RED CROSS DAY AT THE CAPITOL In honor of March being Red Cross Month, representatives from the American Red Cross offered free workshops to Capitol workers on how to "Be Red Cross Ready". Disasters strike at any time and without warning - so it's important to learn how you can prepare your workplace or home for any disaster. Displays of various Red Cross services, including Pet First Aid, Wilderness Training and CPR and AED training were located on the west steps of the Capitol. Abigail Capano, a Red Cross volunteer, demonstrated how to perform CPR on a dog, using a stuffed toy animal.   In addition, several disaster response vehicles were parked along 10th Street and available to

Everyone looked Irish at the block party on L Street celebrating St. Patrick's Day:       SacPress Photos | Kati Garner    

A new bookstore concept is coming to Midtown. Entrepreneur Kevin Standfield and a partner are turning a former office space into a used bookstore and wine bar at 1330 21st St. The establishment will also sell cheese, beer, dessert and coffee. "My two favorite things in the world are to sip port and read a book," Standfield said. "I like the idea of our customers being able to sit down and hang out and read a book." To come up with a name, Standfield stuck with a theme he likes. He's calling it Book Monkey, like the Yogurt Monkey shop he and a partner opened on Fair Oaks Boulevard. "I'm in a monkey thing right now. I don't know why," he said. Boxes of books sat under plastic Wednesday

The fourth annual Green California Summit and Exhibition wrapped up today at the Sacramento Convention Center, giving attendees a look at new green technology that provided a glimpse into what the world could look like in the near future. The summit featured keynote presentations from four speakers: 15-year-old Alec Loorz, founder of Kids vs. Global Warming; Noel Perry, Next 10 founder; David Roland-Holst, director of the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability; and Fran Pavley, the state senator who authored Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The summit also offered classes on green building codes, new media

Sacramento companies have significant opportunities to grow their revenues by landing federal contracts. There are over 27 different vertical markets in the United States Federal Government.  For 2010 alone, the budget for information technology is over $80 billion. Although rumors abound about purchases of $1000 hammers and toilet seats, the U.S Federal Government is one of the smartest buyers of goods and services. If your company is engaged in commercial and/or state business, there is a way to leverage what your company already does now, here in California, into a federal contract. SARTA, the Sacramento region's high tech business accelerator, knows that dealing with government contr

The expert on the state's transit industry and financing, Joshua Shaw of Shaw/Yoder, Inc. will be the featured speaker at the State of RT Breakfast, Friday, March 19. Shaw is executive director of the California Transit Association. Mike Wiley, RT General Manager/CEO, will also address the transit service priorities of the Sacramento region. This breakfast event will focus on TransitAction, RT’s new transit vision that will shape the future of transportation over the next 25 years. The event, hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber and the Sacramento Regional Transit District, also includes the annual TransitAction awards, given to organizations and individuals promoting public transit.

A dispute over the value of a key parcel of railyards land is getting closer to a resolution. An arbitration hearing began Monday over land likely to become the home of a future arena and a regional transit center. On Monday, two weeks of witness testimony began to help determine how much the city of Sacramento should pay developer Thomas Enterprises for nearly 33 acres of prime land adjacent to downtown. The land also holds historic value as the western start of the first transcontinental railroad. The city already paid $55 million for the parcel in 2006 after Thomas Enterprises bought the 244-acre former railyards site. But the city and the developer have never agreed on the parcel's

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) is gearing up for the 17th annual Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving Day, but needs your help starting this March. It is time to begin planning this huge event which involves 30,000 runners and walkers, two beautiful courses throughout Sacramento and raises over $800,000 to benefit programs at SFBFS. Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services is looking for artwork to grace the front of 30,000 Run to Feed the Hungry participant t-shirts. Think you have what it takes? Design a piece of art for the front/center of a standard t-shirt. The idea can incorporate anything that you believe captures the spirit of the Run to Feed the Hungry, programs a

Roni Deutch Tax Center, one of the nation’s fastest growing tax preparation franchise companies, will provide everyone 18 years and older who attends the Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers game on Tuesday, March 16 with a coupon for preparation of a free state tax return. A limited number of attendees will also receive a certificate for preparation of a free federal tax return. The Sacramento Kings will also be hosting another Tax Night on April 3. During each of the Kings Tax Nights, representatives from Roni Deutch Tax Center will be on-site to answer tax-related questions before and during the game. The Kings are also hosting a ticket promotion, Kings Slam Dunk Your Taxes, in whic

Sacramento is nicknamed the "City of Trees" for a reason. Even in its most urban core, the city is filled with fruit trees. So what happens when those trees produce more fruit than the owners can harvest, let alone eat? One option is to let Harvest Sacramento take care of it. This year alone, the group has collected more than 13,000 pounds of fruit from the Sacramento area, all of which goes to the Sacramento Food Bank. Harvest Sacramento organized a Midtown Fruit Harvest on Saturday in which 25 community volunteers helped pick more than 1,300 pounds of citrus for the food bank. In just three hours, the group collected grapefruit, oranges, lemons and kumquats from nine houses in the grid