Ed Goldman’s thrice-weekly column, The Goldman State, began five years ago and now has readers in all 50 states as well as Europe and Canada. He wrote the Working Lunch column for Comstock’s for 15 years and the Sacramentions column for Sacramento Magazine for 10 years. He also wrote a daily column for eight years for the Sacramento Business Journal, which has published three of his five books, and was a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times for 10 years.
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Sacramento City College Was Once the Only College Between Stockton and Chico
Step inside the 108-year-old Land Park legend
“I’ve been here more than half my life,” says Sac City President Albert Garcia. “I love the history of this college. It gives everything we do here a richer context. Don’t forget, for many years, as far as colleges in the area, we were it. Just as we began by being part of a high school campus.”
Legendary Trial Lawyer Joe Genshlea Still Lives 2 Blocks From the Land Park Home Where He Grew Up
At 86, the star of 3 one-man shows is still writing and fulminating
For years, Joe Genshlea has been known as one of the best trial lawyers in California. Regularly lionized as such by his peers — including his being voted into the state’s Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in a ceremony presided over by California Supreme Court Associate Justice Ming W. Chin — Genshlea’s reputation could give you the impression he’s a fiery, hellfire-and-brimstone orator.
Jacob Cohen Ministered to the Dying and Heartsick in New York City on 9/11
Former police chaplain Jacob Cohen still feels the pain
Folsom-based, then-Chaplain Jacob Cohen was on vacation 7 miles from the World Trade Center towers when they were brought down. After the attack, he ministered to first responders, many of whom had lost friends and colleagues.
Campaigning Through Cancer
Former Folsom mayor and restaurateur Rosario Rodriguez to add Sacramento County Supervisor to her titles in January
As she was simultaneously running Sutter Street Taqueria (which she founded), serving as mayor on the Folsom City Council and running for the 4th district supervisor seat she won outright in the March 2024 primary, Rosario Rodriguez was being treated for Stage 1 breast cancer, which had been diagnosed in November 2023.
The Violent, Bloody Folsom Prison Escape of 1903
New book details a dark time in the prison’s history
The prisoners made makeshift knives, or shivs, and used stolen razors during their siege. One prison guard died, and two were injured.
At Patrick and Bobbin Mulvaney’s Restaurant, Ingredients and Compassion for the Community Are Locally Sourced
An extraordinary night with an extraordinary couple
For Patrick and Bobbin Mulvaney, the long-married couple whose restaurant Mulvaney’s B&L is on the top of almost everyone’s fine-dining list in the Capital Region, two words seem to coexist as a single mission statement: nourish and nurture.
Dennis Mangers Has Had 8 Careers — and Says He May Be Ready for Another Chapter
An audience with Sacramento’s go-to advocate for the arts, government, education and LGBT equality
Dennis Mangers, who says, “I’ve had eight careers in 83 years,” is known for unimpeachable credibility.
Anna Judah: Far More Than Theodore Judah’s Victorian Housewife
Through her artistry, she brought the transcontinental railroad to life — before it was built
You wouldn’t know that a tragic love story led to the railroad that connected the East and West coasts for the first time.
Gary Gerould Offers Some Play-by-Play About His Life and Career
The sports announcer goes off-mic to do his own color commentary
Gary Gerould, aka The G-Man, has spent more than six decades as a sports journalist and play-by-play announcer. His greatest gift may be that you don’t have to care that much about the sports he’s covered (basketball, auto racing, sumo wrestling and football come immediately to mind) to be familiar with his name, his distinctively even-keeled voice and his remarkable unflappability.
Whatever Became of the Auburn Dam?
One of the largest flood control projects in the country was never built
The Auburn Dam could well be the most talked about water storage and flood control facility in the country that simply doesn’t exist — no matter how much it’s been argued about, advocated for and against, legislatively proposed and architecturally rendered.
With ‘Boulevard Dreams,’ the Sacramento History Museum Focuses on Lowriders — as Cars and as a Cultural Touchstone
A ‘paradigm shift’ for a treasured local institution
More than two dozen 1950s and ‘60s vintage cars were parked in a semi-circle in front of the Sacramento History Museum’s entrance, heralding attendees to enter a world they had likely encountered over the past several decades but may have feared or simply misunderstood.
An Audience with Angelo Tsakopoulos
A conversation with the region’s best-known developer, history-loving philanthropist and undeniable influencer
All sagas have to begin somewhere. For Angelo Tsakopoulos, it was nighttime when he heard people crying on the upper deck of the ship that brought him, at 15, and hundreds of other immigrants to the United States in 1951.
Kitty O’Neal: A Rock Star on Radio and in Her Off Hours
Catching up with the broadcast legend and community gem
Learning of this interview with local media legend Kitty O’Neal, who has been anchoring news at KFBK for an astounding 37 years, a fan of hers gushes, “Wow! I watch her on the radio all the time!”
Is Stockton Poised to Become a Branch Office of the Marvel Universe?
City officials are trying to lure the superheroes
Maybe Stockton should rebrand itself Upper Tinseltown. This port city, less than an hour’s drive from the capital — and the setting for a number of Hollywood films over the years — is on a mission to make itself a presence in the next “Fantastic Four” movie, due to be released in 2025
Phil Oates Is a Strong Believer in God, Philanthropy, the Sacramento Kings and Candor
At 71, the commercial real estate tycoon continues to earn community-wide kudos — and straight A’s in college
Oates rarely does “the least” he can do. He is chairman of the board of the Buzz Oates Group — a $3 billion commercial real estate investment, management and development firm founded by his late father.
The Back Story: That Other Time We Had a Local Baseball Team
The Sacramento Solons still evoke fond (and funny) memories
As a team, the Solons had more stops and starts in the area than light rail at rush hour. There were iterations of the club in 1903 and 1905, from 1909 to 1914, from 1918 to 1960, and finally, from 1974 to 1976.
The Back Story: The Rocket Company that Roared
Aerojet was once a major player in the region — until it wasn’t
If you’re ever on Jeopardy and you’re asked to name an American company that not only helped the country and its allies win a war (the Big One) and, a bit more than two decades later, helped send it to the moon — before getting mired in a sludge of litigation — remember one of this region’s more complicated and often controversial sagas: Aerojet.
A Visit with the Capital’s Real (and More Beloved) Powerhouse
How Sandy Smoley saved the Sacramento Symphony, got those lights installed on the Tower Bridge, chummed around with Ronald Reagan, and thinks we should all sit on our porches
Sandy Smoley was once ubiquitous in local and state government, in the arts, in charity, in civic beautification and ultimately, as an in-demand public affairs and health care consultant for The Smoley Group. We check in with the local icon to see what she’s up to now.
The Back Story: McGeorge School of Law
The truth and folklore behind Sacramento’s biggest law school
Prof. Michael Hunter Schwartz recounts stories about some big names that passed through McGeorge School of Law.
The Quality of Marcy
Catching up with the region’s tireless philanthropist, art collector and painter
Marcy Friedman is one of the greater Sacramento region’s
best-known and most personally beloved philanthropists, as well
as a genuine influencer.
The New Adventures of Gregg Lukenbill: Catching Up With the Man of a Thousand Projects
From owning a professional basketball team and starting an airline service to resuscitating a neighborhood bar, this Sacramento native refuses to slow down
Gregg Lukenbill has a lifelong, nearly unconditional love
for the city he helped build. Get to know the former Sacramento
Kings owner and his new project to revive a legendary bar.
113 Years Later, They Still Bring the Bling to California Loan & Jewelry
From Louis Vuitton purses to rare books, you can find it all at the pawn shop
Pawn shop owner owner Warren Anapolsky has an extensive
network of authenticators, including experts in art,
first-edition books and bling. He’s also an expert
himself.
Randall Selland’s Regional Fiefdom of Food
With Sacramento’s first Michelin-starred restaurant (The Kitchen), an elegant Capitol hangout (Ella), three Selland’s Market Cafés and Italian eatery OBO’, this Fresno native makes his son’s ‘Farm to Fork’ more than a tagline
Over the past 30 years, Randall Selland has opened multiple
restaurants of different styles, all with an inclusive, folksy
flair.
The Newest Iteration of the 70-Year-Old Teleprompter Connects Nevada City to the White House
A device designed to make everyone on camera seem spontaneous
The TeleStepper was created in Nevada City just six years ago.
Since then, the innovative teleprompter has been used by
Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more.
Former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness: A Throwback and a Futurist
Lunching with the local legend at a Capital landmark
The former sheriff reflects on 31 years in law enforcement
and his current radio talk show.
At the California State Library, the Pleasures and Treasures Are Yours
Six million items are available for viewing
There is much magic to discover at the California State
Library, whether you visit for research or pleasure.
The institution’s keepers take us on a tour of some of
its treasures.
Gold Country Media Defies Newspaper Naysayers
For six Northern California publications, the alleged death of print is a very big typo
Award-winning Gold Country Media keeps pressing on in a
digital-dominated world.
The Back Story: Hidden Treasures
University of the Pacific finds a missing link in its rich history: its birth papers
Opening a cherished safe thought to contain untold historic
riches about the origins of University of the Pacific, President
Christopher Callahan wondered what he’d find.
On the Rise: Kevin Rooney
Meet 12 young professionals who are shaping their industries and the Capital Region
A two-word motto, which is more like a mantra, guides the career and personal code of Kevin Rooney, chief deputy district attorney for San Joaquin County: “Do justice.”
How Visit Sacramento Markets the Capital Region’s Diversity
In April, Sonya Bradley, a veteran of Visit Sacramento’s public relations and marketing communications department for more than two decades, was named the bureau’s first chief of diversity, equity & inclusion.
The Back Story: The Long Pour
After 124 years in business, Frasinetti Winery continues making and serving its wine
Frasinetti Winery is the oldest family-owned wine producer in the
Sacramento Valley, withstanding the Prohibition and both World
Wars.
Is the Capital Region’s Health Care Industry on the Critical List?
The region’s health care facilities are beginning what may be a lengthy convalescence when it comes to jobs.
The Back Story: A Landmark’s Ups and Downs
Sacramento’s iconic Tower Bridge spans a river — and generations
The Sacramento landmark wasn’t always a golden gate to the
city.
The Back Story: A Family’s Legacy
The Crocker Art Museum dates to the purchase of the site by E.B. Crocker more than 150 years ago
From its official opening in 1885, the Crocker Art Museum (then
known as the E.B. Crocker Gallery) has had a split
personality.
The Back Story: Back to the Beginning
Tatyana Bak is leading Elica Health Centers’ growth as CEO 30 years after helping to launch a clinic
Tatyana Bak was 29 years old, an émigré from the city of Odessa
in what was then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, when in
1989 she helped open a medical clinic that eventually evolved
into Elica Health Centers.
The Back Story: A True Utility Player
SMUD has become more than just a public utility
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which has served the
community for nearly 75 years, also became a social
services organization in 2018.
The Back Story: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
Ninety-three years after opening, it’s ready for the future
While chronologically a relic, the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
is anything but a fossil.
An Appreciation
Memories of former Pride Industries CEO Michael Ziegler
Whether we knew him as Michael, Mike or Ziggy, hundreds of us had a tendency to preface a reference to Michael Ziegler with two words: “my friend.”