With the recent dry weather and warmer temperatures, Sacramento-area residents might be tempted to ramp up their landscape irrigation. But, the Regional Water Authority and local water providers are recommending restraint. "Plants don't need as much water this time of year, even without rain," said Linda Yager, Regional Water Efficiency Program Manager. Lower temperatures, shorter daylight hours and moisture from fog and rain all combine to reduce the water demands of a typical landscape. Edible gardens and fruit bearing trees have special water requirements, so please consult with a landscape professional or your local Master Gardeners for more information. The Regional Water Authority

Sacramento, CA — The U.S. Commerce Association recently recognized Tony’s Sons Moving & Storage with the “Best of Rancho Cordova Award” in the Moving Company category for the 2011 business year. According to company owner, Bruce Fasolo, receiving the award was a great way to finish up a good year in 2011. “It’s an honor to be recognized as being the best at what you do in your community, said Fasolo. “Our company is looking forward to trying to earn this award again in 2012, which marks our 47th year of helping Sacramento residents and businesses with their relocation and storage needs.” Fasolo’s father, Anthony Fasolo, started the family business in 1965. Over the years, Tony’s Sons Mov

Nathan Dale is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Sacramento. Some locals may remember Dale as the founding member of Sweet Vine back in the 90’s. The band went on to sign with Columbia Records, recording their self-titled CD at the famed Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York. The band toured nationwide before separating in the late 1990's. Dale currently tours with The Jackie Greene Band and has recently release his own CD, “Major Keys Parade.” After listening to his new CD, it became quite obvious that Dale is an extremely diverse musician. The album has a little something for everyone including a little rock, folk and even a tad bit of a Hawaiian sound. The CD starts off with

The purple one was in-the-house at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Friday. Okay, not The Purple One (as in Prince), but the 55 year old standup comedian Sinbad, who was decked out in a freshly tailored purple shirt. I also wouldn’t say “in-the-house,” more like in-the-tent, since it was held in Thunder Valley’s Holiday Pavilion. While it’s a tent, it’s extremely spacious and exquisitely decorated, complete with several bars, restrooms and a whole lotta seats. Sinbad put on a great show, playing to a full house of young and old alike. As soon as he hit the stage, he started talking about how this was such a great location for a casino like Thunder Valley. There’s nothing around for miles ex

Show the NBA you don't need their back-to-back B-ball to enjoy the holiday spirit. During those lulls in family "How have you been?" catching up, endless high calorie snacking, and playing (breaking?) the kid's brand new toys, enjoy local holiday programming made by your neighbors right here in Sacramento County. Here's the schedule of special events - a "snapshot" of our Christmas weekend programming on Channel 17 and streamed on our web site at www.AccessSacramento.org - ENJOY - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Saturday, December 24, 2011 “Celebration Of Lights” – 9:00am “Kid’s Corp Christmas Special” – 11:30am “Giving – Winter Wonderland & Raley Field” – 12:00Noon “Terry Moore

In case you missed it, or want to see it again, tune into Access Sacramento's Channel 17 - (Comcast and Surewest Cable) this Sunday, Dec 18th from 5:00-7:00pm and see the Sacramento Press Club's "Dancing with the Capitol Stars"!  Hear our MC, Dennis Mangers open with an amazing rendition of "Let's Face the Music and Dance" and enjoy his quips through the show.  Ooh and aah at our dancing stars who tango'd, foxtroted and waltzed their way across the stage in their battle for the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy. (Starring: Edie Lambert, Lloyd Levine, Roger Niello, Alyson Huber, Fiona Ma, Ed Fletcher, Brian Joseph, Juliet Williams, Judy Lin, Kevin Riggs, Karen Skelton & Christina Anderson) Deli

Sixty-two-year-old veteran rocker Eddie Money brought his Jingle Bell Rock tour to Thunder Valley Casino Resort on Thursday. Scheduled to appear was former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm and former Jefferson Starship lead singer Mickey Thomas. The day before their performance at Thunder Valley, it was announced that Gramm would not be performing for the remaining tour due to acute laryngitis, so Gramm was not in attendance. As the concert kicked off with Money and Thomas taking the stage, the audience immediately started chanting, “Lou! Lou! Lou!” Money responded by explaining the situation and said they had added a couple of songs to their setlist to make up for the missing Gramm. This wa

A few weeks ago I covered the Chippendales out at Thunder Valley Casino Resort. If you recall, I really started to question my “maleness,” since I kind of enjoyed the show. So to test my maleness I decided to take in a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event. It just so happened that Gladiator Challenge, a promoter of all things MMA, was hosting an event out at Thunder Valley Casino Resort. There were sixteen fights on tap, so I was going to get my fill of fights. It was nice of Gladiator Challenge to have some really nice young ladies walking around in between rounds letting us know what round it was. I found them extremely helpful. For those of you who may not know, an MMA event consists of tw

Wow. What the hell happened out at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Friday night? It seems soft rock group Air Supply, playing to a packed house of lovesick fans, actually came out and rocked the house. I know. I still don’t believe it, but it’s all true! It was bedlam, I tell you. “Here I Am” thinking “Sweet Dreams.” What are the “Chances” I would find myself in a “Sanctuary” where “Me Like You” can feel “The Power of Love” “Everywhere,” only to have a real rock concert break out. Seriously! Air Supply started out innocently enough with “Even the Nights are Better,” and then segueing into “Every Woman in the World.” OK so far, but as veteran performers Russell Hitchcock (lead singer) and

Public Broadcasting’s KVIE studios in Sacramento was transformed into a concert venue Saturday night as Blame Sally took the stage for a fundraiser. This was not your run of the mill fundraiser either. KVIE recorded the performance and will be using the footage to produce a PBS Special, which will ultimately be used in pledge drives across the country and made available in DVD format. So why choose Blame Sally for such an event? KVIE is using Blame Sally to show women of all ages, middle age in particular, that you can accomplish so much more. In their 30’s and 40’s they put their individual careers on hold to start Blame Sally. As a role model, Blame Sally proves that women in their 30’

In the Xoso Sport & Social League final Indoor Kickball season of the year, and a championship game that featured the regular season's top two teams, #2 Reunion Tour pulled away from #1 Turn Your Head and Cough to win the 2011 Late Fall Indoor Kickball title 18-9. Playoff night (last night) kicked off with the play-in matchup of #4 Balls to the Wall versus #5 The A-Team. Balls to the Wall (4-4) built a 19-6 lead after four innings but The A-Team (3-5) rallied with three runs in the fifth and eight more in the sixth before coming up short 19-17. #4 Balls to the Wall advanced to the first semifinal where they faced #1 Turn Your Head and Cough (6-2). After holding Balls to the Wall scoreles

I was recently approached by Todd Wagner at Ninth Street Opus to help publicize an upcoming event over at Public Television’s KVIE in Sacramento. Ninth Street Opus represents a San Francisco all-female group, Blame Sally, scheduled to perform at the KVIE TV station on Saturday, December 3. KVIE and Blame Sally are working together to create a pledge program to help raise money for Public Television on a national level. KVIE will be filming Blame Sally during their performance and using the footage to produce a PBS special which will ultimately be used in their pledge drives across the country. I don’t think I need to go on about the value of public television and what it means for the co

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra mesmerized the audience Saturday afternoon at Power Balance Pavilion in the first of two Christmas shows. For those of you who may not be familiar with TSO, they are a progressive rock band that incorporates classical, orchestral, symphonic and progressive elements into hard rock and heavy metal. They are famous for their series of rock operas and storytelling. This was a high-energy show with a combination of lasers, lights, pyrotechnics and video screens all synchronized to TSO’s music. Dressed in black, the orchestra made their way on stage while chimes were playing. As they were assembling onstage, there were clips of Martin Luther King Jr. from the famo

OMG! I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to write this after the Chippendale’s performance at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Wednesday night. It was only after taking a cold shower and having a glass – scratch that – a bottle of wine that I was able to start thinking clearly. What? No! The water heater went out and a “glass” of wine is how I like to end my day. My intent on writing this is to warn any unsuspecting women who may decide to take in a show like the Chippendales’. Don’t. Seriously, nobody liked the show! It was quite obvious that every woman in the place, which was around 99.9 percent of the people, couldn’t stand the show. I couldn’t believe it! I was completely dumbfoun

Mom-and-pop stores and locally owned businesses are often the ones that suffer when consumers tighten up their budget during tough economic times. With the local economy in mind, The Sacramento Press asked locals if they were given $100 to spend on a locally owned business in Sacramento, how would they spend it? "I support a lot of the small businesses throughout Sacramento, or mom-and-pop (stores), because they are the bread and butter of today's economy,” Financial Analyst Soua Lee, 27, said. Lee, a Rosemont resident, said that he would spend it on groceries at Vang’s Market, a grocery store. "I have to say, I would spend my $100 on a place called Crimson and Clover. It's a reall

The Cirque Shanghai’s Bai Xi put on a breathtaking show Thursday and Friday night at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, playing to a standing room-only crowd both nights. Bai Xi translates to “100 amazing acts.” However, I only counted 16, but they were 16 amazing displays of physical strength and grace. The show was full of spectacular colors, talented young men, women and a number of young girls. It was a magical night with some mind-boggling performances and a variety of visually stunning costumes. As the show opened, the performers started in the back of Pano Hall dressed in spectacularly colorful costumes. Working their way through the audience with a winking parade-style dragon and wavi

Last night featured 150 local young professionals, competing for the right to claim Xoso Dodgeball Champion on their athletic resumes.  Another 100 playoff hopefuls had already had their dreams of dodgeball glory fade into the distance.  The Xoso Sport & Social League offers two divisions on Thursday evenings, separating veteran "A" league teams from newer "B" league teams.  On the B League side of the gym last night, Gym Tan Dodgeball proved that it doesn't always matter where you're seeded. The Fall Season of Xoso dodgeball wrapped up last night with an epic night of playoffs and championship matchups. Coming into the night Drinkin' Team (6-2) and Titsburg Feelers (6-2) arrived with th

In a surprising turn of events, Chocolate Salty Balls emerged as Xoso Sport & Social League's Fall 2011 Recess League champions with a tense 2-1 volleyball victory over previously undefeated Green Dogs and Spam. CSB entered week 8 of the regular season in 4th place but was able to leapfrog over UR FIRED and Drexel Dragons into 2nd place by winning their final week matchup while the other playoff contenders lost. For the two team playoff, CSB (3-3-2) chose to square off against #1 seed Green Dogs and Spam (8-0) in volleyball as opposed to the other Recess sports (Indoor Kickball and Dodgeball).  Despite volleyball being CSB's strength and Green Dogs' weakness, it was Green Dogs that seized

Seventies musicmakers Midnight Star and A Taste of Honey packed Pano Hall at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Friday night, keeping the audience on their feet for most of the show. A late start didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm as Grammy Award-winning A Taste of Honey, featuring original band member Janice Marie Johnson, stormed the stage. Johnson was decked out in a pink sequin dress and high heels and sporting her bass guitar. As soon as the band kicked into gear, the audience was on their feet, as the band played all their hits like “I’m Talking About You” and “Disco Dancin’.” After a quick wardrobe change into an orange kimono, Johnson sang her hit song “Sukiyaki” as the audience

On Sunday, Xoso Sport & Social League concluded the inaugural season of Xoso Coed Softball. As we've all heard when it comes to the playoffs... anything can happen. On Sunday, "anything" did. The #1 seeded "We Got The Runs" had rolled through the regular season schedule, ending with an undefeated 8-0 record. In game one, they matched up against the #4 seeded, "Foul Balls and Dirty Bunts" who came in with a 3-5 record. FBaDB were playing shorthanded, but managed to hang in there against a full #1 team. "We Got the Runs" put up the maximum number of runs in the first inning, and lead 9-2 after one. FBaDB managed to get within five runs at the end of the second inning, and battled back to c