Meatless Meats, Plant-Based Ice Cream and the Rise of the New "Alt Proteins"

Nom nom nom... our 1st event of 2020 was an especially tasty one because Burger Patch in Sacramento brought their meatless burgers and dairy-less shakes, and we ended things with scoops of plant-based chocolate ice cream served up by Eclipse Foods, a Bay Area-based startup that wants to be “the Impossivle Foods of dairy.” And it all tasted delicious.

Equally satisfying was this “ Food for Thought” discussion about Alt Proteins — clean meats, nut milks, plant-based ice cream that tastes just as good as the real thing — and how California is leading the charge in creating them and marketing them to the rest of the world.

Will they change the world? Are they truly a healthier choice for us? Are they a better alternative for the environment? Listen to the podcast discussion. And next time, join us for a live event — we’re always serving up something good for the crowd.

Hear about the “Future of Transportation in Sacramento”

California’s Capital City is getting attention nationwide for its alt-transportation methods, from red Jump bikes and scooters to shared electric cars and an entirely-revamped bus network.

But it’s not always a smooth ride. There are multiple complaints about how Jump bikes are blocking sidewalks, and Jump scooters are not that safe for their drivers or the people they run into. There’s talk of the City planning to impose a fee-per-ride ordinance that Jump says is expensive and prohibitive to expanding its services. The streetcar project is in jeopardy, with project bids for construction way higher than expected, and far beyond the project budget. And can SacRT ever get anyone to ride its light rail?

The future of transportation in Sacramento is off to a great start, but how will these bumps in the road affect it? And how will we — as users, taxpayers and voters — affect and be affected by these new transit methods?

Listen to the podcast of the discussion we held this with the people who are in charge of taking us where we want to go, but differently — on Soundcloud, iTunes and the other major podcast-gathering websites.

Listen to "Bringing Economic Equality to the Neighborhoods that Need It"

After the Stephon Clark shooting put Sacramento in the national spotlight last year, one of the City’s big initiatives now is this: Come up with the right jobs strategy that boosts all of its neighborhoods, especially those with less-than average employment rates and high poverty.

So how will all that go down? What will the funding be spent on, and who and where is it benefiting? How can the City’s government, businesses, and nonprofits and turn these efforts into economic growth and good jobs that boost people’s incomes and improve the neighborhoods they live in?

We hosted a Pop-Up Panel discussion around these questions, “Getting Economic Growth to the Neighborhoods that Need It.,” with some California Groundbreakers who are giving their all to do just that.

They are (from left to right) Nicholas Haystings of Square Root Academy; Melissa Anguiano from the City of Sacramento’s Department of Economic Development; Tyrone Roderick Williams of Sacramento Promise Zone; Dianna Tremblay of ICA Fund Good Jobs in Oakland; and Mariah Lichtenstern of DiverseCity Ventures.

Listen to our podcast of this great discussion — and find out how you can help them with their efforts.

The Sound and The Fury: Listen to Sacramento's Music Makers

Our first event with live music  . . . and ideally the first of many.

We had local musicians Dirty Chops Brass Band (pictured) and Todd Morgan book-end our Pop-Up Panel on "The Sound and the Fury: Sacramento's Music Scene" with great live performances, to give the audience a sample of the great musicians living and playing in the capital city.

It's no Austin yet. Sacramento has done some good things for the music scene, but it still could do a lot more. Our great panelists -- local musicians, club owners, concert promoters -- give some great advice in this conversation we held at CLARA in Midtown Sacramento in June.

Listen to the podcast, which also features more music from Todd Morgan and the Element Brass Band.

Sacramento Style: What Is It? Do We Have It Yet?

The movie Lady Bird brought a lot of attention to Sacramento. Soon after its release last fall, California's capital was written up as a travel destination in the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times. So now that the spotlight is on us, have we arrived as a destination and place to visit/live/exist?

Listen to the podcast of our "Sacramento Style" discussion we held last month with some of Sacramento's taste-makers and trend-setters talking about what that style exactly is, or isn't in the city's fashion, decor, architecture, and how Sacramentans dress, decorate and live. Do we have a signature style yet, or are we still coming into our own?

This photo (thanks, Phoebe!) includes some of our stylish panelists, including (from left to right) Josie Lee of Rire Boutiques; Maritza Davis of Unseen Heroes and Display California; Ryan Brough of Sacramento Fashion Week; Phoebe Verkouw of the Dress Fiend blog and the Fabulous Thrift Tour; and Jake Favour of Romp Creative.  (It's a shame that Anthony Giannotti of Anthony's Barbershop and Bottle and Barlow, was seated too far left of Jake to be included in the photo, because his hairstyle rocked).

Listen to their great discussion -- podcast links and more info are here.

Listen to "The Future of Downtown Sacramento"

John Dangberg, assistant city manager for Sacramento, had this to say about the Golden 1 Center, which opened a little over a year ago: "We've gone from a valuation of $22.5 million to well over $1 billion in value. " And with the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, Punch Bowl Social, TheBank_629J, and a bunch of new eateries on the 700 K block opening up, Dangberg only expects that valuation to rise.

Listen to Dangberg and our other panelists in the podcast recording of our "Future of Downtown Sacramento " discussion at the Crocker Art Museum talk about housing, parking, restoring historic buildings, revitalizing the riverfront, new modes of transportation, bringing in new jobs, and putting more arts and culture into downtown.

We broke the podcast down into specific parts (refer to our "Podcast Timeframe" to go to certain sections), but the whole discussion is a great way to learn more -- and get excited about -- the future of Downtown Sacramento. There's a lot in the works.

Our "Swanky Saturday" Talk at B Street Theater

To celebrate #shopsmall, we're co-hosting a "Swanky Saturday" talk at B Street Theater with three of Sacramento's coolest small businesses.

We'll talk with the owners of Andy's Candy Apothecary , and Oblivion Coffee and Comics near the Capitol (they're both past winners of the "Calling All Dreamers" business-plan contest run by Downtown Sac) and Classy Hippie Tea in Oak Park about their businesses - why they took the plunge, how they think big, the pros and cons of doing business in Sacramento, and advice they'd give to other aspiring entrepreneurs who want to set up shop.

We'll be chatting in the Star Room of the B Street Theater before the 9 pm showing of "A Moving Day" (the LAST SHOW that will ever be held here before the crew moves to its posh new digs at the SOFIA on Capitol Avenue).

Our talk is free for anyone to attend -- grab a drink at the lobby beforehand -- but it will be even more of a Swanky Saturday on the Grid if you pair it with tickets to "A Moving Day."

The Impact of Street Art in Sacramento

Wide Open Walls (WOW) is set to make a big splash in Sacramento, literally.

Scheduled for August 10-20, WOW is the official name for Sacramento's annual mural festival, now in its second year. During those 11 days, 50 artists from 12 countries will be painting 40 individual surfaces, from back-street alleys on the Grid to silos and water towers in the suburbs. Read more in the Sacramento News & Review's special section about the fest.

Street art is a big deal around the globe. And us with being the capital of the (currently) 5th largest economy in the world, is it our time to join the ranks of international cities known for their colorful, vibrant street-art scenes and communities? If so, what should those look like? What images should be on those walls? Who decides what they should be and where they should go? And how do the non-painters of us living here figure into creating a world-class street-art scene in Sacramento?

We're hosting a panel focused on Wide Open Walls on August 9,  the evening before the festival officially starts. Details and registration info are on the Event page.

Podcast: The Good and The Bad of Gentrification

Sacramento is on Realtor.com's list of the Top 10 U.S. cities that are gentrifying the fastest. And while our median housing price increase in the last 15 years jumped by more than 100 percent, we're apparently only 26.5 percent gentrified. What's going to happen in the next few years?

Listen to the podcast recording of our panel "The Good and The Bad of Gentrification," the third of our four-part discussion series "California's Crazy Housing Market."

Next up: CEQA reform - wonky but relevant to everyone living in California.

How California Changed The Way We All Do Dating and Relationships

Listen to the podcast of "Sex, Love, Dating & Relationships, California Style," a fun discussion about dating, love, sex and relationships -- and how California's culture, technology and higher-ed research are changing how we experience them.