Name of the roads: North Natomas has a dozen streets that weren't named in the usual way. They aren't named for picturesque places or have romantic Spanish names. They aren't named for the developer's friends or family, nor were they copied from streets in other cities. Instead, they have names like William Bird Avenue and Bill Bean Circle. If you've been around a few years, you may remember Bill Bean Jr. as the young police officer shot and killed in 1999 while making a traffic stop. The streets off Honor Parkway were named to honor all the Sacramento police officers and firefighters who've died in the line of duty. The naming was the idea of Councilman Robbie Waters, a former police officer, but the vagaries of the naming process are such that not all of the 31 fallen got on streets. "We named as many streets as we could after the fallen officers and firefighters," he said. Waters and Councilman Ray Tretheway – in whose district the streets are located – dedicated a monument to all 31 in Regency Park last week. Waters noted he'd known seven of the men personally. A few family members – including Kim Toms, Bean's mother – attended, appreciative of the honor but aware that street signs and plaques still can't replace what's lost. "I want him back," she said. …
Cats and dogs: Johanna McCloy is a lover of baseball and hot dogs. But not meat. McCloy is an A's fan who lobbies major league ballparks to offer vegetarian franks as an option. Many have taken her up on it. (See soyhappy.org.) They're popular enough so "only one ballpark has stopped selling them," she said. But McCloy, who used to live in Sacramento, hasn't kept tabs on the minor leagues. What about the River Cats? "I actually never heard of a veggie hot dog," said Jimmy Spencer, a spokesman for the venue. He checked with Raley Field's concessionaire. "No veggie hot dogs," he reported, "but we do have the burger." A vegetarian option – Boca burgers, in this case – is a good start, but what goes with baseball is hot dogs. As in, "Git yer red hots!" Not burgers, hot dogs. So Cats, how about veggie dogs? Of course, a river cat, whatever that is, is probably a carnivore. …
Gold shovels, Golden Books: They had one of those ceremonial groundbreaking events for the Pocket-Greenhaven Library last week. Trucked-in dirt, shovels painted gold, dignitaries, speeches, you know. There's a lot more going on, though. Good news and bad news. Good news includes the fact that Kathy Windheim has 30 classic Golden Books that she'll auction to benefit the new library. Remember Golden Books? "They, in a way, represent the democratization of publishing for children," said Leonard Marcus, who wrote the 2007 book "Golden Legacy." (That means they're iconic. Wink.) One of them was "Pokey Little Puppy," the biggest-selling kids' book ever – 20 million copies, Marcus said. Even Oprah probably couldn't boost that with a plug. Windheim has one of the first, from 1942. She got it (and the 29 others) when the publisher was bought out by a bigger company. The cover price was 25 cents, but now they can sell for 100 times that. Now the bad news: A fire shut down the kitchen of the restaurant where they had scheduled the benefit, so the June 22 event was canceled. "I'm going to keep my golden treasures safe," Windheim said. She hopes to auction them in late summer or fall. Meanwhile, she's planning a July 15 benefit at the Rush River Subway shop. For information, call her at (916) 392-0101.
Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá at (916) 321-1987. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/alcala.
