CityFella


 

Big CityFella , Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Lived in New York for several years. I consider myself a part time New Yorker as I travel to my east coast home a few times a year. My family and I moved to Sacramento in 1993.

Like many refugees from San Francisco. We moved to Sacramento to own a home, I didn’t want to move to the burbs away from central city where we worked.  That became very evident after The Loma Preitra quake of 89.

The biggest adjustment was the heat, the second were the people. In San Fran, people are distant. Sacramento is just the opposite.

After stopping by the police department asking officers ( where would they live?) We settled in South Natomas, we liked the diversity, it seemed every other family was interracial like my own and there was a large gay presence and while we loved South Natomas. 

 I found the rest of the city bland.  There was little night life and every other restaurant was a chain.   If I wanted to see people off the grid (people with blue spiked hair ) I had to go to midtown,  the Alhambra Safeway was my late night office. It was a great place for families but for adults it sucked.

By 1994, I knew I had made a colossal mistake and  I was clear, once my children became adults, it was back to San Francisco or New York.

But something happened,the city matured, today there are many options. Midtown and downtown have exploded.  No longer do I go into a panic when a friend visits from out of town, as there are many adult options.  

 Today, a lot of my friends are amazed… today I hear, “I didn’t know Sacramento had all this going on!

While the city is slowly becoming a true urban center.  The city suffers from low self-esteem , locals have few positive words to say about their hometown.  There is little pride here.  Sacramentians often refer to their city as a cowtown.

Sacramento is a fantastic place, there is something for everyone.   There are many larger cities  who do not have our art scene. Theater  is huge here, for slightly more than a movie ticket one can enjoy the magic of live theater. From Placerville, to Roseville, theater is alive.  So is Ballet.  Downtown and midtown is alive with dance clubs. Miles of bike trails, two rivers, outdoor recreation within minutes of the city.

POLITICS

I have always had an interest in politics. At 15, I was elected to the youth commission which is modeled after the city council.  I have always been involved in politics. Perhaps it has to do with the time I was born in.  I’m a Baby Boomer, we were protesting for people’s rights. Civil, women’s, gay and the Vietnam war. 

I would cut class to participate in the Berkeley protests. 
 Campaigned for George Mc Govern   while I was in high school. Preceint walked and made calls for the Senator.

Ran and held office in college.  Involved in many grass roots organizations, included one that limited the height of skyscrapers in San Francisco.  If I lived in any city more than a week, I got Involved .

I have voted for candidates in the Green Party, voted Democratic and Republican.  I could be called a conservative-middle of the road-liberal. (I wish people read more- people tend to quote TV and radio pundits often forgetting  they are paid entertainment.)

In Sacramento, I was involved with Neighborhood Associations and various school districts as well as other city,county, and state organizations.

VISIONARIES NEEDED

The City of Sacramento is in desperate need of a visionaries. Individuals who can see beyond downtown and the shiny building in other cities.   Sac is a me too city.  If. Another city has it, we want it too.  It doesn’t have to make fiscal sense as long as we have it.

Sacramento, has most of the pieces to become a great city, what it doesn’t have is focus.   There seems to be a great disconnect.  For decades the city has relied on goverment  for employment of its citizens.

Much of the city’s attention has been on downtown.  While Sacramento focus its attention on K Street and Arena,  companies continue to bypass the city in favor of the burbs.  First to Roseville, the Folsom and later to  Rancho Cordova and now West Sacramento.

Many many years ago, there were visionaries, they planted the trees we now enjoy in midtown. They closely developed the old neighborhoods, Oak Park, Land Park and its great park,and McKinley Park in East Sacramento

Sacramento ranks near the bottom for business and repairing that very important link  for business, to make the city more attractive to business doesn’t seem to be a priority for the city.

Sacramento ranked 21st out of 23 Western metropolitan areas in the latest rankings of small-business climates across the West.

On Numbers’ annual Western small-business rankings, which are based on a formula that considers factors such population growth, employment growth and local concentrations of small businesses. A small business is defined as any private-sector company with 99 or fewer employees.

Some city leaders believe a National Sports Franchise are key to making this city great.   Millions has been spent on retaining the Sacramento Kings.  Lost is the importance of an educated work force,i.e good schools and University’s.
The importance of business friendly environment, that makes business want to open in your city.  New business bring revenue in the form of taxes.  Revenue that could pay police  and fire.

Before Arden Fair Mall, before Florin Mall, Sunrise Mall, and the Roseville Galleria, people lived downtown.   So was retail.  When the middle class left downtown for the burbs retail followed.    When the middle class returns to downtown retail will follow.    Not sure how or why that equation was missed.

Enter Visionary, John Saca.   His planned twin 53 story condos on Capital Mall surprised the leaders.   He knew there was a market in the capitol of the ninth largest economy in the world .  One tower complete sold out.   While construction costs killed the project.  John Saca proved there was a market downtown.

Another Visionary, who have left his mark downtown is David Taylor.  He and his team of associates brought entertainment to K Street.   The entertainment venues* have brought new life on the once dark section.

Sacramento has the pieces ,what it need is leadership and visionaries  to bring those pieces together to take this city of nearly a half million people to the next level.

 

The people of Sacramento

Its easy to have a negative view of your city if you never leave that city.  There are many San Franciscans, New Yorkers and Parisians who have a negative view of their collective cities.    I leave the state of California every five weeks.

Back in 2006, Time magazine said Sacramento was the most integrated city in America.

Each time I return home I appreciate the diversity we have here.    I smile when I see the different cultures and races merge.

In some cities the lines are firmly drawn,  being the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time is deadly.  There are few places beyond retail where people of different backgrounds come together.

There are issues here, misunderstandings and even hate.  But not to the degree of most cities I have visited.      Its not unusual to see many hues in social venues in Sacramento.   Heterosexuals and Homosexuals coexists in Faces, a gay dance club.

For many who live within the city limits difference isn’t feared, its celebrated, the problem is, good or bad, for Sacramentians  dont know it… Its simply  normal here.

People are kind here  they smile back when you smile at and its the smiles that makes Sacramento my home.

Cityfella

 

 

92 thoughts on “CityFella”

  1. Thanks Cityfella for sharing your take on our cowtown – er I mean city.

    You have a keen eye for the stories that may otherwise slip past us unnoticed. I find your blog useful and/or educational, irreverent, liberal and amusing.

    Keep up the good work.

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  2. this is first time on ur blog…its pretty cool. i feel like i know a lot more Mr. Earl lol. my goal this year is try to come to CA more offten. how can i find out more about sweet deals with the airflights?

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  4. I’m impressed, I must say. Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. Your idea is outstanding; the issue is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that I stumbled across this in my search for something relating to this.*Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thank you However I am experiencing issue with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting identical rss problem? Anyone who knows kindly respond. Thnkx

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    1. Let’s not forget the SF Bay Area. Where wokrnig class homes in wokrnig class neighborhoods have become out of reach. New homes are now $800k behemoths with no yard and multiple-families shacking up under one roof.

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  61. I must begin by saying I enjoy your blog. I’m not clear of your direction but it is always interesting. I am student at the UCA here in Britain and someone left your page on screen, and I read of lot of the blogs. I dont read the papers here most of them are complete rubbish. An observation…you talked about your city but there aren’t pictures of it. Anyway, I must b off…. good blog.

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    1. Thank you Scatterhead for your kind words. The UK and Germany have embraced this blog and I am very grateful. I hope you keep reading and tell your friends… Cityfella

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  62. First off I would like to say awesome blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head before writing. I have had a hard time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there. I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin.

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    1. Fiona, it doesn’t. In addition to this blog, I am a contributing writer on three others. I have a dozen note pads… The only advice I can give is simply write, it doesn’t have to be perfect, as you can tell here LOL. Just write…and your words will find an audience.. Best of luck Cityfella

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  66. I, too, campaigned for McGovern in high school. And Eugene McCarthy. I also am proud of my hometown Sacramento and like it’s lively midtown and downtown, its relatively safe suburbs plus it’s surrounding (sadly diminishing) farmlands. I find it surprising that people come here and immediately think of how it should be changed. Not every city has to be SF (although I love going there) or New York or Seattle (I live them too). Sacramento is constantly changing and discovering new identities without over-development. Skyscrapers and stadiums are not the only things that can make a city great. I love our neighborhoods and parks and diverse, commingling lifestyles. And I like seeing blue hair, red hair, tats, oldsters, youngsters, readers, chess players, all types at my local coffee wi-fi hangout.
    On another note, what part of this do you write or are you more of an aggregator of information and articles.I find the articles interesting, I just can’t tell who writes them.

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    1. Jay,
      McGovern? were near the same age. Much of the info is from other sources, that info is located at the end of the articles…..

      A Kazillion Thanks……..

      Cityfella

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  79. Thanks for visiting my blog! I am a recent transplant to the burbs of Sacramento, I really am not a fan of the burbs, in general, but this one is exceptionally drab. I am going to be moving to the city by months end, thankfully. Any suggestions of things to do or see by Sacramento State? I really want to love this area, I love the weather, but so far Seattle has cast a dark shadow over the rest, like where do I find the tattoo crowd with blue hair?

    Your stories are quite helpful. I wish I had found this page sooner.

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    1. Blue hair, all night tattoos is going to be downtown/midtown. If your under 30, there isnt much do you around Sac State. It borders, East Sac and Campus Commons. If your moving here and looking for alternative neighborhood like North Sac, along Del Paso Blvd. It does have a high crime reputation, however, its just outside of Downtown and has a small funky vibe for those who dare. As it stands you WILL miss Seattle, try not to move to a squeaky clean neighborhood filled with modern chains stores.Look for a little graffiti and wear, it might aid in your transition. Welcome to Sac and keep stopping by.

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