After the shooting death of a 32-year old man Friday night near 28th and J streets, Midtown residents are responding with a protest of an alcohol license, and pleas for Mayor Kevin Johnson to act. “This issue has not yet been dealt with a long-term sustainable manner and now someone has died from gun violence,” George Raya and Julie Murphy wrote in a press release from the Marshall School/New Era Neighborhood Association. [See the full text of the press release below] Sacramento County Coroner identified Friday’s shooting victim as Joseph A. Long of Carmichael. Long was a bystander and not involved in the incident, according to police. “One of my close friends that made an incredible di

A pilot parking program for Second Saturday Art Walks that would have affected Midtown street spaces is dead in the water, a staffer from City Councilman Rob Fong’s office confirmed Thursday. The program would have limited parking from 16th Street to 29th Street, and the south side of G Street to the south side of I Street to “residential only” parking on Second Saturdays. All other vehicles would have been limited to parking for two hours. “There’s not a lot of support for the program in our area,” said Julie Murphy of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association. The association sent a letter formally opposing the pilot program to Fong on June 11, stating that similar ide

Sacramento Old City Association 36th Annual Home Tour What: A tour of 8 historic buildings in the Marshall School neighborhood, and street fair at 27th and J Street. When: Sunday, September 18, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM Where: Marshall Park, 27th & J Street, Sacramento How Much: $20 in advance, $25 day of event On Sunday, September 18, the Sacramento Old City Association (SOCA) presents its 36th annual tour of historic homes in Sacramento’s central city. Each year, we offer an inside look into the beautiful and historic buildings that line Midtown and Downtown streets, and some of the newest infill development projects in the city. This year’s tour of the Marshall School neighborhood, in the north

Over the past several weeks, the Save Sunny's Market Campaign attempted to obtain a change in the law so that we could decide as a neighborhood whether or not new owners Josh and Monica Patel ought to possess an alcohol license.  As the leader of this campaign, you might imagine that I became emotionally invested in the effort. It is with regret that I found out yesterday that we will not be able to get the change in law that Sunny's Market needs.  People just want government to work and as someone who has been in and around government, I hoped to be able to navigate around the some of the complexity.  Unfortunately, the bureaucracy proved to be too large of a barrier. So it is with even

Anyone who's been following the Save Sunny's Market campaign, might wonder how we got to this point.  In short, state law allows the negligent actions of a previous business owner to impact the potential success of a new owner.  After researching the legislative history, the answer to why this is the case is somewhat mysterious. The legislation in question is AB 1042 (Chapter 538, Statutes of 1996), authored by Assemblywoman Dede Alpert, and came about to "reduce the number of applications for liquor licenses by premises who have continually been denied a license and thus reducing the impact that these 'unwarranted' applications have on communities." Specifically, residents of the Linda

Thanks to the support of so many Marshall School/New Era Park (MSNEP) residents, the Save Sunny's Market campaign was able to deliver eleven pages of petition signatures to the offices of Assemblymember Roger Dickinson and Senator Darrell Steinberg yesterday. The 165 signatures demonstrate broad-based neighborhood support for the new operators of Sunny’s Market to acquire a beer and wine license. If you are just hearing about this issue for the first time, Josh and Monica Patel – the new owners of Sunny’s, are at risk of closing their doors due to the negligent actions of the previous owner who violated the law several times by selling alcoholic beverages to underage decoys. Under curren

This week, members of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association helped launch a campaign to save Sunny's Market.  A corner store at 28th and G Streets, Sunny's was acquired four months ago by new owners Josh and Monica Patel. Because of mutiple alcohol sales violations by the previous owner, a one-year moratorium on a new license has been placed on the site, notwithstanding the change in ownership.  At a time when Midtown residents have sought to further restrict the availability of alcohol in the central city, it's ironic that neighbors of Sunny's have come together in support of the Patels acquiring a license.  However, options appear limited at the moment because the r

The owners of a contested bar with a mixed martial arts fighting concept withdrew their application earlier this month, but neighboring residents are still concerned that new plans for the Midtown space will be the same operation by another name. The MMA Fight Bar concept was planned by the owners of Luck’s BBQ, which at 2502 J St. is next door to the vacant space the fight bar would have taken. The application for an alcohol license for Fight Bar was withdrawn by owners in mid-July, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control office confirmed Friday that no new application has been filed yet. “They’ve decided to change their format there,” said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Ro

“Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass. For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas. And you make them long, and you make them tough. But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can’t get off… Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air. But will you keep on building higher til there’s no more room up there? … I know we’ve come a long way, Were changing day to day, But tell me, where do the children play?” Cat Stevens In the rush to make Sacramento a big city we seem to concentrate on the expanding bars, restaurants, basketball arena, high rises, and other superficial aspects of a big city. We forget that key components to a successful revitalized city are the childr

BarWest Burgers & Wings will be taking the place of Aura on J Street in Midtown, and in addition to food, it is bringing a sense of cooperation with a local neighborhood association that has filed complaints for previous bars in that area, including the now-closed GV Hurley’s. The opening day is tentatively set for mid-July. Co-owners Trevor Shults and Todd Zancaner are teaming up with local restaurateur Randy Paragary, for whom Shults worked in numerous positions – most recently in marketing. Shults said he has always been a fan of the block that contains Centro Cocina Mexicana, Red Lotus and Harlow’s, so moving into the two-level spot at 2724 J St. was a “no-brainer.” “It will be affo

It was confirmed last week California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus will move from the Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the College Glen neighborhood. Since August, CMP leased the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter. Next Thursday and Friday, the school will be closed for the move and will resume at the new campus on Nov. 16. SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond met with CMP board members, students and parents Tuesday night at the campus' new location. After stating reasons for the move, he answered questions from parents. "The old Marshall School, although a very beautiful facility and

A five-hour board meeting on the fate of California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus ended around 10:45 p.m. Monday night with a resolution: If an assessment says the Marshall School building in which the school resides is not compliant with state building codes, the school must move "expeditiously." If the assessment, which has still not been made public, says the building does meet minimum state codes, the board will reconvene to decide if the school will move or not. Nearly 100 people - parents, elementary school students and the California Montessori Project's nine board members, superintendent and a legal advisor - filled a multipurpose room at the Marshall School in Midtown to s