#sacbee

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In the autumn of 2020, The Sacramento Bee announced it would be vacating its longtime headquarters and printing plant in midtown Sacramento at 21st and Q Streets (which it occupied since 1952), citing the need to cut costs and streamline in the wake of declining ad revenues, the rise of online journalism, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which most journalists and employees worked from home. The paper moved production to the San Francisco Chronicle printing plant in the Bay Area suburb of Fremont. The following spring, The Bee announced its editorial offices were relocating about a mile east to the Cannery at 1724 Stockton Blvd.,, a business park occupying the redeveloped former Libby, McNeill and Libby Cannery, which operated from 1912 to 1982.

Demolition of the historic building that spanned two city blocks started in the summer of 2025.

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City of trees.

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Today is the three-year anniversary of when I was (re)hired at the Bee. 🙂 Here are a few figures in honor of this milestone: From 9/23/13 to 9/23/16, my car's odometer went from 11,432 to 69,684, for a total of 58,252 miles. In that time my car used 1,810.35 gallons of gasoline (which cost $5,306.53), with an average mpg of 29.47. Before I started commuting to Sac, my car accumulated 8,574 miles a year (that sort of thing is possible when your daily commute is only about 3 miles! LOL); however, after I started commuting, it accumulated about 19,417 miles annually. And yes … this job has totally been worth every single mile that I've driven to get there. Thank you, Anna!

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Something's burning northeast of the Bee … wonder if this is affecting the power grid that's giving our building bunches of power surges right now?

Janice says this is an out-of-control grass fire near Cal Expo. The RV show she and Eric were attending there has been evacuated.

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Aaaaand just as I'm walking up to the entrance of our office building, the fire alarm goes off.

Update: Still standing outside seven minutes later, and the alarm is still going … le sigh. I think I hear the fire department coming now.

IS THERE ANY OTHER BUSINESS IN MIDTOWN THAT GETS VISITED BY SAC FD AS OFTEN AS WE DO. ARRRRGH.

I love this funky old building that we work in … except when it does this. 16 minutes … * cues theme from Jeopardy … *

Finally got the all clear at 21 minutes. Aaaaand now we're back in business, folks!

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A message from Ed Fletcher, Unit Chair (Sacramento), Pacific Media Workers Guild:

"The continued financial slide of Sacramento's major daily newspaper is resulting in a further reduction in staff. Management is seeking three buyouts by Friday. This comes on the heels of last quarter's reduction of 12 journalists and the independent resignation of three additional reporters in the last three months.

"These and earlier cuts might prompt one to wonder what's down the road. What happens without a professional news gathering force? It is a future I don't want to see. I hope you don't want to see either. Ending your subscription in protest is not the right answer. If you're reading this and don't already subscribe (at least digitally) please consider doing so. Journalism depends on you."

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Geez, if Card weren't here, I would be completely alone on my side of the copy desk today! No more Danielle, Lucero out, no Peter, Joann off-site … waaah! (But yay for Card!)

Our friend and coworker Kathy, who recently retired, said she had confidence that Card and I (just the two of us) could get the paper out. LOL!! We had to laugh at that, or else we would start crying. Too close to being true.

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File this under "I work in a funky old building and am gradually discovering more about it." Bill told me that if one walks alllll the way to the far end of the corporate office's hallway, then turn right, then turn left, and then turn right again, you'll be in a stairwell that not only goes all the way up to the roof, but also has this mysterious sheet of glass decorated to look like a stained-glass window mounted on a wall at the top of the stairs.

This is the same stairwell that has a light fixture from the original Buffalo Brewery. The brewery was on the site until 1948. A lot of the building was torn down but some pieces were saved.

Here's a shot of the old light fixture.

And an embellished sign at the top of the stairs…

This stairwell is worth checking out, but I haven't had the nerve yet to try opening the door to the roof; it isn't marked as having an alarm, but with my luck … ha! I'm too short to peer out through the little window at the top of the door, so the only way I'm gonna see what's out there is by opening the door. (Or by hauling a stepstool up there … LOL)