| Night life reaches critical mass
Sacramento's central city, once seemingly devoid of all life after 5 p.m., now boasts entire blocks teeming with restaurants, clubs and bars, with more on the way. It's a drastic change that's been years in the making, but the transformation of vibrant patches of downtown has really taken off in the past three years. "It happened real fast," said Victor Torza, manager of Momo Lounge and part of the family that owns Harlow's restaurant and nightclub, a fixture on J Street near 27th Street for more than two decades. "It was a lot of local folks coming up and doing a real good job of opening the right places. Now we're starting to see the corporate chains interested in coming in because of what the locals guys have done." A single destination restaurant such as Harlow's can begin to charge up a neighborhood, said Lisa Martinez, head of marketing with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.
Homeowners wait for decisions on repairs and aid
Eight FEMA teams will be calculating damage in 41 counties this week to help government agencies decide whether federal assistance is justified. State governors will submit the information to Washington, where the decisions are made on the all-important disaster declarations.
If the area is declared eligible, low-interest, long-term loans would be available to eligible homeowners, renters and business owners. Those loans are intended to help only with losses not covered by insurance.
That wait is particularly difficult for many. Some residents can't move back into their homes until their damaged furnaces, water heaters and electricity panels are functioning. But in order to meet new federal flood insurance guidelines, those systems must be moved out of the basement, which residents can't pay for until FEMA or their insurer comes through.
Coleman launches campaign as 'voice for optimism'
Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman today pitched himself as a "voice for optimism in a cynical time" in a campaign kick-off speech in which he made references to Abraham Lincoln, the Bible and Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken. Coleman said that he wants to be judged by what he's gotten done. "I am willing to work with anybody who helps get the job done," Coleman said in a packed rally at his stuffy campaign headquarters. The theme he's chosen for his post-kick-off statewide tour is "Bringing Minnesota Together." That mimics the campaign theme he adopted six years ago, when he ran against the late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone. Then his motto was "Bringing People Together to Get Things Done." The ability of the first-term senator — who began his political career as the Democratic mayor of St.
|
