Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Generally posts related to Sacramento history or regional events that I may have covered.
It was a stroke of luck that I stumbled upon the original 1861 map of the Sacramento, Placer & Nevada Railroad (SPNRR) map in the California State Archives. With a digitized version of the original map, I could then compare the constructed rail line to modern roads and Folsom Lake shown on 20th century maps. While the 1861 and modern day maps don’t align perfectly, there are enough similarities to confirm suspicions of the route through the Folsom and Granite Bay areas.
Invariably, whenever the Bureau of Reclamation releases water stored behind Folsom Dam during the winter before the reservoir is full, people across the region accuse the Bureau of mismanagement, incompetence, and wasting water. The management of Folsom reservoir is complicated. But during the winter months, the main priority of Folsom Dam is flood control. That is why the dam was built in the first place.
Hundreds of people turned out in force to protest against the anti-gay beliefs of the Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento. Pastor Jimenez of Verity Baptist Church posted a recording of his sermon on Sunday, June 12, 2016, stating that Christians should not mourn over the deaths of 49 people killed in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, earlier that morning. He went on to preach that it was God’s intention that gays should be put to death. He also mentioned that the shooter didn’t finish the job by not killing all the people in the gay nightclub.
For history buffs there is nothing closer to heaven than examining an old map. I share that fascination and also enjoy sharing old maps that I’ve found. Recently I uploaded a map published in 1910 by the American River & Natomas Water & Mining Company illustrating their network of canals. The map is generally topographically accurate and includes some place names not found on previous or later topographical maps.
In 1849 U. S. Army Lieutenant George H. Derby performed topographical survey of the Sacramento Valley. The “Topographical Memoir Accompanying Maps of the Sacramento Valley, &c.” was found in Quarterly of the California Historical Society Vol. XI No. 2 publication dated June 1932. I found the small quarterly report in a book store in San Francisco and was attracted to it because of the inset map of the Sacramento Valley. The map is a reproduction of Lieutenant Derby’s topographical map he made for his report.
With the City of Sacramento formally approving the installation of rainbow colored crosswalks in midtown Sacramento, proponents of the project hope they’ll now see a rainstorm of money to actually install the fancy crossing stripes. The rainbow crosswalk project at the intersection of 20th and K St. is as much an homage to the LGBTQ […]
In a moment of exuberant passion for the cause of educating people about the stupidity of routine infant circumcision, I signed up the nascent Sacramento Intactivist group to march in the Sacramento Pride Parade. I walked in last year’s San Francisco Pride Parade with over 50 committed Intactivists and figured we could muster at least […]
In its very essence, the Freeport Regional Water Project is a peripheral water conveyance system designed to have Bureau of Reclamation water purchased by EBMUD not pass through the Delta. Even though this water is being used to service East Bay communities, there is no reason that some simple modifications to the EBMUD aqueducts would allow the water to be sent south to Southern California. Perhaps the Metropolitan Water District in Southern California should fund the construction of the necessary modifications to allow the discharge of water from the EBMUD aqueducts in the event of an emergency situation where Sacramento River water can’t be conveyed through the Delta.
HackerCare is not health insurance. HackerCare is a membership based association that offers group insurance through a carrier named Starmark. If you want to purchase the Starmark group health insurance, you have to join HackerCare. No one should ever be forced to join a fee based membership organization in order to purchase health insurance.
Beyond the well crafted TV commercials and print ads for Covered California are numerous volunteers that are “walking and talking” with total strangers to spread the news about the new Affordable Care Act health plans. People committed and passionate about health care reform from the Sacramento Mighty Oaks ACA Team are spending countless hours answering questions and handing out literature at libraries, community centers, neighborhoods and small businesses.
