Steve Martarano was a reporter at the Sacramento Union for 10 years during the 1980s and worked as a sportswriter, on the daytime crime beat, and reviewing concerts. He retired earlier this year after working in government public affairs for almost 30 years for several state and federal agencies, most recently for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bay-Delta office. Steve has lived in Sacramento’s Curtis Park neighborhood with wife Sharon for more than 30 years. Read more at www.stevemartarano.com. On Twitter @MartArchives.
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Off the Beaten Track: Making New Look Old
Water Street Antiques & Interiors also specializes in building furniture
Water Street Antiques & Interiors, founded in 1972 by Terry
and Christine O’Neill, isn’t just an antique store.

Photos: Sights to See
Sacramento Valley overflows with opportunities to view winter wildlife
The Sacramento Valley provides some of the top wintering sites
for waterfowl in the world.

Still Fabulous After 50
Local radio DJ legend Joey Mitchell celebrates a half-century in ‘cutthroat’ business
Sacramento’s K-Hits 101.5 recently celebrated Mitchell’s 50-year milestone in radio with a four-day studio party that honored his long and colorful career.

Photos: Collecting Craze
Local custom vehicle enthusiasts take advantage of pandemic downtime
Shelter-in-place orders this year have given the Capital Region’s custom collectible cars community more time to buy, sell and restore their vehicles.

Photos: Drive-In Events Fill the Void
Capital Region businesses and nonprofits shift movie screenings, concerts and other happenings outdoors during the pandemic
Pop-up drive-ins appeared during the coronavirus summer of 2020, prompting many families in the Capital Region to turn their vehicles into personal entertainment bubbles.

Photos: Making Its Goal
During an unsettling season, Sacramento Republic FC heads to the playoffs once again
Sacramento Republic FC’s 2020 season and scheduled entry into
Major League Soccer have been stymied by the pandemic, but
the team plays on.

Back to the Future
Almost a half-century later, a lost album helps Stockton’s 9th Creation ride the music charts again
9th Creation, Stockton’s legendary funk-disco-boogie band, is back together and recording again.

Photos: A Gallery in the Grandstand
Boards for Change art gallery helps fill empty Papa Murphy’s Park as Sacramento Republic FC season resumes
Sacramento Republic FC’s coronavirus-suspended 2020 season has resumed with no fans allowed, but that doesn’t mean the usually packed Papa Murphy’s Park is empty.

Photos: Organized Baseball Returns to the Capital Region
The Lincoln Potters play in historic McBean Stadium in downtown Lincoln, and the wood-bat California Collegiate League team averaged almost 1,000 fans per game during the 2019 season. This year, the Potters are just happy to be playing, even if fans aren’t allowed.

Photos: Volunteers Respond to Calls to Clean Up Sacramento Businesses
Volunteers help clean up around several businesses in downtown Sacramento that had been damaged during national protests over the weekend in response to the May 25 police killing of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis.

Health Officials Gear Up to Trace the Path of Coronavirus Contacts
Contact tracing has been used for decades to track the spread of infectious disease, but it was a process few in the general public understood until the highly-contagious coronavirus entered America’s consciousness in early 2020.

These Empty Streets
A month into the coronavirus shelter-in-place order, people are staying off the streets
As people stay home to do their collective part to flatten the curve, Sacramento’s once-busy streets, parks and freeways stand empty. These photos capture the eerie, temporary quiet.

Sign of the Times
Sacramento band streams benefit show instead of playing before live audience
The alt-country band JonEmery & the Unconventionals performed a set on Facebook to benefit the 10 employees of the Torch Club, where the band had been scheduled to play on March 25.

Local Businesses Struggle as Coronavirus Changes Our Daily Lives
On a bleary Monday morning in Sacramento with the Dow Jones industrial average tanking, on its way to a 2,997 point drop and its worst day since 1987, Greater Sacramento Economic Council President and CEO Barry Broome offered advice for local business owners that he knows won’t be popular.
Sponsored

Recreation Creation
More than just a place for leisure, parks and facilities are being used for greater economic development and giving residents a higher quality of life in Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville
Dangling over a 60-foot-deep granite pit, children and adults zoom across a zip line cable and scale and rappel down sheer stone walls. The historical quarry, known as the Big Gun Quarry, is 160 years old, and has been repurposed to be Quarry Park Adventures, a family-friendly, privately owned adventure park in Rocklin.

A Rare Breed
Veterinarians who travel let pets stay comfortably at home
For many dogs, cats, birds and fish, a veterinarian visit is best taken at home. There are several veterinarians in the Capital Region that offer this service for families willing to pay extra for the convenience and comfort of seeing a vet who comes to them.
Sponsored

Still Competitive
Seniors in the Capital Region don’t let age and injury keep them away from sports
It took a protruding tree branch this summer to finally sideline Potato Richardson, the legendary 76-year-old endurance horse rider.

Time for a Swim
Chinook salmon — crucial to California’s fishing industry — return to Rancho Cordova’s Nimbus Fish Hatchery
During the first week of November every year, like clockwork, the gates to the fish ladder open at Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River, and the Chinook salmon — crucial to California’s commercial and recreational fishing industry — climb 22 steps to complete their final journey home.

No Time for a Break
Jaime Coffee’s side work as a PA announcer is breaking barriers
Real vacations are rare for Sacramento Republic FC public address announcer Jaime Coffee.
Juggling a full-time state job with side gigs in and outside Sacramento, the barrier-breaking Coffee works as a female announcer in a field dominated by men. Coffee’s crazy schedule comes at a cost: Vacations are usually of the working variety.

Sacramento River Cats Clinch Title, Headed to the Playoffs
And Raley Field gets a new name for 2020
After Thursday night’s 10-2 victory over Reno, Sacramento clinched the team’s first Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Northern Division title since 2012.

Photos: Rockin’ the Suburbs
There’s a nice payoff for music fans willing to explore outside the city of Sacramento — and it doesn’t have to be a long trek. Photojournalist Steve Martarano takes us inside suburban entertainment gems in the Capital Region.

The Last Picture Show
Sacramento’s remaining drive-in theater motors into its 46th summer
It’s a summer ritual for the nation’s car culture since the 1930s: catching a flick at the drive-in movie theater. Opening in 1973 just off Bradshaw Road and Highway 50, West Wind, a family-owned business operated by Syufy Enterprises, just finished major parking lot and building renovations as its 46th summer kicks off.

Business and Nonprofits Offer Free Programs to Help California Inmates
Nonprofit groups and businesses have launched programs to help inmates better prepare for life and a career outside the walls of a prison with the goal of nurturing productive citizens and reducing recidivism rates.

Photos: Rancho Cordova Becomes an Amgen Tour Host City
Rancho Cordova was always a natural location for a multi-city California bike race. This year, the city of 75,000 was finally tapped to host a stage of the race.

Learning the Right Notes
Blues in the Schools gives budding Sacramento musicians real-world experience
Seeking a much-needed youth infusion, the Sacramento Blues Society looks to local schools for inspiration. The group’s 15-year-old Blues in the Schools program helps keep an aging local blues scene alive with a youthful and passionate presence, assisting young artists while they gain a foothold in the industry.

Recent Developments Heighten Optimism for Sacramento Major League Soccer Bid
It has been a head-spinning past two weeks for Sacramento and its five-year bid to become the next Major League Soccer expansion team.

Photos: To Make Way For Elk Grove’s First Hospital, Small Businesses Face Wrecking Ball
It’s a busy Friday afternoon at Razor Sharp Kutz in Elk Grove’s Stonelake Landing shopping center, and owner Steav Jordan finishes up with a customer at his business that, in all likelihood, he will soon be losing.

Curtis Park’s Crocker Village Retail Development Takes Shape
Anchor tenant Safeway set to open in early March
Five years after the first homes were built in the 72-acre Crocker Village infill development in the Curtis Park neighborhood, the long-anticipated retail portion will soon open to customers.

Stockton’s Growing Minor League Scene Aids in Waterfront Revitalization
When the Sacramento Kings swapped their development league affiliate from Reno to Stockton earlier this year, it meant Stockton claimed its third minor league team, adding a key tenant to the city’s revitalizing downtown waterfront.

Sacramento’s Raiders Fans Will be Left Behind With Team’s Move to Las Vegas
The Amtrak Capitol Corridor train originates in Auburn and goes as far as San Jose. It has been a long-time popular way to the games, especially beginning in 2001 when service increased and Amtrak began offering a 25 percent discount to riders destined for Raiders games.

Gather ’Round
Local music lovers open up their homes for intimate concerts
Bill Wagman greets 25 guests at the front door of his Davis house, then sits quietly at a dining room table while his featured musician of the mid-September evening, Florida’s Grant Peeples, entertains in the living room with folk songs and reciting his offbeat poetry.

Shooting Again for Glory
As USL playoffs near, Republic FC hopes to recreate 2014 glory
Sacramento Republic FC has been in a celebratory mood all season honoring its five years as a United Soccer League franchise, and Klimenta has been part of the team since the start. He began this year with Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy before being released in June and returning to Sacramento.

River Cats 2018 Season Brings New Raley Field Low
For the first time, the team drew less than an average of 8,000 fans per game
Sacramento has struggled to compile wins since switching from the Oakland A’s to the Giants’ affiliate.

Drone Speed Racers Turn Golden 1 Center into Virtual Reality Showcase
Sacramento’s Aaron Jilg is one of the lucky attendees at the biggest drone speed race in California history, featuring competitors from around the globe. He’s still buzzing after the winners are crowned inside the Golden 1 Center, overlooking the futuristic course.

One Club at a Time
Inside 11 of Sacramento’s small music venues
This gallery started with a peek into the Torch Club’s “green” room, located down a few stairs back behind the stage and hidden from public view. Between sets at a Ray Copeland Band show, I caught singer Marilyn Woods on a piano bench looking at some video and I snapped a couple of photos before going back out to the bar area.

Meet Sac Republic’s Director of Pitch
Randy Brink has been a staple at Sacramento professional sporting events for nearly four decades
Follow Randy Brink around Papa Murphy’s Park before a Sacramento Republic FC match and you’ll start counting how many different ways fans can say hi.

Sacramento Group Bikes to the City’s Coolest Projects
As a Midtown renaissance has morphed into a downtown building boom around the Golden 1 Center, Cool Projects Bike Tour riders have enjoyed a front row bicycle seat to it three to four times a year.

Giants-River Cats Meet at Raley Field and Head into a New Season
The smell of spring and anticipation of a new season is palpable on a Saturday afternoon at Raley Field in West Sacramento, as fans file in for the River Cats-Giants exhibition on March 24.

Sacramento Welcomes the Bulls
Golden 1 Center continues as popular stop for Professional Bull Riders Tour
For 16 consecutive years, first at Arco/Sleep Train Arena and now the Golden 1 Center, Sacramento fans have made it a ritual of grabbing their cowboy hats and heading to the home of the Kings to welcome the best talent the bull riding world has to offer.

Former UC Davis Star Uses Performance Psychology to Train Basketball Hopefuls
As a teenager dominating on the basketball court almost a decade ago, Ryan Sypkens seemed in control.
A prep standout at Elk Grove’s Franklin High School, Sypkens earned accolades as one of the top players in the Sacramento area. Then it was on to UC Davis, where he became a starter at point guard as a freshman.

A Night at the Ballpark
River Cats public address announcer talks about landing his dream job
When you’ve landed your dream job, you show up early.
It’s more than 90 minutes before game time on a cool, breezy late May evening and Mike Marando, the Sacramento River Cats’ public address announcer, sits hunched over a table in the press box at Raley Field and begins his fastidious pre-game preparation.

Sacramento Boxer to Finally Make His Pro Debut
After long and bumpy road, Steven Rapadas will enter the ring at Cache Creek Casino
Steven Rapadas has been close before.
With 64 amateur bouts under his belt, Rapadas has faced his share of adversity as he’s battled his way through a sport that has consumed his life since his early teens.

Is Bonney Field the New Cal Expo Amphitheater?
City of Trees set to draw up to 12,000 music lovers on Sept. 10
One of the area’s biggest annual multi-act festivals, City of Trees, is set to draw up to 12,000 fans to Bonney Field on Sept. 10 when bands such as Weezer, and Panic! at the Disco take the stage.

A&A Grocery Closing After 37 Years
Standing at the base of the Capitol Towers apartment complex, I couldn’t help but notice a sign posted on an outside window last week that simply said, “Goodbye.” I’m sad to note that A&A Grocery, a 37-year presence in downtown Sacramento, will soon be closing its doors.

Golden1 Center: A Year of Transformation
Sacramento gears up for the highly anticipated October 2016 Golden 1 Center opening.
Everyone has an opinion about the Golden 1 Center, the new home of the Sacramento Kings. But everyone also agrees on one thing: the new facility is transforming downtown Sacramento.

Great Expectations: The Andrew Susac Story
The dollars-and-cents skills behind baseball’s next big deal
The narrative of Andrew Susac’s 2014 season did more than just further his promising baseball career. The Roseville native’s sudden ascent in late July from minor leaguer to eventual World Series champion opened up a breadth of new financial opportunities, too.

Sacramento Republic FC prepares to host championship game
Following a big win last Saturday, Sacramento will host the championship match against the Harrisburg City Islanders this weekend.