Q&A
The Mondavi at 20
Don Roth grew up in New York City on a steady diet of many of the world’s best cultural offerings. That influence rubs off in his role as the executive director of UC Davis’ Mondavi Center, which launches its 20th anniversary season on Oct. 6. Roth talks about highlights for the year ahead, his vision for a thriving regional arts community, and his top three Mondavi memories.
Happy 101
Sacramento State’s first-ever professor of happiness unlocks the mysteries surrounding what is arguably the holy grail of human emotion. As Prof. Meliksah Demir explains, the path to joy is a winding road and the journey requires a bit of effort, but in the end, we all have the tools we need to find our happy place.
Q&A: Sacramento's Creative Economy Manager Megan Van Voorhis
Growing up in Flint, Michigan, Megan Van Voorhis wanted to be a ballerina like the one she saw twirling on an episode of Sesame Street. It wasn’t until she took a business administration class in college that she realized her calling wasn’t to make art, but to make art possible. As the head of Arts Cleveland, she introduced innovative programs linking art with health care and helping creators access their inner entrepreneurs. As Sacramento’s freshly appointed Cultural and Creative Economy Manager, the former dancer takes the stage for her next act. Here the new 916 resident talks about the arts’ influence on the GDP, how to reopen venues safely in the age of Covid, and why the ability to create is a basic human right.
Rob Archie
In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25 and subsequent protests, Sacramento restaurateur Rob Archie (Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse, Pangaea Bier Cafe, and Bawk) channeled his anger and sorrow into positive action, organizing We Stand with You, an unprecedented service-industry “walkout.” For three hours beginning at noon on June 4, over 200 restaurants, bars and breweries around the region—from Kru in East Sacramento to Crooked Lane Brewing Company in Auburn—closed for service and held staff discussions about workplace racism while also showing support for the Black community. Here, the Woodland native talks about his impromptu campaign, the problem with color-blind hiring, and the importance of listening.
Sacramento Public Library CEO Rivkah Sass
Since taking the helm of the Sacramento Public Library system in 2009, Rivkah Sass—who was named Librarian of the Year by the "Library Journal" in 2006 while serving as the executive director of the Omaha Public Library—has shepherded the 28-branch organization through the past decade with the introduction of services like digital access to more than 200,000 e-books and the ability to check out everything from an electric guitar to a GoPro camera. We spoke to the Manteca native about what’s new at the SPL, ways to keep the library relevant in 2020, and bringing big names—from best-selling author Neil Gaiman to rapper 50 Cent—to town.
The Sketch Artist
Carmichael native Ian Hecox, co-founder of the YouTube sketch-comedy smash Smosh, returns home during the group’s first-ever live tour. He has just one request: Try not to laugh.
Food Literacy Center CEO Amber Stott
Despite its status as America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital, Sacramento has not escaped the growing childhood obesity crisis. In fact, a recent study of the city’s fifth, seventh and ninth graders found that more than 40 percent are either overweight or obese. Amber Stott is on a mission to change that stat. As CEO of the local nonprofit Food Literacy Center, she is spearheading a new 2.5-acre headquarters, farm and cooking school at Leataata Floyd Elementary in Upper Land Park. The org’s “chief food genius” talks about bringing the bounty of the region to underprivileged youth, tackling picky eaters, and why cooking and nutrition should be on the curriculum along with reading, writing and ’rithmetic.
Mercy Pedalers Founder Sister Libby
Her name is Libby Fernandez, but everyone knows her as Sister Libby, one of Sacramento’s most tireless advocates for the city’s homeless. The 58-year-old Catholic nun earned the distinction in large part through her long tenure (including 11 years as executive director) at Loaves & Fishes. Her latest endeavor, Mercy Pedalers, tends to the hungry and impoverished at street level, with squads of volunteers helping the less fortunate by bike and trike. We tracked Sister Libby down to talk about her growing organization, how best to address the homeless crisis, and how just saying “hi” can be the start of a beautiful relationship.
William Burg
The Queen of the Sacramento Tenderloin. The nightclub owner who first brought jazz to town. The public officials who resisted the frenzied carnal currents of the downtown’s most integrated, energetic district. They’re all chronicled in William Burg’s new book "Wicked Sacramento," a history of the city’s long-gone West End neighborhood that once stood where sprawling landmarks like Capitol Mall, Old Sacramento and Golden 1 Center are today. Burg speaks about the West End’s seamy charms, its important cultural impact, and where to find what might be the lost neighborhood’s last surviving building.
Elaine Welteroth
Before Elaine Welteroth joined the judging panel on the current season of “Project Runway,” she was climbing the masthead at magazines like “Ebony,” “Glamour” and “Teen Vogue,” where in 2017 she became the youngest ever to serve as its editor-in-chief. But before she took the media world by storm, the Sacramento State alum, who graduated in 2007, was pulling all-nighters for the school newspaper, “The State Hornet.” The 32-year-old Brooklyn-based writer talks about getting the journalism bug here, going way beyond 280 characters in her new memoir, and why she doesn’t think Anna Wintour is the devil who wears Prada.
Allison Arieff
As the editorial director of the San Francisco-based urban planning and policy think tank SPUR, Allison Arieff spends her days assessing the impact of civic design on everyday life. But it’s her past two decades of work—first as editor-in-chief of “Dwell” magazine and currently as a contributing op-ed writer for “The New York Times”—that have cemented her reputation as one of America’s foremost thinkers on design. The UC Davis alum speaks about building cities for people instead of cars, getting lost in Sacramento riding light rail, and her 2020s vision.
Colin Hanks
With a new movie out, a starring role on Broadway and a turn in the director’s chair, Colin Hanks may be the hardest working man in his show biz family—which is saying something, considering this native son of Sacramento also happens to be the son of Tom Hanks. The younger Hanks takes a rare moment between curtain calls to talk to us about being a Broadway baby and an East Sacramento kid, and having his movie-star dad play his movie dad in "The Great Buck Howard."
Dolores Huerta
Arguably few women wielded more influence on 20th-century California history than Dolores Huerta, who transformed state politics and the lives of millions as a community organizer and the co-founder (with Cesar Chavez) of United Farm Workers. The Smithsonian Institution chronicles the activist’s life and work in its new traveling exhibition Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields/Revolución en los Campos, which makes its debut in March at the California Museum. Huerta, 88, speaks about her early days as a lobbyist in Sacramento, the value of sacrifice, and seeing her legacy among the next wave of American leaders.
Sacramento Bike Czar
When Jennifer Donlon Wyant began her post as Sacramento’s first-ever active transportation program specialist in 2016, protected bike lanes and bike-share options were nonexistent. Now, protected cycling paths have started to emerge in the central city and bright red, electric Jump bikes are suddenly everywhere, with electric scooters on the horizon. The bicycle enthusiast talks with us about embarking on the city’s ambitious plan to reach zero traffic fatalities and her vision for a more walkable, bikeable Sacramento.
Q&A with Sam Elliott
With his film "The Golden Compass" coming out on Dec. 7, we take this golden opportunity to chew the fat with Sam Elliott. The Sactown native and Hollywood cowboy tells us about the road from Hollywood Park, remembering the Alhambra, and how he never minds getting back in the saddle again.
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