While many sports fans were glued to their television sets to watch coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament, it was March Madness in Arco Arena on Friday as well. The Sacramento Kings battled the Milwaukee Bucks in exciting fashion, but, despite great effort by the Kings, they lost 114-108 in double overtime. The Kings and Bucks exchanged leads throughout the game, but late in the fourth quarter the score was 95-95. The atmosphere was electric during the final seconds as with fans chanting “DEFENSE, DEFENSE!!” Other fans yelled at players to make a 3-pointer for the win. Although the Kings fell short of a victory, loyal fans were proud of their efforts. “I’m impressed with their hust

Red Lotus Kitchen & Bar is expected to open as early as the first week in April — with gold Chinese calligraphy on its walls, dim sum on its tables and silk lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Chef Buu "Billy" Ngo and partner Peter Kwong are opening the contemporary Asian-fusion restaurant at 2718 J St. following their success with Japanese restaurant Kru, a few blocks down the street. The restaurant initially was expected to open in December in the spot where G.V. Hurley's closed its doors in September. A liquor license transfer held up the opening of Red Lotus, Ngo said. Following a restaurant trend toward small plates of food or "tapas," the restaurant will focus on small dishes, prima

Dancer Amanda Peet stretches before her performance. Peet has spent 8 of her 9 years as a professional ballerina with the Sacramento Ballet Company. She has big dreams and is willing to sacrifice much of her social life and family time to rehearse. Her advice to young dancers: “do it because you and only you love it, take it one step at a time.” Ensemble cast Melissa Sandvig has been a dancer for 25 years. Her dance career sky rocketed after her appearance on Fox’s, So you think you can dance(season 5) and was the first ever classically trained ballerina to appear on the show. Melissa’s advice to young dancers: “Aim for perfection, but never expect it.” Director/Choreographe

They are athletes with a difference. They compete at the same level as their peers, but disabled athletes must train harder and push their limits further. That level of dedication was exemplified on March 20, a sunny afternoon near Yosemite Hall at Sac State, by about 30 kids and adults participating in activities sponsored by Access Leisure and Paralympic Sport Sacramento. The participants came from all over Northern California for a day of quad rugby, sled hockey, hand cycling and more. They were invited to try every activity with equipment loaned by the group. Volunteers came from different paralympic sport backgrounds, including champion hand cyclists and a quad rugby coach. "We wan

One of the first stories I was assigned as a new intern in late January was SMUD's installation of energy smart meters. SMUD customers were told the smart meters would provide them with more information about their energy usage, which could lead to better energy management for them and SMUD. The utility had just about finished testing the technology, and was ready to install more than 600,000 meters throughout the Sacramento area. SMUD contracted with South Carolina-based Utility Partners of America for the majority of the installation work, and my assignment was to find out why SMUD had contracted with an out-of-state company rather than a local one. Installation of the smart meters mea

Monday, March 22 10 a.m. - Noon The California State Students Association will hold a rally to bring the issues of higher education to the forefront of public awareness. Students will begin to gather at 7 a.m. at Raley Field. At 10, students will march down the Capitol mall to the north steps for a rally that will start at 11 a.m. The rally will include 30 speakers, mostly students. Five thousand people are expected to attend, representing California State universities and community colleges statewide. 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. California Youth Advocacy Network is holding its Youth Quest 2010 rally event on the west steps of the Capitol. The event will follow a morning session at the Masonic Te

  "How do you feel about the Sacramento Kings?"       When I was first asked this question a few weeks ago, my initial response was "luke warm".  I am from the Bay Area, and, besides a youthful dalliance with the Detroit Pistons (spurred on by an Adrian Dantley signed basketball I received for Christmas, 1987), a lifelong Warriors fan.  Now, you might think I would hate the Kings, seeing as they and the Warriors are geographic rivals and all, but you'd be mistaken.  I don't hate the Kings.       I hate the Lakers. I hate them intensely.  And, as the proverb goes, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".   For the last 20 years, the Warriors have been mostly impotent, unable to present any

On Monday, March 22, the city of Sacramento will host presentations by the four development groups interested in building a project on the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street. This meeting will be held at Old City Hall, 915 I Street, in the 2nd floor hearing room, at 5:30 PM. The four groups who responded to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) include: * Bridge Housing, Saca Development and Bagatelos Development They propose 360 units of housing, a renovated Bel-Vue, 48,000 square feet of office not on Agency property, and 33,000 square feet of retail. * David Taylor, CIM Development, Domus, and Zeiden Properties They propose 110 housing units, including a renovated Bel-Vue, 60,000 square

Posted by chriso I ride my bicycle around downtown alot. I just heard from a friend of mine that while he was riding his bike downtown an officer stopped him and told him to get off of the sidewalk and ride in the street. Are bicylists not allowed to ride on the sidewalk? I am not very comfortable riding in the street without a bike lane. Dear chriso, The truth of the matter is that the sidewalk is meant for pedestrians. In other words, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalks. Bicyclists must follow the same rules of the road as other “vehicles” and must ride as close as “practicable” to the right. Sacramento strives to be a bicycle friendly city with many bicycle routes, so people are e

The March 20, 2010 Paranormal Scouting Mission By Paul Dale Roberts, HPI General Manager I’m telling you, sometimes these paranormal scouting missions wear my axx out, but here I am again on another scouting mission and I am doing this for my great friend TV Psychic Bobby Marchesso. Bobby is bringing 3 high school boys to Sacramento to go on a real ghost hunt. I will be taking them to places that we have been to a hundred times before. I have written about these places a hundred times and I am thinking there is probably nothing to write about. I am wrong, on this night we did get some substantial evidence. The theme song to this article is Paranoid - Black Sabbath, hear the music here: h

ACCESS SACRAMENTO presents New Scriptwriting Class - PCS 2010 By popular demand, we now offer special a scriptwriting class (three Saturdays, 10am - 2pm) on writing "short form" film scripts. Polish your PCS entry or take the short course to further your film writing skills. Limited enrollment - $50 fee per session. Register in advance at Access Sacramento by calling (916) 456-8600 "0" with a credit card. Need not be an Access Sacramento member or Sacramento County resident to sign-up for this class. Sign-up early - class will fill fast. Matt is in great demand as a script writing teacher.  The “Place Called Sacramento” script entry deadline is Monday, April 19th, at noon.   Saturdays -

 Six high school basketball games Saturday at Arco Arena decided the Northern California boys and girls representatives for next week's state championships at RaboBank Arena in Bakersfield. Four more games were played Saturday at Folsom High to determine the remaining NorCal representatives against the Southern region. For these basketball players, it was the biggest day of their lives.  The Sacramento-area representatives struggled throughout the day until the Oak Ridge High Trojan girls team advanced to the Division I championships with a hard-fought 52-42 victory over the longtime NorCal power Berkeley Yellowjackets. It's amazing to watch what high-school basketball has become.  Th

 Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans underwent x-rays and a CAT scan Saturday morning to re-examine his jaw, injured during the latter portion of Friday night's 114-108 double overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. No fractures were found during Saturday's examination and Evans will be re-evaluated Monday. The Kings left today for Los Angeles to meet the Clippers Sunday afternoon and will return in the evening in preparation for Monday's night's game at Arco Arena against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings announced in a release that Evans also suffered a slight concussion in the collision with Milwaukee's Ersa Ilyasova.  

 The Kings lost a game Friday night at Arco Arena. However, that was secondary to the loss of their rookie of the year candidate Tyreke Evans. Evans suffered a concussion and some facial lacerations during the fourth quarter of Sacramento's 114-108 double-overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks before a stunned crowd of 12,098. Evans went down during a wild scramble for a loose ball underneath the Kings basket with 27.3 remaining in regulation following a shot attempt by Kings forward Carl Landry. Evans remained on the floor after Landry was called for a foul. Evans eventually was helped back to the Kings bench for a brief period before being helped to the Kings locker room. Landry sai

Saturday, March 20 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. California Complete Count is hosting a rally/march to raise awareness of the U.S. Census. Entertainment starts at 10:00 a.m. and a 1/2 mile march around the Capitol starts at 10:45. At 11:45, there will be brief speeches from Mayor Kevin Johnson and Lt. Gov. Mona Pasquil. Entertainment from community groups will continue until 2:30 p.m. The rally/march is intended to raise awareness and support for the census. Workers from the Census Bureau will man questionnaire assistance centers to answer questions and help fill out census forms. The event is part of the March 20 "Be Californian, Be Counted" day. Five hundred people are expected.   No other e

Sutter's Fort Living History and Pioneer Demonstration Days return to the year 1846, the year California became a U.S. territory. Park docents and volunteers re-create the everyday life and times at "Fort New Helvetia," Sutter’s original name for the Fort. Men dressed in heavy buckskin loading their flintlock rifles. Soldiers from the 1840s perform drills, while the blacksmith makes horseshoes at a hot forge. Women scrub clothes on a washboard and prepare stews over cooking fires. Docent Mark DeLong holds a cannonball as he explains Sutter had the cannon in the Southeast bastion of the original fort until 1846, when the guns were removed and it was used for storage. Then the bastion wa

If finishing my last midterm was the cake, then watching Upright Citizens Brigade was the icing. And I had my fill when UCB performed its classic improv sketch comedy for an hour and a half Thursday before a crowd of 200. Walking into the University Ballroom at Sacramento State, I could feel the energy as everyone waited for the show to begin. With UCB's television show long canceled, the only chance for viewing the show is at its Los Angeles or New York City theaters. While I waited, I remembered a phone call earlier in the week: "We take 15-22 of the best performers from both theater casts for the touring production," said director and coordinating producer Carter Edwards. "What peopl

  Rick D. Redding, born and raised in Sacramento, a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Desert Storm/Shield and a Public School Educator/Football coach, declared his candidacy for nomination as a Republican candidate for State Assembly (9th District). This district includes most of the city of Sacramento. The primary election is on June 8 and the general election in November.   Rick stated that, as a public school educator serving in the Assembly, he will work to ensure that every child has equal access to educational opportunities and that each student graduates from high school. As our Assemblyman, Rick said one of his goals is to expand job training opportunities for the unemployed a

There are very few known details about the closing of the Hard Rock Café downtown. Manager Kim Templeton deferred answering questions to a public relations firm. That firm would not answer phone calls. According to a Sacramento Bee article, it will close March 27, but is that before or after the private event listed the same day on the Hard Rock website as "Morgan's Bat Mitzvah?"  One thing is for sure. With the Hard Rock closing, Sacramento is losing several important things: a restaurant, a music venue, a 36-foot guitar with neon highlights and a small museum chock full of Rock 'n' Roll memorabilia. Not to mention an employer. The following is a photo essay depicting some of Hard Rock

The Sacramento Police Department and the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities are warning residents and businesses about a man, claiming to be a City employee approaching homes in a recent water meter retrofit area and trying gain access. Residents and businesses are warned that the City does not need to get into a home to test the water or conduct further plumbing work inside the home after a meter retrofit. Typically, City utilities employees do not need to enter into homes and if they do, they will schedule an appointment in advance. City employees wear City of Sacramento uniforms, ID badges and drive City vehicles. Residents or businesses with questions regarding whether someon