JT Long

Back Writer

J.T. Long is the former managing editor for Comstock’s magazine and current executive editor for Streetwise Reports.

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Fred Teichert of the Teichert Foundation

Funding Famine

Charities turn to foundations for support

The economy has rocked a number of local nonprofits, putting a dent in donations just as they were taking on the burden of increased social needs. Many of these charities have turned to foundations for increased support.

Jan 1, 2011 JT Long

Hidden Homes

Compact residential goes vertical in midtown alleyways

Tucked in an alley between 17th and 18th streets in midtown Sacramento is the first of what could be an emerging pattern of townhomes. Three bright yellow garage doors mark the entrance to two 1,200-square-foot units poised over a 615-square-foot one-bedroom space.

Dec 1, 2010 JT Long
Terry Myrrdin, chief of facilities oversight, office of the Secretary of State.

Difference in the Making

Local women reach out to foster youth

Sometimes small things can make big differences. Whether it’s a dry towel, a warm hat or advice on how to create a budget, a little bit of time can have a positive impact on one of Sacramento County’s 4,000 foster youth, many of whom don’t have anyone to provide these basics.

Oct 1, 2010 JT Long
Juanita Nicolas, youth aid, Youth Investment Center

Eat, Pray, Survive

One woman's journey through foster care

After 19 years of struggling to belong, Juanita Nicolas found the students at Wilson Riles Middle School. As a youth aid, the teenager tutored 40 students, many in the foster care system just as she had been before emancipation a year earlier.

Oct 1, 2010 JT Long
Peter Brundage, executive officer, Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission

Civil Union

Rancho Cordova welcomes annexed land

Rancho Cordova recently celebrated the annexation of a finger of land — Folsom Boulevard east of Sunrise Boulevard and south of Highway 50 — with the rest of the incorporated city.

Sep 1, 2010 JT Long
Heather Phillips has been in the hospital for nearly five years. She is visited regularly by Sherm and Sandy Waldman and their West Highland white terrier as a part of a palliative care program at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

Balancing the Burdens

Helping patients and hospitals make difficult choices

A growing senior population is changing the way society approaches life and death. “People are dying differently now,” says Judy Citko, executive director of the Coalition for Compassionate Care. In the past, patients had to choose between giving up on treatment or forging ahead with sometimes drastic measures. In contrast to the traditional focus on treatment of individual episodes at any physical and financial cost, medical experts, patients and their families are demanding a new way of approaching their final months and years.

Sep 1, 2010 JT Long

A Greener Park

The history of Depot Park

During World War II, the U.S. Army put Depot Park on the map as a central location to collect and distribute war supplies to troops on the West Coast and across the Pacific. The military moved out in 1995, but government, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes have continued to leverage the site as a hub for green activities and technological innovations.

Aug 1, 2010 JT Long
The Elk Grove Promenade began construction in 2007, and the fate of the unfinished project is still unknown.

Retail Rebound?

Elk Grove retail properties stabilize after two-year coma

Promenade Parkway is a lonely stretch of road south of Elk Grove. Behind a chain-link fence, a steel skeleton of what was supposed to be the city’s first mall with a Macy’s department store and a 16-screen theater sits in the shadow of developer General Growth Properties Inc.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy negotiations.

Jul 1, 2010 JT Long
Although vacancies at the Sheraton Grand have increased the past few years, the lobby's bar has maintained business.

The Inn Crowd

Hotels ride out the occupancy dip

When Meg Whitman arrives in Sacramento to campaign for the gubernatorial race, she stays at the Citizen Hotel. “It’s her home away from home,” says Mark Mathews, the hotel’s general manager.

Jun 1, 2010 JT Long