By day the sound of an angle grinder echoes through Midtown’s alleys, dust and occasional fragments of powdery stone bouncing into the lane. Neighbors walking by often stop to chat, remarking on the elaborately carved marble sculptures made by local sculptor, Vince King, admiring his progress over the last several months.  King created his garage-studio at the I Street Co-op where he moved just over 5 years ago, a then-recent graduate of UC Davis with a degree in Environmental Conservation Biology and Management. He began working for the County of Sacramento, helping to develop several conservation planning initiatives, and sculpting in his spare time.  After some planning of his own, Ki

When clocks are turned forward on Saturday night, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds residents and businesses tthat they can change their irrigation schedules as well. The City’s current irrigation rules, found in the Water Conservation ordinance state that at the beginning of daylight savings time, residents and businesses may water up to three days a week, based on their address. Addresses ending in odd numbers may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only and even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There is no watering allowed on Mondays. Watering of landscapes must be completed before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. “While the ordinance allow

Come along and be a part of the FREE fun at the City of Sacramento’s 2011 Earth Day celebration! Earth dwellers of all ages are invited to come celebrate and learn about our majestic world, and the Sacramento community’s role in helping to make our area a green and even more environmentally friendly city. The Earth Day celebration takes place on Thursday April 21st, at the City Hall Plaza located at 915 I Street, and Cesar Chavez Park located just across tthe street in downtown Sacramento. Our celebration kicks off with lively entertainment at 9 :00 AM with the festivities continuing until 2:00 PM. The green fun includes interactive learning, complete with clean air demonstrations, ring-

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is presenting a FREE workshop to help customers use water wisely and learn the in’s and out’s of the City’s Water Conservation Ordinance. The workshop will take place on Saturday February 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities Water Conservation Office, 2260 Glen Ellen Circle. Taught by certified Water Conservation Specialists, the workshop will provide tips and tools for creating a water wise landscape and ways to save water indoors. Attendees will also recieve information about the City's Water Wise House Call, Water Waste, and rebate programs. Water Conservation Workshops provide an opportunity f

Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the 26th president of our country, was indeed an amazing man, and more than 100 years after his two terms as president, we can still find things in his life’s work that have an impact on our own world. An assortment of “T.R.” memorabilia is on display at the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park. The exhibit is entitled “The Great Dreamer and the Great Doer: Theodore Roosevelt’s Impassioned Life,” and covers the most important parts of Roosevelt’s career, especially those pertaining to his conservation efforts. “We owe Roosevelt so much in the way of conservation,” Adam Gottlieb, 46, said. “For the bird sanctuaries that he created, the national park land

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is seeking volunteers to assist in the City’s water conservation efforts. Water Conservation Ambassadors will be trained to assist residents in finding leaks on their property, present conservation information at community events and how to spot and report water waste. The first training session for Water Conservation Ambassadors will take place on June 29, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the Department of Utilities Water Conservation Office, 2260 Glen Ellen Circle. “Over the past year, we have seen a huge increase in the numbers of calls for service and a desire by the community to have water conservation information shared with their organizations or nei

Earth Fest at the Sacramento Zoo featured booths, crafts, entertainment and activities on Saturday April 3. Participants included the California Native Plant Society, IKEA, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Worm Fancy, Friends of the Public Library and many other environmental and conservation organizations, nature clubs, and recycling businesses. Entrance to Earth Fest at the Zoo   Ikea gave away blue shopping bags at their table.   Kyle Flood from Village Nurseries; Village Nurseries will recycle 1, 5 and 15 gallon plant containers and give a donation to the Sacramento Zoo for each one turned in.   Sam Curtis, the "Zoo P.I.", shows off a few small animals during the Critter Caper

The 2010 Green California Summit and Exposition opened on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 for two days at the Sacramento Community Center. Pre-Summit workshops were held on Monday. This year's theme is Committed to Sustainability and features education programs, awards and over 175 exhibitors. Admission to the exhibits and keynote presentations is free. Tuesday's expo opened with comments from Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and expo co-chair, Linda Adams, Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Senator Fran Pavley, author of AB 32, was the first keynote speaker. Pavley spoke about the current campaign to set aside AB 32 and defended the provisions of the Act with a Top Ten Li

When clocks are turned forward on Saturday night, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds residents and businesses to change their irrigation schedules as well. The City’s current irrigation rules, found in the Water Conservation ordinance state that at the beginning of daylight savings time, residents and businesses may water up to three days a week, based on their address. Addresses ending in odd numbers may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only and even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There is no watering allowed on Mondays. Watering of landscapes must be completed before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. “While the ordinance allows customers

Fairytale Town's second annual Goes Green! event is back this weekend. The family event will feature educational displays, activities and crafts aimed at promoting conservation and environmental awareness. "When the director of Fairytale Town approached me with ideas about hosting an agricultural event, I wanted to tie in a green theme," said Education and Program Manager Sharlene Lal. "But as we developed the event, we realized that going green is a big idea and a movement that needs its own outlet." Several local organizations have partnered with Fairytale Town to provide learning tools. Representatives from Solar Cookers International, the Department of Utilities, the Air Resources B

Local environmental and conservation organizations are bringing the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival On Tour to Sacramento for the first time Thursday. Save Our Sandhill Cranes and the Environmental Council of Sacramento have chosen 11 films for the three-hour festival being held at the Crest Theatre — a sampling of the annual film fest held last month in Nevada City. Moviegoers will watch adventure films about a team kayaking in Papua New Guinea, Oregon tree climbers in search of the biggest Sitka spruces and surfing in Wyoming. Other films document life in the Anza Borrego desert, the rising acidity of the ocean and Kenya's environmental and social justice movement. With more

Changes to the City of Sacramento Water Conservation Ordinance go into effect on December 9, 2009. The changes to the ordinance include: □ After daylight savings time ends, watering landscapes and car washing is permitted one day a week, Saturday or Sunday only. Customers may choose which day to water or car wash on. □ Customers who utilize drip irrigation are permitted to water their landscapes using the drip irrigation system at any time during the day, on any day of the week, including during summer months. □ Limitations to how many times a violator may take the Water Conservation Class within a 24 month period to waive fines. “The City of Sacramento reminds all of its customers that c

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds its residential water customers that customers who have a water meter and who have received a comparative bill for at least one year will be converting to a metered rate in January 2010. Residents who have a meter, but who have not had a year of comparative billing will remain on a flat rate until they have received a year of comparative billing. Customers who do not currently have a water meter will receive a year of comparative billing once a water meter is installed before being switched to a metered rate. The City is installing water meters on more than 110,000 homes by 2025 and converting customers with a water meter to metered b

Photos: 1) Ian Shive at work; 2) Sequoia National Park; 3) Yellowstone National Park Interview by Tony Sheppard Originally published in Capitol Weekly Ian Shive, the photographer behind the new pictorial book "The National Parks: Our American Landscape" recently spent a day in Sacramento, visiting a management class in the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration program at Sac State. I asked him a few questions about his work and the value of parks in our lives: Photography as a living is new to you – before it was more like a cell phone plan: Unlimited nights and weekends. Very true [laughs]. What were you doing before and how did you get into this? I was working as a publicis

  In the heart of quiet, residential west Davis, the management members of the Sierra Club Yolano Group, a close-knit circle of eight elderly friends that represent the Yolo and Solano counties, met on Oct. 8 to discuss the progress to set aside a national conservation area surrounding Berryessa Snow Mountain. The proposed national conservation area would include 800,000 acres west of Sacramento and north of the San Francisco Bay, with elevations ranging between 2,000 and 7,000 feet.  Putah and Cache creeks both wind through the area, greenery to the whole valley.  The Sierra Club is one of many groups trying to get this land legal protection. The land is also home to many animals, incl

The city plans to bolster its existing water conservation rules by updating the way it fines residents who waste water at their homes and businesses. Sacramento’s Department of Utilities is proposing to revise the city’s water conservation ordinance in part to respond to the third year of California’s drought, said Jessica Hess, a media and communications specialist at the utilities department. The city is making major revisions to its process for managing water waste violations. In its current form, the ordinance is difficult to enforce, Hess said. City staffers currently visit sites numerous times as they seek to enforce the rules. “It will be more efficient for our staff to address w

  According to a study conducted by the plastics manufacturer Nalgene, Sacramento leads the nation in the use of energy-efficient light bulbs. The study, called America's Least Wasteful Cities, questioned 3,750 people living in America's 25 largest cities. Participants were asked about how much garbage their households generated, their shopping and transportation habits, and other sustainable behaviors. Mayor Kevin Johnson said, "I'm proud that Sacramento tops the list in using energy-efficient light bulbs but there's still plenty more work to be done to move us up the list in other categories. Particularly with the challenging economic conditions we're in, we should not reduce our effo

In my first article for this storyline I discussed several simple steps that individuals can implement to reduce their water consumptions.  To read more about simple conservation tips, please click on the green storyline tab and select the article titled, "The Crisis."  However, in this time of crisis immediate action is a necessary step, so it is also useful to consider the more drastic methods of conservation, such as drought-resistant landscaping. Outdoor residential water use accounts for 21 percent of all urban water use, according to the Pacific Institute, an environmental research group located in the East Bay.  Activities included under this umbrella term of "Residential Outdoor"

So you've heard, or in case you haven't, California is in a drought. Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a State of Emergency for Sacramento County, among others, because water levels are so low. The water year that ended on September 30, 2008, was classified by officials at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as "critically dry." In fact, the months of March to September 2008 were the driest on record for the Northern Sierra, which only received 3.5 inches of rainfall, a mere 23 percent of the average. Also, the major state reservoirs are only holding about 1/3 of their capacity when a normal year would fill them to about 2/3 of capacity. Most significant for Sacramento residents, the Sacra