Older woman snatches purse from shopping cart on Truxel and West El Camino, returns it but takes wallet  A woman loading items into her car at Truxel Road and West El Camino Avenue was robbed by another woman in an adjacent vehicle Monday afternoon. At about 1:45 p.m., the woman – described as being in her early to mid-60s – in the vehicle next to the victim took her purse from her shopping cart; the suspect returned the purse, but took the victim's wallet, according to the Sacramento Police Department's daily activity log. The suspect is described as a white female adult in her 60s; her vehicle is described as an older, four-door vehicle.  Burglary on 23rd Avenue Officers responding t

In an attempt to bring vitality to the once desolate K Street Mall in downtown Sacramento, District 30, one of the newest night clubs, is still thriving after four months of business. You can’t miss the bright lights of District 30. The glowing LED projected sign they have at their entrance is enticing. If it wasn’t your friends who lured you there, or what you’ve heard, it was the sign. There appeared to be a hustle and bustle about the area which wasn’t too crazy for a Friday night, but it was still early – 11 p.m. You’re greeted by multiple doormen who guard the black velvet ropes to enter the club. The cover is $15 unless you sign up on the e-mail guest list days in advance on thei

Redevelopment projects for the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street cleared a final hurdle on their way to the Sacramento City Council when the city's Preservation Commission approved both Thursday night. The commission called a special meeting to consider the final major design components after both projects were approved by the Planning Commission last week. A City Council vote of approval, which will be set for sometime in June, would mean groundbreaking could finally begin on two key blocks of K Street Mall that have long been eyesores. The projects will add 337 mixed-income apartments in the downtown core, rehab the landmark Bel-Vue Apartments and restore all but one of the building façad

The new section of K Street has been open for about three months now with District 30, Pizza Rock and Dive Bar. Dive Bar is not your typical ‘dive bar,’ contrary to its name. It is actually quite upscale, with a 40-foot-long, 7,500-gallon saltwater tank that spans 18 feet across the entire bar with fish and, sometimes, mermaids. The whole premise of the bar is that mermaids, and mermen, dive in the tank and swim around. The question is, how often do you see the mermaids? On occasion, bar patrons have gone to Dive Bar just to see the mermaids and have left disappointed upon seeing an empty tank. The Sacramento Press took to the streets and caught people as they left the bar, asking what

City staffers are moving forward on the project to bring cars to K Street, saying Wednesday that the street will see its final days as a pedestrian mall in the fall. Nader Kamal, a senior projects manager for the city, said the street may be ready for cars by November. People will be able to drive between Eighth and 12th streets once the project is complete. Cars have been barred from K Street since the 1960s, when the city turned it into a pedestrian mall. “It seemed to be the trend at that time,” city Transportation Department spokeswoman Linda Tucker said, referring to pedestrian malls. Thursday, the Law and Legislation Committee — composed of four City Council members – will examin

Dive Bar owner George Karpaty is expanding his business territory. Two months after opening the mermaid bar and two other businesses on Sacramento's K Street Mall, Karpaty is in the final stages of negotiating a lease for a fourth concept in El Dorado Hills. The San Francisco nightclub owner previously said the bars and gourmet pizza restaurant he opened in Sacramento early this year were pioneer concepts he would like to take elsewhere. Karpaty is now talking with folks in Santa Monica, Hollywood, Las Vegas and Oakland about opening versions of the K Street businesses there, depending on space available. He and Pizza Rock partner Tony Gemignani are also working on plans to open Pizza R

Sacramento needs to build a better image for its downtown, and Downtown Plaza should be “ground zero” for change, urban design experts said Wednesday. City and business leaders often refer to the heart of downtown as the J-K-L Corridor, named for the major streets the area is built on. But referring to downtown that way promotes the idea that it's just an area to move through on the way to somewhere else. The city needs to focus on creating a downtown district that becomes the center of the city, said Betsy Jackson, president of The Urban Agenda Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich. "Stop thinking and speaking of this as a corridor," Jackson said at City Hall during a presentation by a team of urban

An El Dorado Hills couple will bring a bit more glamor to the city by relocating their hair and makeup studio to the heart of downtown Sacramento. Rowena and Takashi Hiraga – a hair stylist/instructor and her business-partner husband – are moving their namesake salon, Rowena & Takashi, from the El Dorado Hills location where they've operated for more than a decade to a new spot in the Cathedral Building at 12th and K streets. They expect to open March 8. The relocation will put the business in a more centralized spot for clients, students, visiting stylists and business partners. The move will also be more convenient for all the Sacramento and San Francisco fashion shows and photo shoots

A desire to protect the historic Crest Theatre helped push someone to buy it last week. Bob Emerick, a wastewater treatment engineer with Stantec Consulting Services in Rocklin, said a love of historic architecture and Sacramento's loss of the Alhambra Theatre helped motivate him to buy the theatre complex for nearly $2.8 million Wednesday. The asking price was $3.12 million. The 41-year-old said he's too young to have really experienced the Alhambra, which was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a supermarket.  But he heard stories about how grand the Alhambra was from his parents and grandparents. Those stories greatly influenced him to act when he learned the Crest was up for sal

The electric whines of drills and saws coming from the corner of 12th and K streets Wednesday indicated the opening of Tequila Museo Mayahuel is still a short way off. The sounds escaped from open doors papered in bright green with the words "Coming Soon to K Street." The restaurant and tequila bar had been expected to open by the end of 2010, and then by Feb. 1. However, the need for electrical changes and other construction delays, as well as permitting issues, have postponed the opening to March, owner Ernesto Delgado said. He hopes to imbue the 5,300-square-foot restaurant, bar and gift shop with a museum-like quality that highlights Mexico's culture through tequila. Born in the Mex

D & S Development, Inc., and CFY Development Inc. – led by David Miry and his son, Bay Miry, and Cyrus Youssefi and his son, Ali Youssefi – are currently working with the city on plans to redevelop the south side of the 700 block of K Street. The developers propose a mix of adaptive reuse and new construction that would include a music club, four restaurants with bars and other retail, second-floor apartments, sidewalk patio seating, rooftop decks for dining and residential use, and a six-story apartment building on the alley. The developers also plan to restore historic brick and wood storefronts facing K Street. City staffers expect to bring the project back before the Preservation an

For some time now, K Street has been wavering between its past life as a Sacramento hot spot and its future as a wilting has-been. The busy street is clearly an institution from 9 to 5, but despite the Crest and the constant stream of events, city planners have been struggling to pull in a real evening crowd. The news is out that a team of fairytale Bay Area developers has joined forces and created Dive Bar, Pizza Rock and District 30. This nightclub-pizza-bar trio hopes to entice the masses for some good old K Street entertainment and after-hours. But is this Bay Area vibe a bit of a stretch in grabbing the attention of the average Midtown resident? Even worse is the grueling task of con

Sacramento residents greeted the city's newest entertainment spots – a mermaid bar, a gourmet pizza restaurant with acrobatic pizza tossers and a high-end dance club – on K Street Mall last week. Pizza Rock, 1020 K St., opened Friday following sneak previews held earlier in the week at all three businesses. Sacramento Press’ Mariel Tagg was at Pizza Rock's grand opening Friday, talking to first-time customers and getting some background from co-owner Tony Gemignani: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/43794/Pizza_Rock_opens_to_the_public Grand openings for Dive Bar and District 30, which flank Pizza Rock, will be held Wednesday. Community contributors Kati Garner and Ron Nabity co

The Sacramento Planning Commission on Thursday applauded a development team's plan for the 700 block of K Street. D & S Development, Inc., and CFY Development Inc. – led by David Miry and his son, Bay Miry, and Cyrus Youssefi and his son, Ali Youssefi – propose a mix of adaptive reuse and new construction for the south side of the block. Since it was introduced, the plan has grown to incorporate Sacramento's historic underground and plenty of outdoor living space, while keeping its residential component smaller and less expensive. The project would also restore historic building façades to help preserve the legacy of K Street, which was once the thriving heart of the city. The plan call

The K Street Mall saw some unusual activity last night as the Dive Bar/Pizza Rock VIP Party came to life. Located between 10th and 11th Streets, three new development projects are reaching completion with the intention of pumping new life into the pedestrian mall area. The Dive Bar boasts an enormous salt water fish tank above the bar, complete with live "mer-people" swimming leisurely overhead. Pizza Rock offers gourmet pizzas, a full bar stretching underneath a life-size Peterbilt truck rig crashing through the wall. Pizza Rock's ceiling displays a variation on Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" from the Sistine Chapel - in this version God is handing an electric guitar to Adam. A plush d

A redevelopment project being considered by the city could help cement K Street Mall's future as an entertainment district. The proposal that went before the city's Preservation Commission Wednesday night would build a live music club with a roof terrace in the historic Banking Hall building at 700 K St., anchoring a key block across from Westfield Downtown Plaza and St. Rose of Lima Park. The plan by D & S Development, Inc., and CFY Development Inc. – led by David Miry and his son, Bay Miry, and Cyrus Youssefi and his son, Ali Youssefi – also proposes four restaurants with bars for the south side of the block, along with 153 new apartments and a nearly 29,000-square-foot, two-level park

Development in Sacramento suffered some significant setbacks in 2010. But there were modest moves forward as well, making for a mixed picture heading into 2011. The focus was on five major projects, which included: 1. The Railyards A suburban Chicago real estate investment firm, the Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, took ownership of most of Sacramento's historic downtown railyards in a courthouse foreclosure auction held in October. Inland foreclosed on the 203-acre Railyards site after then-owner Thomas Enterprises defaulted on nearly $194 million in loans in June. The two sides had been negotiating on a loan extension for several months but failed to agree on terms. Since October

Three new façades add a bit of “wow” to K Street Mall. Work is close to wrapping up on San Francisco nightclub owner George Karpaty's new businesses, Dive Bar, District 30 and Pizza Rock. A month away from the expected openings, contractors applied some of the finishing touches to the exteriors Thursday. The bar, club and restaurant technically occupy one building, owned by Sacramento developer David Taylor and CIM. But the exteriors were rebuilt to look like three distinct, separate spaces – from sleek contemporary to slightly edgy to quaint, Old World charm. The façades are like book covers, designed to entice by giving just a taste of what's inside, said the project's architectural d

Sacramento’s Central City has received a lot of media attention for shootings and muggings in recent months. However, the area is also frequently in the spotlight because of large-scale development projects, such as the downtown Railyards or George Karpaty’s trio of businesses on K Street. The Sacramento Press recently interviewed three City Council members to learn about their plans for the Central City. Councilwoman Angelique Ashby and Councilmen Steve Cohn and Rob Fong shared their priorities for the different parts of the Central City they represent. Ashby’s portion of the area includes the downtown Railyards, K Street, Old Sacramento, Alkali Flat and the River District. Ashby mentio

Sacramento's holiday ice-skating rink opened downtown Friday with fanfare and free skating. About 120 screaming school kids joined Mayor Kevin Johnson, Assemblyman-elect Roger Dickinson and Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault at a noon ceremony to welcome the Westfield Downtown Ice Rink back to St. Rose of Lima Park. The capital's outdoor winter skating rink was built in Midtown last year during a $4.5 million renovation of the park at Seventh and K streets, the 700 block of K Street and a light rail platform relocation. "I think the ice rink is back where it belongs," Dickinson told the crowd shortly before he, Johnson and Ault cut a big red ribbon at the ri