'50 Shades of Grey ' If you have read the trilogy you have feelings about them. The good, the bad. The possibly pornographic nature of the content. Let me say that I read the trilogy. The books were unlike anything I had ever read, but as a (relationship) writer and an avid book reader, I felt the need to figure out what they were all about. I was not prepared for what I read, but I, like half the women on earth, was gripped by the story. I must have read all three books in less than four days. Although controversial in nature and seemingly improbable in theory, I believe this to be the reason women have been falling over themselves about the possibility of a movie being made out of the

The Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association (NBNA) is honoring Mike McKeever, Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), with the organization’s 2011 Growing Together Award for his role earlier this year as the volunteer mediator in a neighborhood development controversy. The NBNA represents the Poverty Ridge, Newton Booth, and Alhambra Triangle neighborhoods in Sacramento’s District 4. The award will be presented to McKeever Thursday, November 10th, at Newton’s Night Out, a neighborhood event to be held at Revolution Wines, 2831 S Street, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  McKeever will be in attendance. The Growing Together Award, established in August 2011, is gi

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op has become a battleground for Middle East politics as some members are trying to get the board of directors to sign off on a boycott of Israeli products. Arguing that Israel is violating human rights by occupying Palestinian territories, the group of members says that the co-op should not sell products from Israel because that supports human rights violations. All co-op members are considered partial owners as well. Co-op General Manager Paul Cultrera said he does not support the boycott in the store. “We’re here to run a store,” he told The Sacramento Press Wednesday. “I think that the issue about Israeli human rights violations – it’s a valid issue.

By Debra Belt It is a small, unkempt patch of land on a dirt alley in Sacramento’s Boulevard Park neighborhood. Yet, the modest site at 2207 C St. is the subject of an intense debate that is expected to heat up as a proposed residential project for the alley lot heads to City Council Feb. 1. At issue is a single-family home, a modern infill project that has neighbors, preservationists, politicians, architects, the city and the builders deadlocked over the design of the residence and its alley location in one of Sacramento’s oldest neighborhoods. As Midtown’s alley development movement advances, interest in the project is high, and followers say it could set a precedent in residential nei

The first few decisions made by Sacramento's new City Council aren't promising. Putting off a decision – again – on the arena is irritating, but after as much delay as we've seen in this process, we're used to it. It will just slow things down. Presumably, it won't do much harm. And there may be insider reasons for why Gus Vina was passed over after a year as interim city manager, a job he seemed to be widely admired for. But HOW does one explain why the "crash tax" passed Tuesday? This is sheer foolishness. That it was a 5-4 split isn’t reassuring. It's understandable that the council wants to find ways to raise some cash in tight times, but this is a foot-shootingly dumb way to do it

“I don't understand why they placed him like they did, when he is clearly not what they say he is.” At 18 months old, my child was diagnosed as autistic. Like any concerned and loving parent, I immediately began learning about his developmental delay as I gathered all the resources I could to help him. I learned of a frightening statistic; One child in every 166 births will be diagnosed with autism. He began receiving speech and occupational therapy from the Alta Regional Center. As I watched and participated in his hours of therapy per week, I saw my non-verbal but happy child make progress very slowly. Sometimes the constant mental prodding was just too much, and he would melt down. We

 Mayor Kevin Johnson criticized City Councilman Kevin McCarty Tuesday morning for holding a Friday press conference on the tax situation of the developers of the downtown railyards. McCarty held a press conference Friday morning outside the Amtrak station on I Street. He announced that if Thomas Enterprises did not pay its taxes, the city should try to block as much as $47 million in state funding to the railyards. The company paid the property taxes that day, according to Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Cynthia Gibbs, acting assistant tax collector, confirmed that the county received the payment from the company Tuesday. "I don't feel that (holding the press confere