Easter Day 2013 was full of storm clouds and a bit of rain. Clouds add something to scenes we are used to seeing with blue sky above. The sky turned from some sun to barely any sun as the day progressed. Here are some shots: Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tuesday morning and highlights our best stories, photos and videos from the week prior. Sign me up.

The 75-year-old Tower Bridge connecting Sacramento and West Sacramento may be one of the area’s icons, but the more industrial steel-truss I Street Bridge is older – built 100 years ago. “The I Street Bridge is a very important part of our business today,” said Aaron Hunt, spokesman for the Union Pacific railroad, which owns the bridge. “We run trains across it every day of the year.” The I Street Bridge is 363 feet long and weighs about 7 million pounds, according to a fact sheet distributed by Union Pacific. When it was built, the swinging center of the bridge was the heaviest of its type in the world, and though it no longer holds that distinction, it remains the heaviest in the Unit

An array of designs submitted as part of the Catalyst Capitol Mall Design Competition in an effort to spark a “big idea” for future enhancement of the corridor from Tower Bridge to 10th Street were reviewed by a jury Oct. 7, and winners will be announced Nov. 9. While the winner can’t yet be revealed, Kris Barkley, competition adviser to the city on behalf of the American Institute of Architects, described some key assets of the winning proposal. “The first-place winner, I think, is really, really focused on what I think the people of Sacramento are feeling will work there,” he said. “It’s a tree-centered development that improves the urban canopy we have in Sacramento and brings it more

More than 70 design entries have been submitted for the Capitol Mall design competition to redo the section of the street west of the Capitol building, and organizers said Thursday that they expect to get up to a total of between 150 and 200 over the next couple of weeks. The competition’s goal is to draw interest from international designers, architects and urban planners as well as from locals, with the winner taking home a $20,000 prize. “We’ve been really pleased with the turnout,” said Kristopher Barkley of the American Institute of Architects Central Valley Chapter, which is advising the city on the competition. He added that the 70 entries have come from all six inhabited contine

Rain? What rain? A tidal wave wouldn't have stopped people from showing up to the 27th annual Sacramento Pride parade and party last Saturday at the Capitol Mall. The area was bookended by the gorgeous Tower Bridge at one end and the State Capital at the other end, a great backdrop for the Pride celebration. Sacramento's 2011 Pride parade and party lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Both 3rd and 7th streets were reserved for the festivities which included vendor booths, a live entertainment stage, an area for a diverse selection of food and a dance tent. This year’s entertainment schedule included acts such as Miss Coco Peru, Raquela, Tom Goss, Luciana, Jovi Radtke a

Sacramento City College's theater department, City Theatre, presents a program of eight short plays at the West Sacramento Community Center "Black Box" Theatre, at 1075 West Capitol Boulevard. The plays all center on Sacramento's iconic Tower Bridge, ranging from the historic to the fantastic. Because the City College's campus theater is currently undergoing renovation, they have moved their 2011 program to the "Black Box" Theatre, a new facility in West Sacramento. This location provides a most fitting setting for plays with this subject--chances are good that those who attend will cross over or pass within view of the Tower Bridge on the way to the theater. Eight playwrights composed s

The past year saw Sacramento businesses, cultural icons and landmarks from Tower Bridge to Cafe Marika celebrate significant milestones. Most notable was the Crocker Art Museum’s 125th birthday on May 8. That was just one aspect of the museum’s big year, which included the completion of a decade-long expansion project that opened Oct. 10. For more details about the Crocker in 2010, click here. The North Sacramento Land Company turned 100 in September, and the company’s president, Bob Slobe, credited the business’ longevity to staying small and having deep roots in the community. To read more about the company’s history and its ties to the California State Railroad Museum, click here. Al

As part of the 75th anniversary celebration of Tower Bridge, the Hawaiian Chieftain embarked on its journey home to Gray's Harbor in Aberdeen, WA under the raised middle section of the bridge. Jody Jones, District 3 Director, left; Christopher Cabaldon, Mayor City of West Sacramento; Kevin Johnson, Mayor City of Sacramento and Cindy McKim, Director, California Dept. of Transportation were among State and local officials  who spoke about the bridge's history and its importance to Sacramento during a ceremony on Promenade Circle in Old Sacramento this morning. Costumed docents from the Old Sacramento Living History Program were part of the celebration. An anniversary cake, made by Cakes b

One of Sacramento’s iconic landmarks, Tower Bridge, celebrates its 75th anniversary Wednesday. At its inauguration on Dec. 15, 1935, the opening was heralded with the release of about 100 homing pigeons, who carried the news throughout the state. Although it’s now a lot easier to spread news, Caltrans spokesman Mike Dinger said the bridge operates with the same basic equipment it has for the past three quarters of a century. “We’ve made some upgrades for safety, but it’s almost all the original equipment,” he said. Bridge construction began in July of 1934, using some of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal funds for the project, which was estimated to cost $700,000. The final price

A study to map out a streetcar route linking Sacramento to West Sacramento is expected to start this fall, according to city Transportation Department spokeswoman Linda Tucker. More than $400,000 in funding has been set aside for the study -- $310,000 from federal grant funds obtained earlier this year and $90,000 from local transportation funds, said Azadeh Doherty, a principal planner in the department. The current plan for the streetcar includes a path in West Sacramento, but does not lay out a route in Sacramento. Under the most recent plan, the streetcar would run from West Sacramento City Hall, across Tower Bridge and stop in Old Sacramento at the foot of the bridge. The city will

The city of Sacramento is back at the drawing board — literally — on its efforts to set up a streetcar connecting to West Sacramento. A new study to plan the streetcar route in Sacramento has received $310,000 in federal grant funds. An additional $90,000 from a local source will help pay for the study, according to a July 27 report from the city’s Transportation Department. The City Council signed off on the new funding Tuesday night. “What we’ll be doing now is looking now more broadly at the best routes for that system on the Sacramento side,” Councilman Steve Cohn said Wednesday. In the most recent plan, the streetcar would run from West Sacramento City Hall, across Tower Bridge an

While the riverfront areas near downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento are quickly developing, the two cities are asking for input on possible new river crossings. The cities formed the Sacramento River Crossings Alternatives Study, which will result in a report to the Sacramento and West Sacramento city councils by the end of December. Monthly input is provided by a Stakeholder Advisory Committee, made up of neighborhood associations, business owners and local environmental groups (previous meeting coverage can be found here and here). Monday's SAC meeting featured an evening rush-hour bus tour of possible crossing locations. A survey was also released Monday to field public input on f

A colorful line-up of boats decorated with multi-colored lights toured the Sacramento River, starting from Sacramento Marina,  past Old Sacramento, all the way to the Virgin Sturgeon and back.   SacPress Photos | Kati Garner      

Sacramento- "After 9 o'clock this morning, we received a report from a guest at the Embassy Hotel that 'there's a body floating in the river'" said Capt. Jim Doucett, Public Information Officer for Sacramento City Fire. Per Doucette, crews arrived and found a body in the water next to the docks on the south side of the Tower Bridge, behind the Embassy Suites Hotel in Old Sacramento. The Coroner's office responded, and with the assistance of Sacromento Police and Sacramento Fire, removed the body from the water. Per Sgt. Norm Leong, PIO for the Sacramento Police Department, the Coroner's office has identified the body to be that of 18 year old George Ho. The Elk Grove resident and recent