Despite the intermittent rain and chilly winds of the past weeks, summer is ahead, and cold beverages and fresh foods are at their best.  The Sacramento Press asked locals what favorite drink or food they turn to to cool off in the summer heat. Zuleyma Hercules is a law student who recently moved from Modesto to Rancho Cordova. Hercules said she loves ice-cold Pepsi with three cubes of ice. “I’m very specific,” she said. Hercules also enjoys cherry Icees from Chevron and Haagen Dazs chocolate ice cream. Wincie Pierce, a construction worker from the Fair Oaks area, said, “I always drink water.” Pierce added that he enjoys eating fresh melons and barbecues in the summer.   “We barbecu

Floods in 1986 and 1997, as well as a levee break in 2004, costing lives and billions in damage, contributed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency due to the threat of major flooding in northern California and San Joaquin Valley in 2006, and current work on Folsom Dam is helping alleviate that threat. The construction of an auxiliary spillway at the Folsom Dam will provide the Sacramento region a greater level of flood protection than it has now. More specifically, it will provide a 200-year level of protection, meaning a one-in-200 chance for flooding in any given year. Friday morning, 25 state and federal workers and even a few spectators gathered at the Folsom D

River conditions this Memorial Day weekend are more dangerous than usual, and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials are urging people to be aware of those dangers and where to borrow free life jackets. “Based on the heavy winter and the high volume of snow, the runoff is a little bit colder than usual,” said Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum, adding that the water is about 53 degrees in the American River – 6 to 8 degrees colder than normal. Also, the river is flowing about twice as fast as previous years. Cockrum added that everyone in a boat or raft should have a life jacket available, and he recommended wearing it at all times. “Kids under 13, by county ordinance, are required

There has been a lot of criticism in the media lately, in response to the supporters of building the Auburn Dam to store the vast amounts of water that are now, instead, flowing out to sea.   The critics say, as today’s Sacramento Bee editorial did,   “It never fails that, during wet years or dry ones, the water buffaloes resume their stampede for more taxpayer-subsidized water projects. During a single year of drought, they purchase billboards warning of "dust bowls" if someone else doesn't help them build a new reservoir. And now that California has been blessed with a prodigious snowpack and plentiful rainfall, the same crowd is bemoaning all the water in the Sacramento River that "is

Paul Connett PhD will be in Sacramento Febuary 23~24th to discuss his new book The Case Against Fluoride: How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There. Learn how this relates to Sacramento, as new found dangers of water fluoridation continue coming to light. There will be two events in Sacramento: ARCADE LIBRARY  - Wednesday Feb 23rd 7:00-9:00pm  2443 Marconi Ave Sacramento. It is a free event. For more info go to  FluorideFreeSsacramento.org WHOLE FOODS - Thurs. Feb. 24th 7:00-9:00pm  4315 Arden Way (Eastern and Arden Way) Seating is limited at this event. For reservations at Whole Food call (916) 483-1155 For more info

We keep hearing about our greenness. Here in Sacramento we have a tree program, various recycling programs, and other earth friendly initiatives. But can one policy trump all this? Can a city be truly green when it knowingly adds toxic chemicals imported from China to its drinking water? And to top it all, 99.99% of it is wasted. Lets look at the facts as the Sacramento Department of Utilities has presented them. Questions came up at a June 22, 2010 Sacramento City Council budget hearing. This resulted in a request for additional information regarding the city's water fluoridation program. On July 1st Marty Hanneman, Director of Utilities sent the Mayor & City Council members a memorandum

Sacramento residents won't see monthly utility rates drop next summer after voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure B at the polls Tuesday. The initiative to roll back the city's rates for water, garbage and sewer services was failing by more than two to one late Tuesday night. With 287 out of 355 precincts counted, 41,328 – or 68 percent – of voters chose to stick with higher fees as of 10:55 p.m. More than 19,000 voters, or nearly 32 percent, had voted for the Utilities Rate Hike Roll Back Act of 2010 sponsored by the Sacramento County Taxpayers League, according to Sacramento County's elections department. The measure's opponents believe a rate decrease would have been a "risky approa

Sacramento’s drinking water meets or surpasses all state and federal health requirements, according to the city’s report on water quality relative to public health goals. It does not, however, meet every public health goal as set by the state. “We may not meet all those goals,” said Jessica Hess, spokeswoman for the Department of Utilities. “We probably never have met all those goals, since they’re set at a level so high to encourage jurisdictions to do better.” Hess said the city’s water facilities don’t all have the technology to even measure the levels set forth in the state public health goals. “The goals are set for levels that are very difficult for folks to attain, and there are

Sacramento officials should consider requiring special use permits for large water users, including water and beverage bottling companies such as Nestlé, a City Council committee decided Thursday. The council's Law & Legislation Committee passed a recommendation that the City Council approve a working group to explore whether the city's biggest water users should be subject to conditional use permits that would help give the city more ability to monitor and regulate their water use. The recommendation was approved unanimously Thursday afternoon by the committee's three present members, Chair Sandy Sheedy and councilmen Steve Cohn and Robbie Waters. "We have a scarce resource that we don

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is seeking volunteers to assist in the City’s water conservation efforts. Water Conservation Ambassadors will be trained to assist residents in finding leaks on their property, present conservation information at community events and how to spot and report water waste. The first training session for Water Conservation Ambassadors will take place on June 29, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the Department of Utilities Water Conservation Office, 2260 Glen Ellen Circle. “Over the past year, we have seen a huge increase in the numbers of calls for service and a desire by the community to have water conservation information shared with their organizations or nei

The city supplied drinking water in the areas of southern Rancho Cordova to Elk Grove is about to become unsafe for babies if it has not already. The plan by City of Sacramento "First 5" is to add an unnamed "Fluoridating" agent to your drinking water by 2010. As the parents of babies and anyone else interested health should know; Fluoride is a highly toxic poison. As we are not told all the facts, we only assume the city is using the standard common Fluoridating chemicals to treat the water. No test results for the actual substances used to fluoridate most drinking water have ever been provided or are even claimed to exist. On top of this are numerous reports that the supposed dental cla

The Sacramento Police Department and the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities are warning residents and businesses about a man, claiming to be a City employee approaching homes in a recent water meter retrofit area and trying gain access. Residents and businesses are warned that the City does not need to get into a home to test the water or conduct further plumbing work inside the home after a meter retrofit. Typically, City utilities employees do not need to enter into homes and if they do, they will schedule an appointment in advance. City employees wear City of Sacramento uniforms, ID badges and drive City vehicles. Residents or businesses with questions regarding whether someon

When clocks are turned forward on Saturday night, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds residents and businesses to change their irrigation schedules as well. The City’s current irrigation rules, found in the Water Conservation ordinance state that at the beginning of daylight savings time, residents and businesses may water up to three days a week, based on their address. Addresses ending in odd numbers may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only and even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There is no watering allowed on Mondays. Watering of landscapes must be completed before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. “While the ordinance allows customers

The local Sacramento Water for People Committee is hosting a fundraising event on Thursday, March 11th at 6pm at the Urban Hive (http://theurbanhive.squarespace.com/) located at 1931 H Street in the heart of midtown Sacramento. The purpose of the event is to raise money to help bring clean drinking water and sanitation services to thousands of people in the developing world. At the same time, the event is in celebration of World Water Day 2010 – the theme of which is: Communicating Water Quality Challenges and Opportunities. The theme of World Water Day hits close to home, given our State's current water supply and quality challenges. Whether in California or the developing world, managing

Do you have a beautiful water-efficient garden? If so, the City of Sacramento, the Regional Water Authority (RWA) and its partner agencies are looking for you! The Regional Water Authority (RWA), City of Sacramento Department of Utilities and other local water providers invite Sacramento-area residents to show off their “Blue Thumb” by staring in its new television and radio advertising campaign promoting water efficiency. “We’ve all heard of ‘Green Thumb,’ which is often used to describe someone who has a natural skill for gardening,” said RWA Water Efficiency Program Manager Linda Higgins. “Our campaign will showcase people who have a ‘Blue Thumb’—a talent for creating a beautiful wat

Solar Cookers International (SCI), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1987, announced the launch of the Haiti Project, which aims to send one complete solar cooking kit to at least 200 Haitian families that were devastated by the recent earthquake. The initial fundraising goal for this project is $8,000. Even before the disaster, SCI ranked Haiti as one of the top twenty countries in the world where solar cooking is poised to be very successful and tremendously beneficial. The recent earthquake, in combination with the country’s already scarce fuel and power resources, spells an immediate need for solar cooking training and supplies. Forty dollars is enough to provide one family wit

Changes to the City of Sacramento Water Conservation Ordinance go into effect on December 9, 2009. The changes to the ordinance include: □ After daylight savings time ends, watering landscapes and car washing is permitted one day a week, Saturday or Sunday only. Customers may choose which day to water or car wash on. □ Customers who utilize drip irrigation are permitted to water their landscapes using the drip irrigation system at any time during the day, on any day of the week, including during summer months. □ Limitations to how many times a violator may take the Water Conservation Class within a 24 month period to waive fines. “The City of Sacramento reminds all of its customers that c

"Water, water everywhere" will be the theme for the fourth annual Organic Capital Sustainability Celebration Dec. 10. Organic Sacramento will be hosting the awareness event that highlights Northern California water issues. "Each year different local issues are addressed and the individuals and groups that have worked with these issues are acknowledged and honored," said William Brooks, Central Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council The event will include food, live music and a silent auction as well as guest speakers. "I'm looking forward to hearing more from the individuals that are personally involved with the issues, and those that have solutions to our current problems

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds its residential water customers that customers who have a water meter and who have received a comparative bill for at least one year will be converting to a metered rate in January 2010. Residents who have a meter, but who have not had a year of comparative billing will remain on a flat rate until they have received a year of comparative billing. Customers who do not currently have a water meter will receive a year of comparative billing once a water meter is installed before being switched to a metered rate. The City is installing water meters on more than 110,000 homes by 2025 and converting customers with a water meter to metered b

Sacramento's newest watering restriction goes into effect Sunday. Coinciding with the end of daylight-saving time on Sunday, residents and businesses will be limited to irrigating once a week, according to a city Department of Utilities press release late Thursday afternoon. Residents and businesses can't water on weekdays under the restriction. Those with odd-numbered addresses may water on Saturdays only and even-numbered addresses may water on Sundays. The Sacramento City Council approved the restriction in May as part of an irrigation ordinance restricting summer watering to certain hours every other day. California is in its third year of drought. Watering restrictions will return