellan, a director at Intuit Inc. "There's a real wish for them to thrive here."

In addition to the weekly winners, Intuit is hosting a "Love a Local Business Event" Saturday and Sunday at 1801 L St., where local business owners can win one of five $1,000 grants and receive professional advice on running small businesses.

Eric Heffel, owner of Midtown frozen yogurt shop Yogurtagogo, said the grants are a great way to help out local businesses.

"The character of Midtown is based on independent businesses like these," he said. "In times like these when independents fail, corporations come in and take over, and you start to lose a lot of character in the area. I don't want to see Midtown become full of corporations."

Heffel was one of the first winners of the $500 grant, and he said he will use it to buy some materials he was holding off on until he had more money, adding that it was a local purchase.

"It's nice to have some money we can put back right into the local economy," he said.

Corey DeRoo, co-owner of French Cuff Consignment, also won a grant through the competition. DeRoo's shop, which she defined as a "chic secondhand boutique," hosts community events and helps sponsor nonprofit companies. DeRoo said this grant will help them continue that tradition.

"With this economy, a lot of businesses have had to cut out charity, but this helps us to continue to support the community," she said. "We believe in being a part of the community."

DeRoo said she thinks the grant competition is a great idea to help small businesses, adding that thousands of Sacramento businesses have closed in the past few years.

"I was really happy they are doing this event," she said. "It's such a perfect time to do such a thing."

Andy Smith, owner of The Bread Store, said winning a grant was fantastic.

Photo Captions

1. L Wine Lounge, photo by Rachel Valley

2. Yogurtagogo, photo by Jonathan Mendick

"Anytime you can be recommended by your peers and customers, it's very rewarding," he said. "It's going to help and will be nice to have."

The L Wine Lounge was another winner of the grant.

"We're excited that we won," said owner Marcus Marquez. "It's surprising, because there's so many great local small businesses in Sacramento."

While nine Sacramento businesses have won the grants so far, McLellan said that more than 500 local businesses have been nominated in a similar competition that will reward businesses across the nation, with a grand prize of a $35,000 grant. Competition for that grant will be fierce, as more than 90,000 businesses have been nominated nationwide.

Even with the chance of winning the $35,000 grand prize in the national competition, local business owners said they are very happy with their $500 rewards.

"We're excited to win anything," Marquez said. "Every little bit helps for small businesses."

Rick Nahmais’ Photography exhibit, “The Migrant Project,” is currently on display at The Sacramento Railroad Museum.

“The Migrant Project” has toured from gallery to gallery for eight years and was transformed into a book two years ago. However, The Sacramento Railroad Museum might be its most unlikely stop.

Initially, Nahmais sought out the Sacramento Capitol Museum to display the photos to the public. Due to the Capitol being booked, Nahmais and his colleagues had to think outside the box. Nahmais’ colleagues are very committed to his message and his work, which is why he trusted their proposition of the Railroad Museum.

The museum’s old produce car has been converted into “The Migrant Project” gallery, and Namais said that he was convinced it would work at first sight. Because of numerous labor issues associated with the railroad’s history, Nahmais said he can see a common ground for the project, but acknowledges a disconnect with museum-goers’ motives.

Nahmais is an artist with an activist edge, and his exhibit presents an agricultural dilemma, what he refers to as a doom-and-gloom scenario. Most railroad enthusiast go the museum to see the mammoth remains of a golden era relics that encapsulate the grandeur of Manifest Destiny and the American Dream. Nahmais’ exhibit brings some politics and forethought to museum, one of the stable staple of Sacramento.

“The Migrant Project” traces Nahmais’ eight trips across 50 cities throughout California’s agricultural heartland spanning a full year. Initially, the project was self-funded, but received outside funding from advocacy groups when he presented his midway progress. Food is Nahmais’ issue, and he said he feels viscerally connected. His agenda is to give people the sight to see the human struggle behind food: to draw a line between the harvesting of a crop and its last stop on a dinner plate.

One of Nahmais’ most-recognized photos at the exhibit is “Tomato Token,” a photo of a farm laborer’s callused hands exposing the uncommon currency. One "tomato token" is given to a worker every time he or she presents two 25-pound pails of tomatoes. On the day of the taken photo, tokens were worth 95 cents. Nahmais recalled a moment on one of his last trips across the state when he discoved a migrant farmer hunched over on a beat-up truck tailgate clenching his tomato tokens and vigorously eating a taco before get back to work. Nahmais’ goal is to foster some compassion and educate viewers on the engine that drives California. “The Migrant Project” is in recognition of the 1.1 million California farm laborers.

Nahmais said his overall theme with his bodies of work is “bridging us with them.” Currently, he’s working on his new project, “The Golden States of Grace: Prayers of the Disinherited,” which covers how people find their faith through unorthodox examples from religious groups, such as Zen Buddhists in prison. The collective work of more than 100 photos and personal essays will be presented is his new book, which is due out in September.

“The Migrant Project” is currently on display at The Sacramento Railroad Museum. General admission tickets are $9, and kids' are $4. Admission is free on March 27 in honor of Caesar Chavez and will include a book signing event by Rick Nahmais and forum by the Fair Food Project Organization.

Greed, corruption, exploitation, murder and, of course, some good, old-fashioned razzle dazzle. Opening tonight at the Sacramento Community Theater to a sold-out audience, "Chicago" shows that all the world is a con game and the stage is the biggest scam of them all.
 

Set in the decadent 1920s, "Chicago" tells the story of Roxie Hart, a bored, philandering housewife, who dreams of one day seeing her name in lights and murders her lover when he decides to walk out on her. Gut-bustlingly played by veteran actress Bianca Marroquin, Roxie is sharp-tongued, crude and best of all has you rooting for her until the curtain closes.
 

Brenda Braxton’s interpretation of the bawdy Velma Kelly was exquisite. Her voice was big, her dancing was slinky and her Velma was dead-on (pun intended). John O’Hurley’s Billy Flynn is not to be missed. His singing was wonderfully awful, as it should have been, and from the time we meet him onstage in “All I care about,” you are already seething with desire to see more of his TMZ-esque, dare-I-say marketing schemes. O’Hurley is a truly gifted actor and performer, and he proves it in this revival tour of "Chicago."
 

Like the song says, ''Long as you keep 'em way off balance, how can they spot you got no talents?'' Crazy talk! This cast has talent oozing out of its writhing hips, and if there is any sense in Sacramento’s theater lovers, they will exult in this fabulous display and, quite frankly, indulge in all that jazz!
 

With its remodel nearly finished, The Golden Bear is expected to host a grand unveiling as early as St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday.

Owners Jon Modrow and Kimio Bazett said they hope to have the work done by Monday. But the bar in the converted house at 2326 K St. must still undergo final inspections from the city and county, so the exact date for a reopening party has not been set.

Crews were busy Thursday completing renovation of the kitchen, bathrooms and an enclosed, covered back patio. Aqua couches, white tables and modern light fixtures with dimmers have been installed in the back room to create a clean, light ambiance, free of artwork. The idea is to showcase people "at their best," Modrow said.

"You're not going to be looking at art. You're going to be looking at people," he said. "It's all intended to be very social."

The room also serves as the smoking area. Vents were built in the back wall near the ceiling, and two powered exhaust fans will recirculate air every four minutes, he added.

The kitchen and bathrooms have doubled in size. The kitchen now has a range stove. Billy Zoellin, who worked previously at The Grange, Biba and Mulvaney's B&L, will create small-plate appetizers, an expanded weekend brunch and lunch Monday through Friday.

"We're becoming more of a gastro-pub," Modrow said.

The beer is also improving. A new draft beer system will pour Guinness with nitrogen and cool beers to about 35 degrees. It's a much higher-end system than what you'd find "in a frat boy's garage," he added.

The bathrooms now feature glass sinks, ceramic tile floors and waterfall faucets, where water pours from a fixture about a foot above the sink.

The front of the bar will be cleaned up, but no changes are expected there. The renovation, which had been slated for completion by the end of January, took longer after the county health department required a change in the water heaters, Modrow said, adding that he and Bazett then added other changes as well.

The staff is expected to grow from 20 to nearly 30. The bar has been open during the remodel. Food will start being served once the reopening party is held.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt.

Thousands of students across the country are bringing poetry to life by competing in this year's Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.

This is the contest's fifth year, and it is growing rapidly, influencing thousands of high school students to learn and perform poetry.

Kristin Margolis, the California state contact from the California Arts Council, said that "there is an incredible demand for the program, with 300,000 participants nationwide this year."

"California has the most competing in the nation," Margolis said. "We will have 40,000 students from 27 counties, which is a big jump from the 24 counties that competed last year and 20 counties the year before that."

The program itself was founded to inspire high school students to read poetry and learn, not just from today's poets, but from many poets before the 20th century.

"It is really important to encourage students to pick the poem and find something that has meaning for them," Margolis said.

The National Recitation Contest begins in the classroom, where students memorize poems and compete within their schools through their ability to remember, connect and perform their chosen poems.

Winners from each school continue on to compete in county contests and then state and national finals, where a single winner is chosen.

Margolis explained that it is such a great program because it can start by a parent, student or teacher hearing about it and deciding to get an entire school involved. There are no boundaries to who can participate because, as Margolis said, it is open to all students, whether home-schooled or in overcrowded classrooms.

"What is unique is that the program can run completely paperless," Margolis said.

Though she did say that supplies and poems are given to many of the schools, the Poetry Out Loud website has all 600 poems from which students can choose, making the contest accessible to every student.

This allows for a wide variety of students, some with very little resources and others who are in every available advanced class to compete on the same footing, Margolis said.

The competition is composed of a very diverse group of people, Margolis said, many of whom relate to poetry through hip hop and slam poetry.

The students gain more than just the knowledge of poetry - they gain confidence, public speaking practice and, as Margolis pointed out, "the feeling they have done something that they never thought they could do."

"All of the students really get the poems in their hearts, and we hear that they remember them years later," Margolis said.

The California finals will be held fro 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday in the Senate Chambers of the Capitol. This will be the second year of the finals being held at the Capitol.

Competitors will arrive at the Capitol the night before, allowing students to meet one another and bond through their poetry. Margolis said this "really allows them to root for each other."

The 27 winners from this year's competing counties will be reciting three poems for the California state finals. One has to be pre-20th century, one 25 lines or less, and the last is the student's choice. Students will be judged on their physical presence, voice and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy. The overall score will determine a winner, and in the case of a tie like last year, Margolis said that the students must recite one of their poems again.

One state winner will move on to the national finals, which will be held at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Semifinal rounds will begin April 26, and the finals will be held the following evening. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's competition is being sponsored by Target, which is donating gift cards and books to state finals participants to accompany their Poetry Out Loud certificates of participation.

Each state winner will receive $200 and a paid trip to compete in Washington, D.C., as well as a $500 stipend for the winner's school to purchase poetry books. The runners-up will receive $100 and a $200 stipend for their schools' library.

The winner of the national finals will take home $50,000 in awards and school stipends.

Monday's competition is open to the public, though space is limited. Since it will take place in the Senate Chamber, there are seats, but Margolis said she expects the chamber to fill up to standing room only.

The good news is that the competition will also be aired live on the Cal Channel, and a link can be found at calchannel.com.

Photo:
2009 California State Champion Spencer Klavan

Loosen your belts. Sacramento's most famous burger place, The Squeeze Inn, held its grand reopening celebration Thursday morning.

The celebration featured guest appearances by Mayor Kevin Johnson, City Councilman Kevin McCarty and County Supervisor Don Nottoli as well as music, speeches, a raffle and a burger-eating contest. Several hundred people shuffled into The Squeeze Inn throughout the lunch hour for special prices on the burger known for its famous "cheese skirt," which extends an inch beyond the bun.

The burger is constructed by cooking a one-third-pound beef patty and putting "a giant handful of cheese" on top of, and around, the burger, said Squeeze Inn employee Keith Lenhart. Then an ice cube is placed on the grill while the cheesy patties are topped with a lid, creating a steam chamber for the cheese to melt quickly.

"We go through about 200 to 300 pounds of cheese per day," said employee Charles Rogers.

"And about 270 pounds of potatoes," added Lenhart.

Lenhart, who said he has been eating at the Squeeze Inn for 15 years, only recently started working there a few months ago. Now, he and Rogers are in the process of opening a new Squeeze Inn on the corner of Sunrise Avenue and Douglas Boulevard in Roseville next month.

With locations in Sacramento, Galt and Napa, a Roseville location would be the fourth for the Squeeze Inn, which originally opened in Sacramento 34 years ago.

"This is the perfect location," Lenhart said of the burger joint's new digs on Power Inn Road in Sacramento. "I love it. It helps serve the people better, and (soon) we will get this great product out there in Roseville."

After being featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," hosted by Guy Fieri, the restaurant gained national fame. It was later mentioned on "Good Morning America" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

It also gained notoriety for not being in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. After several lawsuits, the Squeeze Inn moved to its new location.

"We (would have) had to make changes to the restaurant that would destroy the character, so we decided to move to another location," said owner Travis Hausauer. "The great people of Sacramento gave us wonderful support, and it was amazing what everybody did for us. We're really happy with the location, and we hope to have another 34 years here."

Now larger and wheelchair-accessible, the new location still retains the feel of the old restaurant. It incorporates the entire front entrance, all the bar stools and many of the decorations from the old location.

Michael Whipple, a Certified Access specialist for ADA Resource Associates and wheelchair user, said the old Squeeze Inn location had some wheelchair accessible seating. Although he doesn't eat burgers for health reasons, he helped plan the new location to make sure everything from the entrance to tables to the bathroom, were completely accessible.

He presented Hausauer with a plaque to put in the window. It certified that the restaurant is now fully accessible.
 

Sacramentans should be enjoying a sigh of relief today, and a swell of pride. After months, years, even a decade of back and forth, conflict and aimlessness, there is finally some movement forward on a sports and entertainment complex.

Yes, forward. Thursday morning's decision by the Sacramento First Task Force to recommend - if just recommend - the complicated but far-reaching "land swap" proposed by Gerry Kamilos' and David Taylor's organizations, and supported by the NBA and other crucial organizations, means that we are moving forward. Finally.

There will be a lot of arguing about this for some time. As an assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is to be praised for making progress on this a hallmark of his administration, put it, "This was the easy part." But the fact is, it hasn't been easy even to get to this point.

That we have gotten to this point is something to be celebrated.

Passions run particularly high about this subject, and there are a lot of very certain, very loud opinions about it. But at least now we have a well-considered opinion from a group of smart, well-meaning, experienced people, including task force co-chairs Lina Fat and Chris Lehane, about the best way forward.

Because no matter what you might think of the deal that would redevelop the Cal Expo grounds, build a new state fairgrounds in Natomas and place a new arena and intermodal transportation hub at the heart of a redeveloped downtown railyard, at least it does this:

It moves us forward.

Those who want other options, be they rival developers or Sacramento's well-established NIMBY crowd, will still have ample chance to weigh in, as members of the City Council did Thursday morning. There will be much jockeying and lobbying, and that's to be expected, even desired. That's how we do it.

There are many moving parts to this, sources of funding still to be identified, political agendas to be filled, and business and neighborhood interests to be resolved. At one point it was noted that this process could consume local government and businesses for the next two decades.

But that's good. That process, as tortuous as it will likely be, will create a lot of jobs, and at the end, we will have a much-improved city, with amenities we can only dream about right now.

And it could begin as soon as next Tuesday, when city staff brings the City Council its first report on the possibilities for financing, and in April, when some sort of timetable could be brought before the council.

The dream is legitimate. As a lifelong Sacramentan, downtown homeowner and resident, and frequent visitor to the current (and previous) ARCO arenas, I have not had a particularly strong opinion about where to put the new arena. I have, however, long been convinced that we DO need a new facility - and I say that as someone who has been to four Kings games in 15 years.

But as I've studied the issue, it has become clear to me, as it has to nearly everyone who watches these things, and as it was to the Task Force, that an arena needs to be downtown. Putting the arena in the suburbs would only continue to spread Sacramento out over more farmland and vernal pools and hillsides, put more people in more cars for more hours, and, worst of all, diffuse our vital cultural and commercial center just when it is finally, after decades of struggle, being established in downtown/Midtown.

As has been pointed out many times before, of the more than a dozen new arenas that have been built in the last decade, few have been built in suburban locations. That was what we did in the '70s, and like many of the urban choices made then, it was a mistake. As anyone who leaves our town can see, the placement of ATT Park in downtown San Francisco and of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has brought new life to those areas. Big, bustling, boisterous new life. Not to mention jobs and lower crime.

Now, some central city residents don't necessarily want new life in their neighborhoods. Sacramento's downtown and midtown have been quiet, nearly-suburban enclaves for so long that people have forgotten that they are, in fact, the urban core of our city. The mix of uses, particularly in Midtown, has led to some problems.

And the fact is, none of us really knows how this will affect us. I've heard dire warnings about traffic, about drunks, about noise, about air pollution, about raised taxes, and about what is essentially fear of what "those people" - sports fans, suburbanites, people with money to spend, people in cars, what-have-you - will bring to downtown.

But as Mayor Johnson has said many times, the time is now. Time is not on our side. And the future beckons: A new transportation center at the railyards will be the greenest step this city has ever taken, and increased density will stand us in good stead into the new century. A new state fair grounds in Natomas could be a showpiece for the entire state that would draw many more visitors here, and could be built in a greener, more sustainable manner than the lumbering old Cal Expo site. And having a whole new city on the old Cal Expo grounds would be greener and give more people the opportunity to live closer to downtown. To their work. To entertainment. To transportation.

To a vital new Sacramento that could finally take its rightful place as the last great undiscovered urban center of the western United States, a crossroads of north and south and east and west.

All of the details will be worked out over the next few years, as we move forward. Mistakes will be made, there will be setbacks, and arguments, and battles and wasted money. There may be a few new taxes, though that isn't going to fly in the current environment. As the mayor's assistant said, what happened today was the easy part.

But it was not easy getting even here. It took a lot of hard work, and thought, and thousands of hours of volunteer time, and negotiations. And because of that work, today, for the members of the Sacramento First Task Force, and the developers and local visionaries who pushed for this to happen, and above all to a mayor who has made progress his hallmark, was a great day.

So, this is a time to pause and take pride in our city for embracing new possibilities, even though we don't necessarily know where they will lead us. It is a proud moment, and we should savor it over the weekend.

And next week, we move. Forward.