“Families are Forever”, originally uploaded by scupper.

Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park
UCD Medical Center

2nd Ave @ Stockton Blvd

Oak Park, Sacramento, CA

www.blochcancer.org

I’ve been surprised by the volume of “devil” tv stories, exorcism movies, and general hell watch pervasiveness in the media and Hollywood lately. This devil kick must come in waves, or have a shelf life because I don’t recall such a robust offering of entertainment and news about Hell and Co.

It struck me while enduring a back to back devil-gasm , first having to watch the Exorcism of Emily Rose, than switching to Discovery Channel to learn about “real live possessions and exorcisms”, then spotting on the cable guide ‘Universal Church” on channel 24 KTCN aka channel 42 Azteca America, a Spanish language channel featuring “la Rosa de los Despojos”, a show which focuses on helping people get exorcised and to prevent voodoo and black magic. It airs every night at 12am – 1am, and is based out of East LA.

History Channel, Discovery, the alphabet soup of cable channels, the former Big 3, just everywhere, it seems the growth of the superstitious programming about El Diablo has grown as much as those pre-paid card racks we see at convenience stores.

I’m a little stumped by it all as there is great evil in the world to report on, evil beyond comprehension, and yet, it goes untouched, almost taboo as writing about or reporting on the devil once was all those years ago.

While watching the Emily Rose fiction, I was asking myself why they weren’t reporting or writing more screenplays on what happened in Rwanda, or in Darfur, or in Liberia, or in Zaire? Rwanda alone would seem to be able to provide an endless amount of material for the devil set, the screenwriters who churn out the 666 crap.

As I watched some of the devil possession scenes, with all the theatrics, I wondered how some of the street killing scenes would playout here in the states, on the big screen, instead of on Frontline, or in the documentary “Shake Hands with the Devil“.

What is it about the bloodthirstiness of Africans against Africans, with Hutu Catholic priests and nuns summoning Tutsi parishioners to come into the church for sanctuary, while at the same time alerting their fellow Hutu Interahamwe militia friends of the presence of Tutsi in the church, thus leading to their annihilation, every Tutsi man, woman and child, right in the church, right in front of their Jesus on the wall, as their fellow Catholics were decapitated with dull machetes, heads stomped in, bodies mutilated and in the midst of all this, the women raped before being butchered. Continue reading →

I post a lot about Rancho here, and the leaders of Rancho. That’s going to change. I’ve had another blog set up with the domain www.ranchwatch.org since ’05, and never made the time, or made the time and approached it all wrong, with the wrong goals and expectations about what I wanted to do with a blog of this nature, and have now tried to be realistic about time management with an affair of this nature, as it will be a solo effort.

I’ve watch closely how Eyes of Argus germinated, and then went supernova. Jason Daniel out of Elk Grove has made a tremendous contribution of time and effort to his blog, to attending public meetings, following news and editorials, and to interacting with elected officials. I honestly could never invest the time he has, but I will none the less try to carve out a start. I also have no desire to co-mingle with the Bee, short of referencing their articles and criticizing their coverage. One of my goals is to never get “acclaim” from the fornicators of Crispy Cream’s empire expansion and collapse in Sacramento. I see the Bee’s influence on my community as mostly negative to misleading and apathetic. Investigative Journalism in Rancho is totally dead. Once Sunrise Douglas took off, ad revenue started coming in, the gag went into the Bee’s mouth, or should I say the Crispy Cream donut.

The Davis blogging insurrection known as “The People Vanguard of Davis” is beyond this simple man’s abilities and inspirations. I enjoy reading their virtual Coup ‘dEtat, but don’t have a whole lot of empathy for their struggle. In contrast to Rancho Cordova, Davis’s woes are, well, for a lack of a better word on my part, fake; manufactured.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for their neighbor to the east, West Sacramento, especially when it comes to racial, cultural/socio-economic issues, as without a doubt, West Sacramento is actively striving and reaching for Dr. King’s dream, as I feel Rancho Cordova is; Davis is talking about it, and actively excluding people of color, people of lesser means and education.

More on Davis later. The short answer though is, PVD is inspiring for me, and their level of detail and conscientiousness is refreshing, although what they are focusing on at times seems sometimes petty, especially the he-said she-wrote, they-denied merry-go-round with the Davis Enterprise and Bob Dunning. Kinda boring, and less than what I think PVD can become.

I wish there were an analog in Rancho to PVD’s work on the Enterprise, outing the Grapevine Independent. I absolutely believe that John Paul Davis would declare an open Jihad against Shelly Blanchard if he had her sit in for the Enterprise in an editorial swap. There aren’t many examples of blogs like these in the region, blogs that don’t simply harpoon electeds and fail to inform people about the issues.

So, in the future, I’ll post anything I have to say about Rancho at ranchowatch.org. I wish I could roll out a comprehensive outline of what I want to accomplish, the resources I want to make available, the issues I want to address, and present it as a thesis of some sort supporting my all encompassing argument about my passions and positions concerning public life and community in Rancho, but I won’t. As I write more, research more, this “thesis” will reveal itself to me, as well as to anyone who takes time to read and follow the blog.

My driving urge is feed by the belief that Rancho Cordova, and the people of this community gave something to me and my family, shaped my life and the life of those I love and care about. It revealed to me over the course of my life, a palette of values, people and truths. It’s through a prism of these that I’ll try to address what I see, hear, read and perceive about Rancho that I’ll write and share my thoughts and beliefs. Hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to share the thoughts and ideas of others in Rancho here as well, voices of the heart of Rancho Cordova, the people who make me choke up when I think about them, and the city government I feel they deserve, the people who, when I hear the national anthem, come to my mind.

David Sander, Rancho Cordova Mayor and GOP party member announced Thursday, officially, that he’s decided to run for the Assembly, in District 10, for a seat currently held by Alan Nakanishi – Republican from Lodi whose termed out.

I was a little surprised, although those following the palace drama in local GOP circles were probably certain of his running for some time.

Strangely, the Bee and Grapevine have not, as yet, reported on this, but the Lodi Sentinel and Stockton Record have, as well as a GOP blog, FlashReport (1) (2) (3). Funny, the Bee gloats over democratic legislative aides when they even exhale a sound that remotely sounds like they’re running to replace their boss, and Sander, a mayor of a city hasn’t even gotten a blurb in all the months leading to his announcement.

Sander shared his press release with FlashpointReport, which announces that he has secured several endorsements from among area elected officials, chiefly Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan, former Citrus Heights City Council member and one of the chief Cityhood advocates in the county (see Macglashan’s Western City Magazine article on cityhood.)

I got wind of it a from Google News alert.

Here’s the latest:

Regional Roundup – David Sander declares Assembly candidacy
Item 2 / Lodi News-Sentinel
Copyright © 1998-2007 Lodi News-Sentinel
First published: Friday, April 13, 2007
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2007/04/13/news/3_regional_070413.txt

Rancho Cordova Mayor David Sander announced on Thursday that he will run for the 10th Assembly District seat held by Lodi Republican Alan Nakanishi.

Nakanishi is serving his third and final term. He cannot run in 2008 due to term limits.

A molecular biologist, Sander has served on the Rancho Cordova City Council since it became a city on July 1, 2003.

Other announced Republican candidates include former Lodi Mayor and San Joaquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock; El Dorado County Supervisor Helen Baumann of El Dorado Hills; and Paul Hegyi of Elk Grove, chief of staff for Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Garden Grove. Democrat Jim Cook of Elk Grove, who ran against Nakanishi the last two elections, has also announced he will seek Nakanishi’s Assembly seat.

The 10th Assembly District includes the Lodi area, north Stockton, Amador County, Rancho Cordova, El Dorado Hills and part of Elk Grove.

San Joaquin County poised to take center stage in 2008 elections
By Hank Shaw – Stockton Record Capitol Bureau Chief
Copyright © 1998 – 2007 ONI Stockton, Inc.
April 07, 2007
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070407/A_NEWS/704070317

“North of Stockton, in the 10th District that stretches from the city up to Lodi, through southern Sacramento County and into Amador, four Republicans are running: San Joaquin Supervisor Jack Sieglock, El Dorado County Supervisor Helen Baumann, Rancho Cordova City Councilman David Sander and legislative aide Paul Hegyi of Sacramento.”

Sieglock is facing intense competition for Assembly
By Ross Farrow | News-Sentinel Staff Writer
First published: Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Copyright © 1998-2007 Lodi News-Sentinel
Google Cache of article no longer available for free from Lodi Sentinel
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:MniL5GlHzmQJ:
www.lodinews.com/articles/2007/03/28/news/3_assembly_070328.txt

Excerpts:

• “Lodi’s Jack Sieglock could have some fierce competition in his bid to replace the termed-out Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi in the 2008 election. And that competition spans the sprawledout 10th Assembly District, with Republican opponents from Elk Grove, El Dorado Hills and likely Rancho Cordova.”
• David Sander, mayor of Rancho Cordova. Sander hasn’t filed a “declaration of intent” with the California Secretary of State’s office, but he said Tuesday his candidacy is “very likely.”
• The 10th Assembly District includes the Lodi area east to roughly Bruella Road, north Stockton, eastern Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, El Dorado Hills and Amador County.
• Sander, a molecular biologist, said he is weighing the effect an Assembly campaign will have on his family, his finances and his community. “If I announce this, it will be in a couple of weeks,” he said.Sander said he has been besieged by supporters who say that Sacramento County’s interests must be preserved at the Capitol. He pledged to not let politics get in the way of a good idea.“I’m a scientist. Scientists take pride in not taking positions before looking at the data,” Sander said. “Of course, there’s politics involved. I’ll figure the best course of action before applying the politics to it rather than let the politics dictate the best course of action.”

“Live-Work-Retail Plan”: Capital Village/Beazer, Rancho Cordova, CA, originally uploaded by scupper.

Beazer Homes Capital Village site
www.beazer.com/findHome/communityChoice.asp?LocationID=19…

So long, suburbia; hello, urban scene
Capital Village blends work, home, shopping in Rancho Cordova
By Mary Lynne Vellinga — Bee Staff Writer
Published 3:15 am PDT Sunday, April 3, 2005
dwb.sacbee.com/content/business/commercial_realestate/sto…

RC Planning Director Paul Junker’s 2005 Powerpoint presentation to the Sacramento Chapter of the Urban Land Institute
pdf file
www.ulisacramento.org/documents/programs/2005.2Blueprint/…

Just so damn positive, originally uploaded by scupper.

OK, I couldn’t stay positive. This is one of four 4 plexes on Woodberry Way that once were apart of a larger complex that was fragmented between Woodberry @ Croetto and the 4 plexes and one 8 plex down the street on Croetto Way, turning into Furmint Way.

What these 4 plexes show is how a neighborhood of 4 plexes, owned by several owners can devolve into what is arguably one of the worst multi-family housing clusters in Sacramento County, both currently and historically.

Living evidence why the Gold Crossing Project on Coloma Road should not be approved, a project that would divide an existing apartment complex into twenty parcels for four-plex buildings for individual sale.

Rancho Cordova City Hall @ night, originally uploaded by scupper.

My first night shot of city hall w/o a tripod with the little Kodak. Next time, I’ll have the tripod and try to take some interior photos.

I really like how the new city hall turned out. It exceeded my expectations. The location is choice as well.