The view from Old Sacramento

Visitors to Old Sacramento are treated to this spectacular view of West Sacramento's River Walk when the Ziggurat and Cal-STRS building are lit up. Thank you Keith Slagerman for sharing another of your spectacular photos of West Sacramento. For more of Keith's photography see this website-Slagerman Photo & Design

Fundraising event for Chris Ledesma

Some old friends and some new friends and supporters gathered at the Club Pheasant in West Sacramento for a campaign fundraiser for Chris Ledesma, City Council Candidate. Below photo from left Mike McGowan, (Yolo County Board of Supervisors) Chris Ledesma (Chair, West Sacramento Planning Commission), Oscar Villegas (West Sacramento City Council Member) Christopher Cabaldon (Mayor, West Sacramento). Photos by D'Niece Garcia Hall.

Ann Mendoza-WUSD Employee of the Year

Congratulations to Ann Mendoza for being awarded the Washington Unified School District Employee of the Year for 2009-10. At the award ceremony Anna also received her 15 year service award.

The Tattoo Gals..

These students were in charge of the "Temporary Tattoo" table at the Westmore Oaks School Carnival last weekend. Over 300 students and parents attended the PTA fundraiser.  We especially like the hand painted poster advertising the event...seems like most folks are using computer generated artwork these days..this one is very charming!

Recreation Center Pools Open This Weekend

The Leisure Pool and slides open May 29th. Pools will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday until school gets out. Weekend hours are noon-5pm. Summer Swim Lessons- Online Registration - visit www.westsacfun.org.

Vintage Mustang Convertible

By now you must know we never pass up the opportunity to get a photo of a great vintage car in the neighborhood. We think this beauty is probably a 1966 Ford Mustang..in perfect shape!

A sad statement for the new Westmore Oaks Campus

As most of you know the old James Marshall High/River City High School campus is now home to the K-8 Westmore Oaks School. Here is a picture of what Washington Unified School District has allowed to happened to the gym. Evidently they don't have enough money to repair damage done to the gym from a fire several years ago. The gym smells terrible now...musty.. like an old basement from being used for storage. I did hear from an ex district employee that there might be funds earmarked for repairs to the gym. But right now this campus has a huge student (over 800) population that has no activity area on rainy days. This property is all that is left of my alma mater...and this makes me sad!

Olivia Stanko-Local Girl Does Good!!

Another true story about the amazing people from West Sacramento! Olivia was born and raised in Broderick/West Sacramento and is a River City High School Alumni. Olivia was accepted into University of the Pacific and graduated on May 15, 2010. Her family proudly shares Olivia's announcement that she is starting her Master's Program at UOP this fall. Olivia's parents are Lucille (Espinoza) Stanko and Robert Stanko.

A Mardi Gras Flag Flying High

I had to take a second look when I saw a Mardi Gras flag flying over a home in West Sacramento this week. I think the residents are sending a message of strength and hope to the people in Louisiana and the Gulf States in dealing with the ecological disaster off their shores.

More Rain and Rainbows

Thank you Rosanna Ullrich for sharing this photo of the georgeous rainbow we had overhead last Wednesday after yet another spring rain storm.....what interesting weather we have been having! We can hardly wait to see what next week will bring!

The Tree House

Melanie Dinos shares this photo of one of the most unique homes in West Sacramento (known by some folks as the "Tree House") located in a court near Park Boulevard. Melanie said she enjoyed meeting the owner and hearing stories about the history of the house.

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien at the Port of Sacramento

Thank you Amy Cameron for sending this great photo of The Jeremiah O’Brien docked at the Port in West Sacramento. The SS. Jeremiah O'Brien is one of the two remaining fully functional Liberty Ships of the 2,710 built and launched during WWII. The vessel is here as part of the California Emergency Management Agency’s Golden Guardian Exercise. Emergency Responders from throughout the Sacramento region were at the Port yesterday to participate in various training exercises.

Texas Lone Star

This "Texas Lone Star" decoration is known as a sign of good luck and fortune, and...it could mean these folks have roots in Texas. One of our good friends, Neva May, was born 88 years ago in Sweetwater, Texas, and she can tell you some great stories about the World's Rattlesnake Roundup held there each year. As far as we know she never sang this song in the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant.

When I die I may not go to heaven
I don't know if they let cowboys in
If they don't just let me go to Texas, Boy!
Texas is as close as I've been.

Maureen's Mourning Doves

Thank you Maureen Stewart for sharing these photos of a new family of Doves making their home in a plant hanging from her deck at Valhalla. "Unlike most birds, Doves incubate their eggs continually. Since the male and female look alike, it appears the same bird is incubating the eggs the whole time. Actually, the male does a daytime shift and the female does the night shift. If you are not around during the change, it appears the same bird has been on the nest the whole time." Read more at Wild Bird Watching.

Splashdown!

"Sullivan is in there somewhere competing in her first breaststroke race." Thanks Matt Hargrove for sharing this great photo from the West Sac Dolphin's first swim meet of the year. For more information about the Dolphin Swim Team see this website:
http://www.wsdolphins.org

Classic Mustang II

Spotted parked in the hood.. a second generation Mustang II -MPG Stallion (1974–1978). Sweet!
If you are a Mustang or classic car buff, the Sacramento Area Mustang Club is hosting their upcoming car show on Saturday June 5th in Rancho Cordova.

Preschoolers see "Max and Ruby" Live at The Crest

The James Marshall Preschool kids attend the live stage production of Max and Ruby at the Crest Theater last week. The show was great--and the Crest Theater is great! I admit that I had never seen or heard of Max or Ruby before....but I am now a fan.

"Best on the Block" entries are open

This is a photo of Stephanie Reynolds' door mat that she was awarded last year for the Best on the Block contest. Entries are now being accepted for the annual program that recognizes and rewards the curbside beautification efforts of West Sacramento home and small business owners. You can download Guidelines and Entry forms on the City of West Sacramento website. For more information bestontheblock@cityofwestsacramento.org

2010 Civic Leadership Awards

Mayor Christopher Cabaldon posed with the 2010 Civic Leadership Award Winners Thomas Amsler, Carlos Machado (Community-Google Fiber for West Sacramento) Cathy Lorda (Service-Children's Librarian) Barbara Smith (Pride-West Sacramento Photo of the Day) and Danny Luna (Prosperity-WestSacWeb.com). The awards were presented at the annual Mayor's State of the City Address sponsored by the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce.

OLG Parish School Mother's Day Luncheon

Thank you D'Neice Garcia Hall (top row center) for sharing these great photos of some of the table designs that were highlighted during the annual Our Lady of Grace School Women's Council Mother's Day Luncheon that was held at the school last weekend. These amazing ladies spend more hours than you can count supporting the school and our community!

West Sacramento Walks for the Cure!

Thank you Heather Asprey, Heather Mayhew and Amanda Asprey for participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure last Saturday. Nearly 23,000 people took part in the annual Sacramento race, reported to be the biggest event in the race's 14-year history.

Urban Fruit Stand

Thank you Christy Jourdan for sharing these shots of her visit to the Urban Farm Stand at Elkhorn Park last weekend. "My haul - cauliflower (giant), bok choy, early tomatoes (local hot house), strawberries - oh, the whole place smelled like strawberries!- and cherries. We'll be spitting cherry seeds in the back yard today!"

New Townhomes-Parkside at Sycamore

New affordable housing in West Sacramento is now accepting applications. West Capitol Courtyard II located at 2455 West Capitol Avenue has 75 multi-family 1-4 bedroom units.
For more information, contact the West Sacramento Housing Development Corp.,
2455 West Capitol Ave
West Sacramento, CA 95691
Tel: (916) 372-4866

Art Mural at the Merkley Avenue Post Office

The customer service clerks at the Post Office were not able to give me much history about the mural depicting our delta waterways and towns, but it has been hanging there for many years. The artist credited is Allyce Erck and the photos were courtesy of the West Sacramento Land Company and former postmaster Pearl Loutensock.

Wild Mallard Duck Warning

This sign posted at the Sacramento Zoo tickled us. Evidently during breeding season the mallard ducks chase each other and occasionally get frisky enough in the mating dance to injure each other.

CalSTRS Building -a view from the top!

Thank you Dan Harris, Graphic Technician with the City of West Sacramento, for this shot of the CalSTRS Building (taken from the top of the Ziggurat Building).

Sticks and Stone art in the neighborhood

I really like this artist's yard designs made from driftwood and stones. So simple but so charming creating a peaceful Zen Garden on Reuter Drive.

Green Fuel Station

The DMC-owned charging station, West Sacramento station—Harbor Point ’76—also offers E-85 ethanol and biodiesel under the DMC brand as part of DMC’s ongoing program to green-retrofit existing gas stations throughout California.

The DMC-owned charging station, featuring a Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint Networked Charging Station, is the first of 40 DMC charging stations now in contract scheduled for installation throughout California.

James Marshall Preschool Trike-a-thon

The Nugget Market parking lot was the location for the James Marshall Preschool Trike-a-thon. Students rode bikes, scooters and big wheels for the School's annual fund-raising event.

Mommy & Me Day @ Raley Field

Thank you Lucia Lopez for sending these great shots of the Mommy & Me Day at Raley Field on April 28th. The children enjoyed a variety of activities on the baseball field such as running the bases and playing catch. Sponsors of the event were the River Cats Baseball Team, Raley's & Bel Air Markets.

The Welcome Grove..a welcome setting

According to a recent Sacramento Bee feature, in the 1940s and 1950s, the Welcome Grove was a busy stop along Highway 40, with a restaurant, bar, gas station and grocery store. Owners John and Christine Collins met there as children.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/21/2693526/lawmaker-finds-peace-welcome-at.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1#ixzz0mPYGBP50

Photo and commentary by Jeff Boyd 

"This neat little place is tucked away in the spooky netherworld of West Sacramento, CA. What's weird is that it appears to have originally been a motel, but has since expanded into an RV park. The nice part is that the original building and sign are pretty much perfectly intact. It's not too difficult to imagine the Brady Bunch staying here en route to the Grand Canyon.
 Years ago, before we got married, Jen worked across the street from this place. I remembered how cool it looked then, but figured it had probably long since been replaced by a SUPER WAL*MART or something. I'd almost forgotten about it, until she mentioned it yesterday while we were in the area. Needless to say, I was quite stoked to find it in perfect shape. I'd love to get a shot of this place at night, while those cool lights are on.
 Oh yeah… If you've never been to West Sacramento, it is a reallyweird place."