The Sacramento Press will be live streaming video at the launch of the first Oak Park Farmers' Market Saturday, May 15. This new farmers' market will continue throughout the summer every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 34th and Broadway across from Old Soul Coffeehouse . Join us for the ribbon cutting ceremony and live music as well as all the wonderful fresh produce of the season. The residents of the Oak Park community have been working for years to bring a farmers' market to this, at times, troubled neighborhood. The Oak Park Farmers' Market is a project of NeighborWorks Sacramento, in partnership with community residents, community garden advocates, backyard growers, and fresh

The fourth annual Celebrate Oak Park community event entertained many families Saturday. The event, which took place at McClatchy Park during the afternoon, drew hundreds of people with live music, food and a kids area that had inflatable obstacle courses and a rock-climbing wall. Event organizer Joany Titherington said the event started as a home improvement fair eight years ago before transforming into something that promoted community involvement while shining light on Oak Park's unique legacy. "This event celebrates the vibrant history we've had here," Titherington said. She added that when Oak Park was established in 1887, it becamse Sacramento's first suburb. Since then, it has be

Free video chat by Ustream   Join us for the 4th Annual Celebrate Oak Park Party in the Park Saturday, May 8, 2010. The Sacramento Press will be live streaming video of ' The Party in the Park' today from 12 pm to 5 pm at McClatchy Park, 35th Street and 5th Avenue. Celebrate Oak Park brings residents from all neighborhoods together to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the Sacramento's oldest suburb . This wonderful family friendly event includes performances by local musicians, great food, and information about various organizations and agencies geared to enhancing our community. Kids will love the UC Davis Med Center Passport Play area featuring a Rock Climbing Wall, V

 The Sacramento Press is excited to be using live, streaming video as a new media tool. We hope that by streaming the events we go to live, it will enhance the connection we have with our current readership, engage the community at these events and encourage new readership not just in downtown and Midtown, but all neighborhoods in the Sacramento area. Our first live streaming video experiment at the de Vere's Irish Pub's St. Patrick's Day block party was a big hit with The Sacramento Press' readers. St. Patrick's Day allowed us to realize that live video really helps us to showcase the great events happening in our neighborhoods and entice Sacramentans to get out and explore our communit

Sacramento City Council candidate and law enforcement officer Henry Harry is troubled by youth violence in Sacramento. Harry, an Oak Park resident and a 13-year Sacramento County deputy sheriff, said youth violence is one of the key reasons he’s running for Lauren Hammond’s District 5 City Council seat. There are ways to prevent youth violence, Harry said, but too many young people are dying in Sacramento. “And it breaks my heart to see it,” he said. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Harry, 44, is one of five candidates running for the District 5 seat. Hammond, the sitting councilwoman, is competing in a race for Assemblyman

Lawyer Patrick Kennedy described himself as a rare City Council candidate because local business and labor groups are backing his campaign. Kennedy is endorsed by the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the Sacramento Metro Chamber. “Both (organizations) have worked with me,” Kennedy said. “They see that I’m fair.” The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Kennedy, 42, is running against four candidates for District 5, the seat held by Lauren Hammond. She is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones' seat. Oak Park, Curtis Park, Colonial Heights and Tahoe Park West are among the neighborhoods in District 5. Kennedy, a fourth-generation S

 For the last week, I've been living the life of Riley. Jess' aunt and uncle took her little cousins on vacation to Hawaii.  We've been housesitting their place in Land Park. Riley lives in a three-bedroom house in the suburbs, he's got a cat and a dog.  And this week, so do I.                 I thought I'd share with you some of the people and places that I've experienced during my week as a Sacramento suburbanite. A Suburban Cowboy, if you will.  While I'm not ready to trade in my 'Vette for a minivan a la Steve Sanders, BH 90210, Episode 7, Season 10 (a part of me died that day. Also, no one's gonna mistake my 1990 Honda Accord for a Corvette with plates that read I8A-4RE), I found th

Jay Schenirer’s City Council campaign has brought him face-to-face with Sacramento’s unemployed population. Joblessness in District 5, which includes Oak Park and Colonial Heights, is “horrific,” Schenirer said. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Schenirer (sha-NEER-ur), 53, is competing against four other candidates for Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s seat. Hammond is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones' seat against Kevin McCarty, her colleague on the City Council. Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento County Supervisor, is also running for the seat. Schenirer is an education policy consultant who has lived in Sacramento since 1981. H

Terrence Johnson said he wants Oak Park and surrounding South Sacramento neighborhoods to have more clout in City Council decision-making. “I felt as though the (District 5) neighborhoods didn’t have a voice,” he said. Johnson, 58, is one of five candidates competing for the seat held by Councilwoman Lauren Hammond. In addition to Oak Park, District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Curtis Park, Colonial Heights and Tahoe Park West. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Johnson is a 20-year Sacramento resident and the executive director of the Oak Park Business Association and the Stockton Boulevard Partnership. He is chairman of

District 5 City Council candidates came face to face with community members at the Oak Park Neighborhood Association's monthly meeting Thursday. Four of the five candidates met with residents at the Sacramento Food Bank to discuss their political plans in an open forum. Approximately 40 people attended to ask questions and gain more insight on their potential representatives. Candidates running are Terrence Johnson, Leticia Hilbert, Patrick Kennedy, Jay Schenirer and Henry Harry. Hilbert was absent from the meeting. Chairs formed a half-circle and faced the seated candidates. Questions were collected from the audience and presented by members of the neighborhood association's board of dire

After the sign's installation was halted Thursday, it was permitted to go up Friday afternoon.  OakPark, Sacramento, CA Friday, February 12, 2010 The sign installation crew was literally about to drill the mounting holes for the new Old Soul Co. sign in Oak Park Thursday morning when a call came in from the city to halt the installation. Due to the building being historical, there was an issue of placement and electrical connections. (see previous article) Just a little more than twenty four hours later, the installation was approved and the sign was installed around 3 P.M. Friday afternoon, exactly in the spot intended and electrical hooked up to light the sign just as planned. Old Sou

The City of Sacramento halted efforts to mount Old Soul Co. sign Thursday morning. Oak Park, Sacramento, CA February 11, 2010 Excited patrons of the new Old Soul Co. location in Oak Park were eager to see the iconic glistening new sign ready to go up Thursday morning and so was the crew. That eagerness was squelched when a call came to the Alpha Signs' crew, from the city, to halt. The building at 35th and Broadway is a historical building and though the old Starbucks sign was in the same location, the city won't allow the sign installers to drill new holes in the historic bricks nor is the sign allowed to have any exposed electrical cable. Furthermore, the city wants the sign above the

An unoccupied South Oak Park home explodes Sunday morning and the cause is under investigation. An unoccupied home in the South Oak Park area exploded early Sunday morning. Debris from the home blew all the way out to the street. The home was a total loss and while the cause is under investigation, natural gas has not been ruled out. Per Sac City Fire, the home was a total loss and no one was injured. CLICK HERE TO VIEW SCENE VIDEO Visit us at Maverick Photography and SacMav for the action news the News misses  

Old Soul Co opened their third Sacramento location Thursday morning in Oak Park. An old familiar spot has a new face in Oak Park and the community is well pleased. Starbucks shut down its 35th and Broadway location last year, much to the disapointment of many. The location was a community hub where many gathered daily to socialize, conduct business or just relax with a good book and a cup of coffee. Despite many letters from patrons voicing their conerns to Starbucks corporate office of the closure, the doors were finally closed in September of 2009. Knowing the community cenergy the coffee house brought regular goers better known there as "The Usual Suspects" were confident something go

About 60 community members gathered at the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services last night to make the holidays a little bit brighter for Oak Park's children.   The Oak Park Neighborhood Association has collected 300 toys for its Oak Park Toy Give-Away, which began Nov. 22 and will continue until Dec. 18. "Imagine knowing that you may not receive a gift...Kids everywhere look forward to the thrill of opening gifts and we want to make sure that kids in Oak Park get to experience the excitement," said board member Michael Boyd, "Even more importantly, we want them to know they live in a community that cares about them; a community that values them, and a community that will help them."

In preparation for the Toy Give-Away by the Oak Park Neighborhood Association (OPNA), the community is invited to the Gift Wrapping and Pot Luck dinner on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services at 3333 3rd Avenue. All are invited to join the festivities, bring some food, maybe a gift and or wrapping and get into the season of sharing. Or just show up and eat some food, meet some new friends, and help with the wrapping. OPNA is collecting and will distribute gifts to Oak Park children for the 5th year. Each year, hundreds of children receive gifts and this year the number is likely to be even greater than previous years. The goal is t

The DIY Network will feature one of Sacramento's very own on the Wednesday, December 3rd episode of House Crashers.  Eli Bob, a bartender and native Sacramentan is the owner of a loft at the 4th Avenue Lofts development in Oak Park which was recently the focus of a "crash".  Eli's loft was inundated with droves of contractors, production crew, friends and host Josh Temple back in October for three days during the remodel.  The upcoming episode entitled, "Rock N Roll Loft Lounge" the shows website describes the crash as follows: A single young bartender transforms his plain loft into a place to mix up drinks, fun and edgy style. With a stone covered wall, mounted stainless fireplace, diamo

On November 21, 2009, the Sacramento Building Healthy Communities collaborative hosted two events in Oak Park and South Sacramento, designed to educate communities on the 10-year Building Healthy Communities (BHC) process. Earlier this year, the California Endowment awarded funding to 14 communities over ten years as part of their Building Healthy Communities program. This effort was designed to infuse at least $10 million into each community to bring about systemic change. The efforts are to be driven by four goals: • Health systems are family-centered and prioritize prevention. • Schools anchor communities, promote healthy behaviors and are a gateway for resources and services. • Human

Old Soul Co. is hosting the "Soul of the Soul" Food Donation Drive on Thanksgiving Day at it's newest location in Oak Park. The local coffee company is slated to open its doors to the neighborhood in early 2010 with it's third retail location.  Old Soul will replace the now closed Starbuck's that once anchored the 40 Acres Art Gallery complex when it was remodeled back in 2003. According to the company's website, One of the guiding principles of Old Soul from the beginning has always been "to be better tomorrow than we are today"; in our minds, this principle includes everything from our own individual self improvement to our overall product improvement. We recognize how these principles

Sister’s United, Inc., Recently Opens The “House of Esther.” Sister’s United, Inc., a local non-profit corporation recently held their grand opening for the “House of Esther” on Friday, October 2, 2009. Many of the attendees marveled at the beauty of the home located at 3334 4th Avenue, in the heart of Oak Park. The House of Esther is the first of many from Sister’s United, Inc., opening in the Sacramento Community, and is more than Board & Care Housing; this home offers upscale living and beautiful décor. Those entering this home participate in a unique Empowerment Program purposefully designed to transform lives, and build strong affective leaders. The unique program focuses on holisti