MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Sacramento, CA

It was a busy Friday morning at Lou’s with a steady flow of customers coming in to support the drive-in burger stand.

As patrons got to the order window, many asked to confirm the news about the mainstay’s closing, while others proposed ideas to the owners so that they could remain open.

Lou’s Drive-in has been serving burgers and shakes to the North Highlands community in Sacramento County since 1958, but come Oct. 28 the restaurant will be permanently shutting its doors, according to an Instagram post on Thursday.

Restaurant owners Leilan and Robert Kitchens have been negotiating with their landlord to buy the current building at 6229 Watt Ave., but they haven’t been able to come to an agreement, Leilan Kitchens said as she blended two vanilla milkshakes.

“We’re not millionaires here. We’re literally just getting by,” she said as her husband grilled burgers and her mother punched in orders at the register.

The Kitchens have owned Lou’s for 14 years after purchasing the drive-in from Don Roberge, Robert’s grandfather.

“Grandpa was the one that was going to shut the doors down, because he was going to retire, but we ended up buying it from him,” Leilan Kitchens said.

There were once four Lou’s in the Sacramento area that were opened by the late Lou Bergh, according to The Bee’s archives. Bergh and Roberge were business partners.

A cheeseburger at Lou’s ranges from $6.35 to $10.80 depending on the type of cheese, patty and chili fixings. Leilan Kitchens wants to keep her menu items fairly priced, she said, and feels that with a steep commercial mortgage payment she won’t be able to do that.

North Highland resident Judy Whitaker was waiting for two chocolate milkshakes at Lou’s on Friday morning. She worked at the shop 30 years ago and refers to the burger drive-in as “an icon.”

“I’m really upset about it,” Whitaker said as she leaned on the counter next to the order window. “This is an icon. These are the best milkshakes and burgers that you can possibly get.”

Lou’s is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Friday, just an hour after opening, there was a line of about five customers waiting to place their orders.

On Instagram people lamented the closure with crying emojis and red hearts.

“I grew up here, I worked here when I was going to college,” Whitaker said. “In the summers my son used to ride his bike down here.”

Lou’s plans to serve its last burger and milkshake on Saturday, Oct. 28.

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This story was originally published October 21, 2023, 5:00 AM.

Halftime to Feature Dynamic Performance by Rap Group Tha Dogg Pound

Team to Unveil Local Organizations in the 2023-24 Community Starting 5 Presented by Quick Quack Car Wash

Game, Presented by Kaiser Permanente, will Feature Free “Bring the Roar” T-Shirts

Today, the Sacramento Kings announced that rap group Tha Dogg Pound will perform at halftime for the team’s Opening Night, Friday, October 27, as the team takes on the Golden State Warriors. In addition, the team will announce this season’s Community Starting 5 presented by Quick Quack Car Wash, and all fans in attendance will receive a free “Bring the Roar” t-shirt, courtesy of Kaiser Permanente.

“We are excited to welcome fans back to the arena as we tip-off another thrilling season of Kings basketball at Golden 1 Center,” said Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart. “Along with an action-packed night on the court, Opening Night will also feature exciting entertainment and highlight community organizations making a tremendous impact in our region.”

Tha Dogg Pound is a rap group that emerged from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the 1990s. The group was formed by two prominent rappers and longtime collaborators, Daz Dillinger (Delmar Drew Arnaud) and Kurupt (Ricardo Emmanuel Brown), both of whom were associated with the iconic rapper and producer Dr. Dre and his label, Death Row Records. The duo are known for hits including We Can Freak It, Who Ride Wit Us, What Would You Do and Let’s Play House.

The Sacramento Kings Community Starting 5 presented by Quick Quack Car Wash was established to amplify the work of local nonprofits. Selected nonprofits will receive direct donations from the Kings Foundation, in-game video content, fan kiosks on the concourse and exposure via the team’s social channels.

The 2023-24 Sacramento Kings Community Starting 5 are as follows:

These organizations were selected based on established criteria representing the Kings and Quick Quack’s core values including attendance at the annual Kings Do Good Summit, holding a 501(c)3 status with good standing and commitment to at least one of the Kings Foundation focus areas, health, education, social justice and sustainability.

All five organizations will be recognized on-court during and have a resource table on the concourse to educate fans about their offerings on Opening Night and their work will be amplified throughout the season.

The city of Sacramento’s plans to use parking revenue to pay off $273 million in construction bonds for Golden 1 Center has developed funding cracks, forcing officials to use money from the city’s general fund, a pot of money that also pays for homelessness services, libraries and parks.

The problem: Too many empty spaces in Sacramento’s five garages, a continuing hangover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has forced the city of Sacramento to divert from its $771 million general fund more than $5.7 million over the past two years to pay off the construction bonds.

With the preseason finishing Oct. 19, the Kings hope to return to another playoff-bound campaign Oct. 25, with the first home game against the Golden State Warriors Friday, Oct. 25.

But city officials said even as the Kings have filled Golden 1 and other entertainment events have resumed, remote work has left downtown office buildings only partially filled, lessening the demand for parking spaces.

“Obviously we’ve all been through some tough times since March 2020,” said Brian Wong, the city’s debt manager.

Golden 1 construction bonds had been issued in 2015 and the city’s plan was for about 30% of the payments to come from the revenue of the city’s five parking garages, three in downtown and two in Old Sacramento. This would add up to about $147 million over the 35-year lifespan of the bond.

The actual garage in Golden 1 Center is owned by the Kings, part of a land transfer the city made to the Kings as part of the deal to build the center.

When the bond was issued in 2015, an emergency fund was created to cover any parking revenue shortfalls. At that time, $5.3 million was placed in the fund.

As of July 2018, the emergency fund balance had risen to more than $18.7 million. In the subsequent years, the city used some of that money to make the bond payments — even prior to the pandemic there existed a shortfall between the actual and the projected parking revenue.

In 2020, the Kings fell several games short of a full home season, which meant, according to their contract, that the city would reduce the team’s bond payment to $5.7 million that year instead of $6.5 million. The city took the $800,000 from the general fund to pay for the Kings’ portion of the bond.

The Kings contract with the city stipulates that they must also contribute to the bond payments. Over time, the team’s annual lease payment will cover about 70% of the bonds, but the city bears a much greater responsibility for the payments earlier in the life of the bonds.

Wong said the city is obligated to make its payments to bondholders on the arena whether there is enough money in the parking fund or not.

“Otherwise there would be ramifications to the city’s credit rating and reputation,” Wong said.

A missed payment would damage the city’s investment grade credit rating and would result in Sacramento residents paying higher interest on future bond offerings.

More diversions from the general fund to pay for the bonds are likely to take place over the next several years. The city projects a parking revenue deficit as it relates to the bonds of $7.12 million between fiscal years 2023-24 and 2027-28.

Even though the Kings games are back and attracting large crowds due to the basketball team’s playoff run and concerts have returned, parking revenue has lagged.

Parking revenue had dropped to as low as 50% of the pre-COVID-19 revenue in the 2021-22 fiscal year. The city expected parking revenues to be 79% of pre-pandemic revenues in the 2022-23 fiscal year that ended June 30, or about $14 million.

The city said there is an end in sight to the parking fund shortfalls, but it will take until the beginning of the 2029 fiscal year to come to fruition. Officials said revenue will rise 5% year over year in 2026-27 and have smaller increases after that.

“We’re starting to see events come back,” said Matt Eierman, the city’s parking services manager. “Everything is in full force. We’ll have four or five events going on at the same time. We have the convention center open and residential units that have been built downtown.”

The current yearly bond payments amount to $18 million of which the city is responsible for $10 million. The entirety of that payment is supposed to come from parking revenue. The Kings are responsible for the other $8 million.

Over time, the King’s bond payments will increase while the city payments decrease. Bond documents, however, show that it will be another decade before the Kings and the city split the payments evenly. The bonds go through 2052.

The Kings only signed on to build their arena in downtown Sacramento after city officials agreed to pay for about half the construction costs. This deal was part of a major effort to rejuvenate downtown.

Critics back in 2014 had argued that the city’s plan was too risky because it relied on growing parking revenue.

City officials acknowledged they would have to tap the general fund if the parking revenues fell short — but insisted it wasn’t likely to happen.

“I feel comfortable we’re on track to hit these targets,” said then-Assistant City Manager John Dangberg shortly before the arena opened in 2016.

But that optimism didn’t align with reality.

City officials estimated that parking revenue would jump from around $15.5 million to more than $26 million after Golden 1 Center opened in 2016. However, the revenue only rose to $20.3 million and then slightly dropped over the subsequent years, according to an examination of city figures.

This story was originally published October 19, 2023, 5:00 AM.

SACRAMENTO -- The mother of 15-year-old Kaoria Robinson, who had been missing since the weekend, confirmed the teenager was located in south Sacramento on Thursday.

Mom Raynishia Anderson told CBS13 that her daughter was found safe on 22nd Avenue in the Oak Park area and was back home. It is unclear who she was with.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said they had received a report from Anderson who said she heard from a third party that Robinson was possibly at an address in the North Highlands area. It is unclear what led to Robinson being found on 22nd Avenue.

Robinson had been last seen Saturday morning in a neighborhood in Del Paso Heights.

For the past several days, Anderson and Kaoria's father, Rodney Robinson, had been doing whatever they could to find their daughter.

"She's out alone, she's 15 years old and she's nowhere to be found," Anderson told CBS13 Wednesday, a day before her daughter was found.

"I'm just trying to deal with it the best I can until my daughter gets home," Rodney Robinson said Wednesday.

Her disappearance came just months before California officially launches a new alert system that would have warned the public about her disappearance and what to look out for.

Known as the Ebony Alert, the new system will authorize law enforcement to request the California Highway Patrol to activate their notification system – exactly like an Amber Alert. The only difference is it would be specifically for missing Black children and women between 12 and 25.

In order for the CHP to push out an Ebony Alert, the missing person would have to be "at risk" and for there to be concern for their physical safety and mental or physical disabilities.

The law doesn't go into effect until January 1.

Kings

SACRAMENTO - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its Winter Outlook showing us what to expect as the winter months arrive.

The outlooks provide a broad idea of how the winter months of December, January and February may play out with respect to temperature, precipitation and drought.

For the first time in four years, a strong El Niño is in place to bring above-average temperatures in the northern Continental U.S.

"El Niño is very highly likely to persist through the entire winter and actually through the spring. So it's going to be an established event during the winter," said Jon Gottschalck, the chief of the NOAA's Operational Prediction Branch.

El Niño, the warm phase of the El Niño-La Niña Southern Oscillation pattern, is a major driver of weather worldwide and is often associated with hotter global temperatures and wetter conditions in portions of California.

In El Niño years, warmer waters in the eastern Pacific create an active jet stream over the southern U.S., leading to higher chances of cool and wet weather in the southwest and warmer and drier weather in the northwest during the winter.

NOAA's Winter Outlooks

The NOAA expects the highest chance of above-average warmth to stretch from the Pacific Northwest to northern New England.

No areas of the U.S. are forecast to have colder-than-average temperatures between December and February, according to the NOAA.

As for moisture, areas with the highest chances of above-average moisture are across the portions of California stretching to the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

"More of the strongest signals we typically see is actually away from the west, is more across the southern southeast, Gulf Coast, Texas and up along the eastern seaboard for above-normal precipitation," Gottschalck said.

Drier weather is expected further to the north across the northern High Plains and Great Lakes region.

Where does Northern California stand?

This winter, most of Northern California is forecast to be warmer than average and wetter than average.

But north to south, California is not expected to have the same winter impacts thanks to the return of El Niño.

"Typically, that means above-normal precipitation across Southern California and it has mixed signals here in Northern California. We've seen very dry El Niño winters and very wet El Niño winters, so not a slam dunk as far as our winter is concerned," Courtney Carpenter, meteorologist at NWS Sacramento said.

The winter outlooks help show what signals forecasters should look out for but do not give an exact answer as to what we'll see.

"These outlooks don't tell you when it's going to rain, how much it's going to snow, how many storms we're going to get. So they just predict kind of an overall climate pattern but don't give us any of the details that impact us here locally," Carpenter said.

Therefore, a drier winter is still not out of the question.

"The outlooks are probabilistic for a reason so what we are forecasting are what we believe is the most likely outcome," Gottschalck said.

Forecasters say these outlooks do help to give everyone from local and state emergency services to you at home a heads up.

"We saw a really crazy winter last winter. We just want people to start to get prepared, be thinking about flooding, be thinking about those winter storms, and how they are going to prepare their families and their loved ones," Carpenter said.

A Wednesday morning sun gleamed into the new Okesutora, a reservation-only sushi concept, as owner Mymy Nguyen and Executive Chef Hieu Phan greeted friends, family and supporters at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The restaurant officially opened its doors on L Street in Sacramento, introducing the city to a unique, high-end omakase experience.

Omakase, which translates to “I leave it up to you,” is a form of Japanese dining where guests allow the chef to decide what to prepare, according to the Michelin Guide.

The restaurant, nestled at 1801 L St., Suite 70, joins a crew of eateries along L Street, including the recently opened Pazza Notte, The Rind and Saigon Alley, which Nguyen also owns and recently expanded with a location in Natomas.

The proximity of her restaurants is intentional, Nguyen told The Bee at the grand opening event. The goal is to have different concepts in and around the area, not compete with one another.

“Every time that we’re doing something, we’re hoping to elevate and change the scene,” Nguyen said.

Across from Okesutora, Nguyen said that she’ll be opening an upscale lounge early next year.

“We’re definitely going to change the course of things around here a little bit and I’m excited because I think Sac needs that,” she said.

Inside the 1,524-square-foot space is an intimate arrangement, detailed with matte black walls, warm yellow lights and wood furnishing — an ode to traditional minimalist Japanese aesthetics, Nguyen said. Taking reservations for 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, the restaurant seats 30 people, with spots by the window and bar where guests are treated to a view of chefs preparing their dishes.

Okesutora will feature an immersive dining experience, a 14-course chef-tasting menu with traditional Edomae and new-style sushi, cold and hot dishes, and dessert, led by Phan, a Sacramento native and the former chef at Nobu in Palo Alto and Las Vegas. Phan is of Vietnamese descent and has studied Japanese cuisine.

“It was fun to explore and do what I love, but the city of Sacramento kind of drove me home,” Phan said.

When you enter the restaurant, you’ll be greeted by a chef with “Irasshaimase!” which translates to “Welcome!”

This means a chef acknowledges you and will likely be the one to take care of you, Phan said.

The omakase experience will include a deep understanding of your food and where it comes from.

“We want people to get out of their comfort zone and learn about new fishes or seasonal ingredients,” Phan said. “So we educate them on the proper sushi etiquette, where the fish is sourced and the proper way to eat and the reason why we incorporate the flavors that we do.”

Phan and his team will curate seasonal menus every three months, featuring local and global ingredients, including fresh, wild-caught and hand-caught fish flown in from Japan every Tuesday and Thursday, Nguyen said.

That’s why the spot is closed on Sundays and Mondays, she said, to preserve the freshness of the fish.

You can start making reservations to Okesutora online.

The restaurant is business casual, Nguyen said, encouraging people to wear what they would for a fancy date, anniversary or birthday.

“We just want everybody to have a good time and it’s nice to dress up,” Nguyen said.

Address: 1801 L St., Suite 70, Sacramento

Hours: 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday

This story was originally published October 19, 2023, 5:00 AM.

The California Department of Community Services and Development is extending its program to help low-income residents pay their current or past-due water and sewer bills.

The federally-funded Low Income Household Water Assistance Program was originally set to end in the fall, but will remain open through March 2024 — or until funds last.

Here’s how to apply for one-time support paying your water and sewer bill, and who qualifies:

There are two ways for households to qualify for California’s water and sewer bill assistance program.

If your total household gross income is at or below 60% of the state median income of $109,200, you are eligible for the program.

Your household also qualifies if one or more members is a current recipient of CalFresh, CalWORKS or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Your water or sewer utility system must be enrolled in the program. You can ask your utility provider to sign up if they aren’t already.

The enrolled water and sewer utilities list by county, updated as of Sept. 29, can be found on the department’s website. The list also shows whether the providers accepts benefits for current bills or past due only.

To apply for the program, visit the department’s website and search for your local service provider. The program works with these providers to connect low-income households with financial support.

If you are a renter and your water or sewer bill is included in your rental payment, you may still qualify for the program if you are past due on rent. In this case, renters need to complete an agreement with their landlord as part of the application.

Local water bill assistance service providers include:

Fresno County

Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission

1900 Mariposa Mall, Ste. 260, Fresno

559-263-1320

Merced County

Merced County Community Action Agency

1235 Main St., Merced

209-723-4565

Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sacramento County

Community Resource Project, Inc.

250 Harris Ave., Ste 3, Sacramento

916-567-5200

Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

San Joaquin County

San Joaquin County Department of Aging and Community Services

333 E. Washington St., Stockton

209-468-1500

Open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Stanislaus County

Central Valley Opportunity Center, Incorporated

3860 Brickit Court, Ceres

209-537-9217

Open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

San Luis Obispo County

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc.

3970 Short St., Ste. 110, San Luis Obispo

805-541-4122

Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

This story was originally published October 20, 2023, 2:36 PM.

When the Montana State Bobcats play the Sacramento State Hornets at 10:30 PM on Saturday, October 21, our computer model predicts the Bobcats will take home the win. Our model also projects the spead, point total, and final score, which you can see below.

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