Francis House held a benefit concert from 7 - 10 p.m. Friday night at The Guild Theatre. The concert featured Victoria Vox and The Boulder Acoustic Society. The concert was held in memory of Greg Bunker, former executive director of Francis House, who passed away unexpectedly days after Christmas last year. About 100 people attended. The music was an old-fashioned folksy blend of eclectic sound. The Boulder Acoustic Society opened with keyboards, drums, upright bass and banjo. The keyboardist switched to accordion and the drummer to a marching band bass drum. Victoria Vox, 32, lives in Baltimore, Md. She sings and plays ukulele. She said she finally quit her day job in 2003 to tour and

Seeing a lack of regular jazz shows in the central city, Grady O’Bryant sought to fill that void with a weekly series called Jazz on J at Shenanigans bar on J Street. Jazz on J features a local jazz band every Thursday. The first Jazz on J show was on Feb. 17. Grady worked with saxophonist Ava Lemert to create Jazz on J, which had its fourth show Thursday. Lemeret performs every week before the featured band. “Grady and I met up at Shenanigan’s to talk about putting something together,” Lemert said. “He and I are the creators of the series. Grady had the idea that he wanted to put something together. Maybe have something every week.” Every Thursday, from 6 - 7 p.m., local jazz artist A

The Vibe Foundation held Cake Craze Saturday night. The Vibe Foundation hosted their Cake Craze fundraising event Saturday night, pitting nine local bakeries against each other in a cake-decorating contest themed “Generation Y” at 1725 K St. The event was fundraising for the organization’s opening this summer. Julia Hidalgo,18, another Christian Brothers senior, is the chair of Vibe’s youth board. “The fundraiser is really just to get our doors open,” Hidalgo said. Hidalgo expressed her vision of Vibe as molding to the needs of the youth community that leads it. “It’s all about what kids want,” Hidalgo said. “If kids want free SAT classes, maybe we’ll do that,” Hidalgo said. “We’re ho

Access Sacramento is putting together a network of news bureaus in the South Sacramento area. The goal is to get youth to report for their communities, producing news stories about South Sacramento. The effort is based around a website that access Sacramento has set up called accesslocal.tv. Ron Cooper, executive director of Access Sacramento, said that besides being known for negative news, South Sacramento seems to be absent from the news altogether. He wants to help revitalize the area through empowering the youth to become news reporters and serve them by developing their journalism skills. “South Sacramento is big area with lots of people and lots of ethnic diversity,” Cooper said.

Ladybug Ladybug opened its second location at 2512 J St. last November, where they sell greeting cards and gifts. “It’s kind of your one-stop gift shop,” said Sheila Istvanick, 40, Ladybug Ladybug’s owner. Istvanick opened her first gift card store in San Francisco’s Noe Valley at 24th and Sanchez in 2002. Since opening the store, Istvanick has had three daughters. She recently moved to Sacramento to be closer to her extended family. Istvanick worked at Papyrus before partnering with a friend to open the first Ladybug Ladybug. She said she really values small business and locally sourced products. From cards to gifts, Istvanick tries to find and promote local items. “I hope to carry m

This Friday the second annual Sacramento Beer Week is bringing local brewers and beer enthusiasts together for over 300 events in Sacramento from Feb. 25 through March 6. Dan Scott, 38, founded Sacramento’s Beer Week in 2010. Scott is currently a grad student working on a Masters in public policy and administration from Sacramento State. “We’ve got an incredible beer culture in Sacramento,” said Scott. He said he loves beer and has traveled to more than 500 breweries tasting and sampling brews from around the world. “I’m a beer connoisseur, not a beer brewer,” said Scott. “I’d rather drink a lot of different beers from different people than a lot of my own.” “There’s opportunities for

Sick of the Radio (SOTR) is a Sacramento-based website that covers indie art and music from Sacramento and around the world. The website has artist interviews, photography, art, music videos and even free MP3s. Started last February by 28-year-old Andy Johnson and his wife, Melissa, SOTR aims to share a love of the arts and offer daily inspiration for artists, musicians and art lovers. “We strive to expose all types of art to the masses,” Johnson said. “I am an artist and musician, and love the idea of an online collective of various artists.” Johnson has had the idea for the site for a few years. The birth of his son motivated him to make it a reality. “I’ve had the idea for the websi

Sacramento native and humorist Jack Gallagher is returning to the 24th St. Theatre/Sierra 2 Center for the Arts & Community after his sold-out performance of “The Joke’s On Me” last year. His encore show, “The Joke’s On Me....Again,” will run twice on Feb. 26. The show will be a combination of music and personal stories, Gallagher said, with a mix of music from the last four decades and will be performed by the Dick Bright Band. The stories will center around Gallagher’s life as a performer. Band members will recount their experiences with some of the original musicians of the covers that will be played. Members of the Dick Bright Band have played with prominent musicians like Todd Rund

The Sacramento Food Bank was filled with about 50 people Thursday night as Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke at the Oak Park Neighborhood Association meeting. Johnson spoke about the green economy, downtown development, the state of Sacramento’s schools, volunteering in the city and homelessness. He emphasized the need for a strong and vibrant downtown and a growing green economy. “You kill two birds with one stone,” he said. “No. 1, you improve the environment, and No. 2, you can create jobs.” Johnson said he is a proponent for building the sports arena downtown. “Our community deserves a world-class facility, and I’d like to see that downtown because it creates jobs, and all the other busin

Sacramento is facing a $35 million - $40 million budget gap next year, according to city officials who gave an update to the City Council Tuesday night. The city must reduce expenses by 20 percent to close the gap for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, according to city staff. Interim City Manager Gus Vina, who held a financial recovery workshop for the council recently, characterized the budget gap as “ugly and persistent.” City Council members were in agreement about the desperate budget situation. They emphasized how hard it will be to cut more than they already have in the last several years. “We’ve been squeezing and squeezing and squeezing,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty. Mayor Kevin Jo

The kitchen at George Karyszyn’s Uptown Cafe serves plenty of eggs, chicken fried steak and vegetarian sandwiches, but has also served ex-convicts by giving them a place to work for the past 14 years. “No one gives them a break,” Karyszyn said, “so we do.” Some of the employees he has hired have been convicted of murder or petty larceny, but that isn’t a deal-breaker for Karyszyn. “People stay till their paroles are up. They’re good workers and loyal when given a chance,” he said. Shane Eck, 37, has been working at Uptown Cafe for two months. Eck lived at the Safe Ground tent city for 11 months after being released from prison. He said he heard about Uptown Cafe from Safe Ground leader

The Black Parallel School Board discussed its plans for 2011, including addressing problems with the quality of teachers and underachievement of black students in the Sacramento City Unified School District. The meeting was held Saturday at the Oak Park United Methodist Church. The BPSB’s mission is to ensure quality education for African American students in the SCUSD. The board observes and critiques SCUSD performance and advocates for African American students. The BPSB was created in Jan. 2008. It was born of the frustration of Sacramento State professor Otis Scott with the SCUSD at a Sacramento Area Black Caucus meeting in 2006. According to Carl Pinkston, secretary of the BPSB ex

Downtown Sacramento Parternership’s “Dine Downtown Restaurant Week” will begin its sixth year Friday, with 30 participating downtown restaurants each offering special $30 three-course meals through Jan. 16. DSP Marketing Manager Megan Emmerling said the week is meant to draw visitors and locals on a budget to Sacramento’s finest downtown restaurants. Last year, the International Downtown Association gave the event its Award of Distinction of Outstanding Achievement. The IDA advocates for livable and vital downtown culture around the world. When asked how the restaurants have responded about the Dine Downtown weeks DSP marketing manager Megan Emmerling said “participating restaurants sai

David Prybil will be reading from and signing his new book “Golden State” at Time Tested Books on Monday at 7 p.m. Prybil is a Los Angeles resident who has been a producer with Paramount for over 15 years. He worked on “Saved!,” “Lost in Space,” “Black Dog,” and “Dancer Texas, Pop. 81.” “Golden State” is the story of four people in Sacramento living their versions of the California dream. The Sacramento Press asked Prybil what inspired him to write “Golden State.” “It seems in general that California as a state attracts dreamers, people that are looking for more, whatever that may be. Whether it’s the Gold Rush that helped found Sacramento or coming to Hollywood to be discovered as a s

The 20th annual Coats for Kids coat giveaway was held at Cal Expo today. Swanson’s Cleaners, ABC News 10, The Salvation Army and a local The UPS Store partnered to collect and distribute the coats. Sacramento resident Mike Hainline attended the event to get a new coat. He has been collecting unemployment for almost two years. “The economy has a lot to do with it, that’s why I came out here,” Hainline said. “I’ve donated coats in the past. I actually received one this year. It helps out to have an extra jacket, plus I got a waterproof one now,” JoAnn Lemmon is the governor of the North Sacramento Rotary Club. She volunteered her time to help at the event.
 “I wish we had more coats. I t

On Tuesday, the Sacramento Area Peace Action showed the PBS documentary “Paperback Dreams” for its fourth Tuesday film this month. Only seven people showed up to this month’s showing, which is abnormal, according to David Kimble, who regularly attends. (good info) SAPA’s fourth Tuesday films are at 909 12th St. in the first-floor conference room. The showings are free and open to the public. SAPA has been showing films on the fourth Tuesday of the month for free the past seven years. The next film will be “Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports” on Jan. 25. “Paperback Dreams” tells the story of two Bay Area independent bookstores, Cody’s Books and Kepler’s Books. The film doc

2011 New Year’s Eve Wine Fest Sacramento’s Masonic Temple, 1123 J St. 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. $89 per person. No tickets will be sold at the door. 21+ Sacramento Wine and Nightlife Tours invites all wine lovers to ring in the new year with their favorite glass of red, white or bubbly. Held at the Sacramento Masonic Temple, this bash promises to be one of the biggest and most elegant new year’s celebrations in the city. Hosted in two rooms, the Wine Fest will feature a champagne toast, open bar with wine and beer, live music from performers Larry Ellis Jr. and Southwind, saxophonist Ava Lemert and DJ Rock Bottom. Appetizers will also be served, prepared by local chefs Anthony Brenes of Enotria Res

It’s that charitable time of year again. During the holidays, many feel compelled to share with those around them. In the spirit of the holiday, The Sacramento Press set out to find people who do give back and where they do it. A few givers wished to remain anonymous. One man shared that his family adopts a couple of families for the holidays, buying gifts for them instead of each other. A woman said she donates to the local county animal shelter and the Best Friend Animal Society, a no-kill animal shelter. Another man said his family donates to an organization that provides animals to families in Africa. A couple said they donate to Sacramento Loaves & Fishes and the Salvation Army in do

The City Council accepted a one-year, $150,000 grant on Tuesday from The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs through a selection process done by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). The USOC selected Sacramento as one of five regions to receive the grant to promote sports and recreation for veterans with disabilities. The four other regions to receive the grant were Boston, Georgia, Texas and Chicago. A City Council report said that “it is likely that the USOC will select the City of Sacramento as the recipient of these funds annually for a total of four years.” In a Department of Veterans Affairs press release, Charlie Huebner, chief of Paralympics at the USOC, said, “Research shows that

12/15/10 On Wednesday 15 Dec. Food for Thought will have food and drinks between 5p to 8p at the California State Library’s 1st floor Rotunda. 12/16/10 On Thursday from 2p to 4p the Calif. Department of Food and Agriculture is having a public press conference on the west steps.