PaperSac

The publicly traded Reading International Inc. http://www.readingrdi.com , which owns the Tower Theatre in Land Park, has recently completed a purchase of 15 of the 29 movie theaters operated by Pacific Theatres Exhibition Corp.  which operates theaters in the central valley.

 I was actually surprised to learn that the Tower Theatre is owned by a big, publicly traded company that typically does not improve theatres to compete, rather sells off property when it becomes more valuable. 

The rest of the story is here.

Rob from cockeyed.com has built the MOASDRs.   

Sacramento’s most famous web scientist has finished a new project.  He calls it the “Light Sharpener”.  We call it the “Mother of All Solar Death Rays”

If you’ve ever followed one of Rob’s experiments, you know there will be tons of pictures.  This one is no diffirent.  The first installment starts here.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the massive Placer Vineyards development on Monday, a 5,200-acre proposal that could provide homes for more than 32,000 people over the next two to three decades.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/07/16/daily8.html

Foreclosure rates in Northern California could cause increased rates of West Nile.

Abandoned Pools with dead leaves and other floating debris are a breeding ground for mosquitos.  Yolo County reported it’s first West Nile case last week, and the sluggish housing market is going to make the problem worse.  It does not take a genius to figure out that many people in foreclosure abandon or cease to care for their property. 

Could this be the begining of the worst West Nile outbreak in Sacramento?  Stay tuned.

Fresno has already started a program called “Operation West Nile” that will use aircraft to identify green, abandoned swimming pools.  They have found hundreds and have begun to address the threat.  Perhaps Sacramento could do the same thing.

Here’s some excerpts from Anderson Cooper 360 show last week that imagined Sacramento flooded into oblivion:

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 ”This is the scenario. It’s been raining for days. The normally dry, hard ground is near saturated. But the California sun is out now, peeking through the clouds in Sacramento.

A rain cloud has at last lifted and the streets of the capital are busy again. People enjoying the outdoors.

Then suddenly, a few hours later, the storms return. The wind kicks up and the Sacramento River, already swollen from the earlier rains, now surges. Lashing at the 2,400 miles of aging, crumbling levees that snake around much of northern California.

(on camera): Here the water rises higher and higher. This is the city most vulnerable to flooding in the entire United States. Even more so than New Orleans. But the real danger is beginning to unfold just over there beyond the capital dome and the skyscrapers of downtown.

(voice-over): In sprawling tracks of suburban housing built right up to the edge of the levees, people are anxious. Can the levees hold back a flood?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s really blowing now.

MATTINGLY: And as the water rises, anxiety turns to fear. But the worst is yet to come. A powerful earthquake strikes. And the decrepit water-soaked levees begin to shake and start to dissolve.

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The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce has details on how to help victims of the Angora Fire:

 “The Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund was set up immediately to assist those impacted by the fire. Donors can go to US Bank or mail their donation to Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund at PO Box 17640, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151. This fund is unrelated to Chamber finances and a separate board of local community leaders will coordinate distribution of these funds with a focus on helping people fill in needs not met by immediate disaster relief agency funds with all monies staying local.

The Red Cross has indicated that there are already more than sufficient donations of food, toiletries, and clothing at the various locations which were set up as drop spots. If you know of someone in need of these sorts of items please direct them to one of the locations listed on the website with the Sierra Recovery Center at 1137 Emerald Bay Road being the central location. 

Businesses wanting to do a percentage of their sales donation can contact Jana Ney Walker at 530.544.6119 to participate in the Tahoe Businesses Who Care Program.”

photo credit: Rickc (via flickr)

Russ Solomon founded Tower Records 66 years ago and last weekend opened a new store in Sacramento, California: R5 Records and Video.   He’s not selling Rap or Pop music, though.  (The Target store a block away has that market segment locked up)  The new store is focused on jazz, blues, and more eclectic music.  About half the store is music, the other videos on DVD.  No vinyl either. 

 The Sac Bee’s been following this story for a while as well.

R5’s niche play could pay off for neighborhood shoppers impulse buys in video, and pull in music fans of the genres R5 will cater too.  The absence of pop and rap music is telling in the new environment of iTunes and big-box stores.

Graswich blogged about R5 this week too.

Sacramento needs a river crossing that is not a freeway.  However there is much debate as to where to put it.  Two current options are Broadway and Sutterville.  Of course plenty of residents are against a bridge in those areas citing traffic concerns.  With the two-way road modifications in Land Park / Curtis Park beginning this month, focus is shifting back to the bridge. 

 -picture credit: Beancounter on Flick’r 

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“This morning on my way into downtown I spotted the Microsoft live “street view” truck. I only had time to grab one picture before my exit onto J street. Its a cameraphone pic so its not great but you can see the cameras on top of the truck and the Microsoft Live logos on the back. I did not catch the name of the company out on the prowl for them either.”

from: Jalopnik.com 

You have new Picture Mail!

Originally uploaded by TheRedMonkey
Here’s a photo that TheRedMonkey captured of the MS Live Streetview van driving in Sacramento.