A new spree of "smash-and-grab" vehicle burglaries is hitting the Garden Highway's dining spots.
But just how big a wave is a matter of dispute.
"It's an epidemic," says Sacramento lobbyist Mark Timmerman, who was recently victimized for the second time in the past 12 months.
This time thieves broke into his car, which was parked on the levee road near Chevys restaurant, and stole his laptop computer.
"This is such a great part of town. ... It ought to be a safe place to do business," says Timmerman, who thinks police and restaurant owners ought to be doing more to discourage the bad guys.
State Assemblyman Bob Huff also thinks the problem is significant. Last week, the L.A. County Republican from Diamond Bar celebrated a key legislative deadline at Chevys, then returned to his car to find a window smashed and his luggage and a computer gone.
Huff returned the next day and found "numerous piles of broken glass" from other apparent smash-and-grabs, says his chief of staff Junay Gardner Logan.
Chevys manager Frank Escobar agrees that car break-ins are up again.
But he and police say the incidents aren't nearly as common as Huff's piles of glass might indicate.
"There's never been more than three reported car burglaries at any one time," says Sgt. Matt Young.
City police say there have been a total of 14 reported cases through May this year from the Chevys area – about the same as this time last year.
Renee Hulog, an owner at the Virgin Sturgeon restaurant, says theft from vehicles is an unchanging part of doing business along the levee road.
"This has been going on for 25 years," she says.
One common-sense bit of advice from police: If you're dining on the river, don't leave any valuables in your car.
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Toe to toe: A Chico company is reporting big strides in its efforts to stub toenail fungus.
The first clinical trial of the company's lightwave treatment is now halfway over.
The results so far: 14 of 16 patients treated at a Carmichael clinic had "distinctive improvements" in just three months and with no side effects, says John Strisower, CEO of UvaCide Corp.
The treatment – a one-time blast of infrared lightwaves – is an alternative to prescription oral medicines that require repeated dosages and can be toxic for some users.
Based on the clinical trial results, Strisower says the company is now in talks – either to license the UvaCide technology to a big medical company or to raise funds from venture capitalists and do its own manufacturing.
Strisower says he expects a deal in 90 days.
"If things go really well, we could actually have this on the market by the end of the year," he says.
Strisower launched the company in 2006 in hopes of using the lightwave technology on routine maladies, then refining it to go after serious illnesses, including cystic fibrosis, which afflicted his teenage daughter Jessica.
Sadly, Jessica succumbed to the disease in March. Strisower remains focused on a cure.
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Breathing fire: Looking to open a campus in Placer County, Philadelphia's Drexel University has sent its president out here on visits. Ditto for some of the university's board members.
Now add Mario the Dragon to the list of visiting dignitaries.
The school's blue-and-gold mascot – who stands about 6-foot-4, not including his tail – made a local appearance Tuesday, in connection with the launch of US Airways' first nonstop flights between Sacramento and Philly.
"You'll be seeing a lot more of Mario," says Joan McDonald, the school's vice president of enrollment.
He'll likely be here in January, when Drexel launches a grad program downtown. And Mario will return often as the school continues evaluating the proposal for an undergrad campus on land donated by Sacramento developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos.
McDonald says Mario is a "great mythical figure" around the Philadelphia campus. When she sees steam emerging from underground vents during campus tours, she tells visitors, "That's Mario."
Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049 or bshallit@sacbee.com. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.
