When I’m in Davis, it seems like every building is using clean energy. There are solar panels everywhere in that town, especially once you start getting closer to the UC Davis campus—from the Jess Jackson Sustainable Winery to the Segundo and Tercero Dining Commons, as well as throughout the UC…
There’s a lot of new construction in Sacramento lately, and I’m not just talking about the new downtown arena, Golden 1 Center. There are new houses galore, and I’ve noticed one style, in particular, has really come back into fashion—the three-story row house. Now, three-story row houses are no stranger…
One of my favorite stories about Placerville is the history of the Bell Tower. After a series of fires in 1856, the citizens realized they needed an emergency warning system for the town’s protection. A bell was ordered from England, and, when it arrived, it was hung in a wooden…
Last year about this time, I drove north to Yuba City to install new windows. It was early, right around sunrise, and I was headed up Route 99, passing the Lake of the Woods State Wildlife Area. All of a sudden, I was inside thick fog—so thick I had to…
A good friend is a local history buff, and he’s always telling me about how important the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers are to our area. For a lot of us—myself included—the rivers are good for a swim or some kayaking during the summer, but he always reminds me that…
I have a friend who’s a real estate agent, and he talks about housing prices like my other buddies talk about basketball scores. This city is up, this city is down. This city will get more expensive in the next few years. For a while now, he’s said Sacramento is…
You hear the weatherman predict a real doozy of a storm headed for Sacramento. You’ve battened down the hatches, so to speak—you and your family are safe inside. You also did some due diligence and made sure that your ground-mounted solar panels are secured. But those winds are picking up,…
Although it can be hard to tell what season it is with all the crazy weather we’ve been having here in Sacramento, as the days get shorter and cooler, we might finally be able to turn our heat on. With all the drastic temperature changes lately, it can be hard…
The Hangtown Music Festival at the El Dorado County Fair and Event Center in Placerville was a great mix of fun bands, folks having a good time, and activities for the little ones—I always love spending time in Placerville this time of year. It actually feels like fall, from the…
It was really nice to see Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and Roseville make the “10 Best Places to Raise a Family in California” list this year, and it got me thinking: what can homeowners do to get their cities onto this list? Rocklin almost made the list—I’ve always liked the…
