I was out and about the day before Christmas Eve and as usual looking for something to eat when I came across Sweetwater Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant stands on a decent piece of midtown real estate with a good amount of foot traffic through the neighborhood. Upon walking in you are immediately facing the bar. Since there is no podium or hostess we sat ourselves and our server Jo Beth promptly came by with menus. One of the first things I noticed was the extremely bright lights which took so much away from what would have otherwise been a very welcoming room. I’ve been in emergency rooms more dimly lit. The crowd was quiet and average at the bar most likely due to the fact it was s

This four-part series features very different itineraries to celebrate 2010 downtown. Whether your idea of a perfect New Year’s Eve involves funky beats, bottles of bubbly, a caravan of kids, or haute cuisine, the Central City is the place to be! Downtown is home to some of Sacramento’s coolest bars and clubs, with many venues offering VIP services that can take your night ‘to the next level.’ Part two showcases these hotspots and their VIP amenities like private booths, bottle service, dedicated staff and complimentary champagne.  Part Two: Party like a rock star! Over at 10th and K, Cosmo Café, Cosmopolitan Cabaret and Social Nightclub are partnering to offer something for all ages th

So, you survived Christmas. Now the big question isn’t whether or not you’ve finished your holiday shopping, it’s all about what to do this New Year’s Eve. This four-part series aims to take the mystery and anxiety out of what to do in Sacrmento to ring in the New Year. Each day, we’ll feature very different downtown ways to celebrate 2010. Whether your idea of a perfect New Year’s Eve involves funky beats, bottles of bubbly, a caravan of kids, or haute cuisine, the Central City is the place to be! Part One: Family style Got kids? Start your evening early with a visit to the California Museum’s Out of this World exhibit, an exhibition of famous television and movie costumes sure to deligh

On Tuesday night The Capitol Creative Collective in partnership with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership hosted their first Idea Fair. The event, which was hosted at The Mix at 16th and L streets, provided a forum for local architects to showcase their vision for future downtown development. Several dozen architects and interested individuals attended the intimate event which was held on The Mix's second-floor patio. “We wanted to give people an opportunity to get excited about their city,” said Lisa Martinez of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. “The projects are more of a show and tell. This forum is a great place for people to learn and get inspired.” Projects ranging from the cr

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership on Wednesday identified its primary strategy to help drive downtown's economic development for 2010 and beyond. The business group's board also voted to accept a study of the J-K-L corridor prepared by Downtown Works, a Washington, D.C. retail consultancy firm. The full and final report was presented at the partnership's annual meeting, held Wednesday morning at the Citizen Hotel. Within the next month or so, the business group will identify the "core" three to five strategies out of nearly 30 that were approved for 2010 through 2012. "Probably the most important element that has come out of the study is to restate a concept that has long been consid

I visited one of my favorite brew pubs on Thursday evening with my wife and son. Brew It Up which is located on the corner of 14th and H Street in downtown Sacramento. While wine is my first love, I am an absolute freak for hops. If you are not familiar with Brew It Up, let me bring you up to speed. Owner Michael Costello opened the original location in Davis 13 years ago. The first spot was more of a place for locals to do some home brewing. Along the way Mr. Costello decided to go the route of a full service restaurant and move the operation to Sacramento. This establishment is truly one of a kind in the area as it covers all of the bases. You can come in for a beer, glass of wine or a

The First Annual Sacramento Parade of Lights began at 17th and Capitol on Saturday evening.  An eclectic group of participants and onlookers crowded the mile-long route. For larger-sized images please visit: anthonybento.com

A revised proposal by USA Hospitality, Inc. and their equity partners Consus Asset Management and Industrial General has been submitted for building a Marriott Renaissance Hotel at the corner of 8th & K Street. The new proposal includes a decrease in the number of hotel rooms from 409 to 300, and a decrease in the number of parking spaces from 372 to 350 while adding 100 condominiums on top of the parking garage as a second phase of the project. The total cost to build the project went up from $137 million to $162 million along with the needed city subsidy to build from $31.5 million to $33 million. The developer has asked that the city give them the land which is city-owned for free, and

It must have been a surreal experience for those on the RT at 10th and O streets to spot the likes of John Madden, Carol Burnett and George Lucas walking down the red carpet in their awards-show best at the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. Anyone who actually got off at the stop may have caught Burnett's signature Tarzan call or had a chance for Lucas to sign any surface capable to be written on. Dozens of others, however, thought ahead and brought glossy “Star Wars,” “Terminator” and sports stills for Lucas, Gov. Schwarzenegger and Madden to sign, respectively. The occasion for this "who’s who" of California’s best, 13 in all, was their induction into the state’s Hall

 *   You have likely heard the old joke that lab rats are being replaced by lawyers because the lab workers do not get emotionally attached to lawyers.  Or the one about a thousand lawyers being chained together at the bottom of the ocean being a “good start”.  As these jokes (and the hundreds of others) show, lawyers have a bad reputation.  Personally, I have never had the need for one and only know a few, and I have worked pretty hard at maintaining the status quo on both of those points.  It seemed to me that lawyers are for people who live near secret toxic waste dumpsites.  Recently, my work helping small businesses with marketing led me to a local Law Firm and Real Estate company

If you build it, they will come. What's been said about baseball diamonds in Iowa is now being said for downtown Sacramento's future retail market, according to a retail consultancy firm that has just finished a study of the J-K-L corridor. In this case, "they" represent 72 percent of the greater Sacramento area's 1.65 million population: "urban chic" Sacramentans who own homes in the central city; young, child-free metrorenters; "in style" suburbanites who love the gritty city; long-time residents and new homeowners living just outside the core; and connoisseurs who want the best of everything, said Scott Schuler with Downtown Works of Washington, D.C. "You have got to draw people from

A second consecutive perefect season slipped through Purple Reign's fingers in their second to last game of the season. The defending champion's seventeen game winning streak was snapped on October 28, falling 4-3 to Midtown Division champions, Beans and White Rice. These strong and well tested teams join undefeated top seed and Old Sacramento Division champions, Out Like a Fat Kid as the favorites entering tonight's season ending tournament. Out Like A Fat Kid's only loss in their last seventeen games came in the Semi-Finals of the summer dodgeball season, losing in overtime to Balls Deep in a hard fought game. The Fat Kids' perfect season leaves some questioning how prepared they enter

Sacramento’s Alchemist Community Development Corporation hosted a party and fundraiser to mark its fifth anniversary Thursday evening, and veggies never seemed so cool. At “Cinco de Alchemist,” about 150 guests enjoyed delightful offerings from local restaurants Mulvaney’s B&L, The Waterboy, Taylor’s Market, Magpie Caterers, Mikuni and more. Live music by Caribbean Jazz and Musical Charis complemented the celebratory mood. Alchemist CDC was founded in 2004 by Wendy Carter, Lisa Nelson and Chris Aguirre to promote equitable community development in Sacramento. The nonprofit group believes that the overall health of the region depends on the health of urban centers, and they are currently

Sacramento is the "City of Trees". For better or worse that also means city of leaves. While suburban areas put their green waste in bins, the denser central neighborhoods have leaf piles picked off the street regularly and seasonally by the "leaf claw". This is how it's been done for years, and how many other cities do it. However, recently a few local bureaucrats have been pushing to move the entire central city to containerized bin pickup. In the suburbs, containerized green waste bins make sense. Big bins are wheeled into big backyards for weekend yard work year-round. It also makes pickup more efficient since suburban homes are sprawled out. However, in the city containerized bins ar

At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Kevin Johnson introduced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. It was held on the 25th floor of the US Bank building downtown, featuring panoramic views of the skyline with Cal Expo and the Sacramento Railyards in the background. Johnson's "rules" include coming up with a plan that doesn't depend on taxes, making sure the city is not a "stalking horse" for a deal elsewhere and utilizing experienced community members. He also announced that a task force will be established and that there will be an open call for proposals, with guidelines coming in the next few days. "I think it's time to reinvigorate a

On Monday, October 19th, parents of the charter school California Montessori Project (CMP)-Capitol Campus where surprised to learn through a letter from CMP Director, Gary Bowman, that Mr. Raymond, the new Superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), was requesting that the Capitol Campus be relocated from the Old Marshall School (2718 G Street), a facility the school had moved into only 3 months prior, because the building was now deemed unsafe. The Capitol Campus is to be relocated in the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (in the College Glen area) far from the current location forcing hundreds of families on the roads. Moreover the campus has to leave the prem

 Three young women navigated the west sidewalk of 18th Street last Friday evening. The one in front says to her friends behind her, "Last time we were down here, I was thinking I might like to live here." The Friday night scene was crackling, with loud music filling the air and cars filling the streets. "Yeah," says her friend, "but you'd need a place with a driveway. There's actually a lot more of them than I thought." The third woman says, "You wouldn't have much of a back yard." The trio crossed 18th Street at Capitol and stopped to reclaim their car from the valet. The street parking or East End Parking Garage may have been closer to whichever business they were coming from, but the

The Sacramento Community Theater has been in use for 35 years and has not upgraded since it’s opening in 1974. The Theater still hosts world-class events but a renovation is needed by adding additional restrooms, concessions, lobby space, and infrastructure to meet the needed of and expectations of today’s audiences and clients. On Tuesday the 20th, the City Council/Financing Authority will accept the current Community Center Theater Renovation Project conceptual design and issue a Request for Qualifications for architectural services to complete the design work. A contract for construction could begin as early as June 2011 and continue work through the summer. The Theater will remain open

A clean bill of health and an outpouring of customer support have prompted the reopening of a wildly popular downtown lunch spot, La Bonne Soupe Café. On Wednesday, owner Daniel Pont will resume serving the French onion soup Zagat rated as the best in the world only months ago, as well as the sandwiches and other food that earned his restaurant Zagat's top rating in Sacramento. The cafe passed a Sacramento County health reinspection Friday, nine days after a restaurant inspector closed it upon finding cockroaches. Pont, a renowned 70-year-old French chef, said Tuesday he's recovering from the stress and heartbreak that landed him in the hospital just before the first scheduled reinspect

Mayor Kevin Johnson has put it to the owners of the troubled Westfield Downtown Plaza: Either you're in or you're out. The company, Westfield Group, has only another month or so to tell the city whether it will invest in its downtown Sacramento mall the way it's investing in Westfield Galleria at Roseville, Johnson told Westfield representatives and downtown business owners Monday. "If not, we need you to not hold our city hostage anymore. We need you to sell and let the city move forward," he said. "In November or so, we need you to realize if you're in, you're in. If you're not, you're not." For at least 11 years, the city has been negotiating over Downtown Plaza with Westfield, perha