People & Places

Best neighborhood

Midtown

2. East Sacramento

Best political activist

Commentator Mark Williams
www.marktalk.com

2. Brian Fischer, founder of 100 Minds
(916) 996-8655, 100minds@gmail.com

Best political cause

Equal rights (including marriage) for gays and lesbians

2. Ending the war

Best tourist attraction

Old Sacramento
www.oldsacramento.com

2. The state Capitol
10th and L streets, (916) 324-0333, www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov

Best architecture

The state Capitol
10th and L streets, (916) 324-0333, www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov

2. Ziggurat Building
707 Third Street in West Sacramento, www.dgs.ca.gov/ContactUs/zigdir.htm

If these halls could talk

Dear Capitol,

Each day I come to work in your beautiful halls I am reminded how fortunate I am to live and work in Sacramento. Your halls, floors and ceilings have witnessed so much history, strife, sadness and greatness. I love you.

—Meegen M. Murray

Best new building downtown

The Towers
Third Street and Capitol Mall, (916) 443-2200, www.sactowers.com; slated to open in 2008

2. 800 J Lofts
900 J Street, third floor; (916) 760-7248; www.800jlofts.com

Best light-rail stop

Folsom, on the Gold Line
(916) 321-2877, www.sacrt.com

2. St. Rose of Lima, on the Gold Line and Blue Line
(916) 321-2877, www.sacrt.com

Best place to people-watch

2. Old Sacramento
www.oldsacramento.com

Best place to beat the heat

American River

2. At the movies

Best park

McKinley Park
3330 McKinley Boulevard

2. William Land Park
4000 Land Park Drive

Best high school

2. Sacramento High School
2315 34th Street, (916) 277-6200, www.sthopepublicschools.org/sachigh/index.htm

Best elementary school

Crocker-Riverside Elementary School
2970 Riverside Boulevard, (916) 264-4183, http://schools.scusd.edu/crockerriverside

2. Phoebe Hearst Elementary School
1410 60th Street, (916) 277-6690, http://schools.scusd.edu/phoebehearst

Best place to view the river

Old Sacramento
www.oldsacramento.com

2. Discovery Park
(916) 875-6961, www.sacparks.net

2. Rio City Cafe
1110 Front Street, (916) 442-8226, www.riocitycafe.com

Best local radio show

Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning
KRXQ 98.5 FM, www.robarnieanddawn.com

2. Armstrong and Getty
KSTE 650 AM, http://kste.com/pages/aandg.html

Dear Midtown! Oh, sweet Sacramento Midtown! How do I love thee! Let me count the ways! Your tree-lined streets, Victorians, Craftsmans. Your street dwellers, business people, hipsters, feral-cat enablers. This noble neighborhood that walks the line between the high life and the lowlifes. Your infill projects and light rail. Let’s not forget the Capitol! Center of our state’s government. Some might even say a center of creativity! At the thought of you, I swoon and order another latte from that cozy little java hut, Naked Lounge, whilst I read the weekly SN&R.

Yours Truly,
Jessica Mitchell

Best local radio personality

Tom Sullivan
KFBK 1530 AM, www.tomsullivan.com

2. Christine Craft
KSAC 1240 AM, www.1240talkcity.com/shows/christinecraft

Best local TV newscaster

Cristina Mendonsa
KXTV News10, www.news10.net

2. Dave Walker
KCRA 3, www.kcra.com

Best local blog

Heckasac
http://heckasac.blogspot.com

The Sac Rag
http://sacrag.com

2. The Mark Williams Radio Show Blog
www.marktalk.com/id6.html

Best political battle

New arena

2. Governor’s race

Best news-anchor hair: male

Mark S. Allen
CBS 13, http://cbs13.com/marksallen

2. Dale Schornack
KXTV News10, www.news10.net

I love a Sacramento summer night when the daytime temperature has been over 100 degrees, the sun sets, and the cool Delta breeze whips up, wafting across my body. Nothing beats it. And it makes me want to become nocturnal. I stay awake and outdoors to drink it all in, as long as I possibly can before sleep.

—Gerry Watt

Best news-anchor hair: female

Cristina Mendonsa
KXTV News10, www.news10.net

2. Taryn Winter Brill
CBS 13, http://cbs13.com

Best weekend getaway

Lake Tahoe

2. San Francisco

Best local politician

Assemblyman Dave Jones
915 L Street, Suite 110; (916) 324-4676; www.assembly.ca.gov/Jones

2. Darrell Steinberg, a candidate for state Senate
(916) 443-7284, steinberg4senate@gmail.com

Best local attorney

2. Mark Merin
Law Office of Mark E. Merin, 2001 P Street, Suite 100; (916) 443-6911

Best local doctor

Dr. Karna S. Gocke
UC Davis Medical Group of Rancho Cordova; 11000 Olson Drive, Suite 100, in Rancho Cordova; (916) 635-4120; www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

2. Dr. Don Zacharias
UC Davis Medical Group Capitol Clinic; 2000 O Street; (916) 442-1011; www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Best local teacher

Douglas Barnes
Whitney Elementary School, 4248 Whitney Avenue, (916) 575-2407

2. Dianne Heimer
Sacramento City College, (916) 558-2695, www.scc.losrios.edu

Best local print journalist

Cosmo Garvin
Sacramento News & Review, 1015 20th Street, (916) 498-1234, www.newsreview.com

2. Becca Costello
Sacramento News & Review, 1015 20th Street, (916) 498-1234, www.newsreview.com

Best candidate for governor

Phil Angelides
1331 21st Street, (916) 448-1998, www.angelides.com

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
P.O. Box 783, Sacramento, CA 95812; (916) 329-6600; www.joinarnold.com

Best reason to live in Sacramento

The trees

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O city of the sweltering summers, refreshing winters and cool Delta breezes; salty fried rice, mild Indian food and cheesy burritos; home of great basketball and minor-league baseball; city with the railroad history, the freeway present and the light-rail future: ever-changing, like the weather on a December day, like the downtown skyline, like your politicians’ plans … I feel your underdog self-esteem, see your glorious urban forest, taste the sweat of your hot summers rolling down my face and smell the river as I ride down your Parkway to another State Fair … and I feel your love.

—Dairl Helmer

Dear Sacramento,

When I was 18, all I wanted to do was get away from you. I thought you were too small, too hot, and not nearly metropolitan enough for a girl like me. And so I left you. A few months later, I found myself in a history class somewhere in Southern California. The professor had gone off on a tangent about state capitals. I was barely listening when I caught her saying something about how California’s capital wasn’t even a “real city.” All of a sudden, something inside me came alive. I had to defend the city. I just had to! I raised my hand and, before even being called on, yelled out in front of my classmates, “Sacramento is great. You don’t know what you’re talking about!” The whole room sat there quiet for a very long time.

—Stacy Beckley

Dear Sacramento,

You are much maligned, but many things you are chastized for make you special. I know of no other city where downtown feels so comfortable. The beauty of old architecture mixed in with new, the lovely river that rolls along your edge and the millions of trees that line your streets create a lush, welcoming environment. Even state buildings have gone from institutional to fascinating. And the Capitol grounds remain one of the most beautiful places in the state. Filled with history and power, heat and passion, your ever-changing skyline constantly welcomes home its residents.

—Roxane Fritz