The Location for an Invaluable 2011 eLearning DemoFest!…read more SITREP As part of my role as a trainer in the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Central Training Section (CTS), I have opportunities to conduct trainings and take trainings myself at various local and out-of-area facilities. Recently on Friday, September 23, the E-Learning training community of Sacramento Valley coordinated a very diverse and beneficial 2011 E-Learning DemoFest held at the Rancho Cordova City Hall offices in their adjoining American River Rooms. This involved: * 10 main eLearning vendor presentations & demonstrations on various software, platforms and "bells & whistles" one may use to *pop up* webinars and other online-training modalities. * Both Mike Hodge and Tyler Wade - very talented trainers we use for State of California "Master Analyst Program (MAP)" trainings - were responsible for organizing this event and are respected officers in the local eLearning community. RANCHO CORDOVA CITY HALL FACILITIES The adjoining American River Rooms and lobby area provided an extremely friendly and workable environment for putting on this DemoFest. The Registration began promptly at 11:30am in the lobby-entry area of the rooms and was sizable enough to provide enough room for the long, but quickly moving line. Just inside the room entry, was a sizable ante-way that was an excellent set up for lunch tables where the Rancho Cordova City Hall and E-Learning teams provided a great finger-friendly lunch of selected sub-sandwiches as well as diverse pasta salad offerings, with sodas, waters and juices. [During the afternoon break, ice cream sandwiches, nutty-buddies and ding-dongs were also provided.] ;^D The American River Rooms themselves were sizable enough when the partitions are fully open so that all the rooms are grouped together in one large conference room. When break-out sessions are scheduled, the rooms could be repartitioned. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS The Rancho Cordova City Hall facilities provided more than ample electrical hook-ups, online internet connectivity, and broadband width support to conduct the demonstrations for all of our vendors. There actually were no glitches on the facility end of things. Whatever technical mishaps that did occur were entirely the responsibility of the vendors and their equipment configurations. E-LEARNING TRAINING The only downside to this DemoFest is that there were only six (6) scheduled segment-sessions and there were 10 vendors. So you had to pick and choose which sessions you wanted to sit in on, making an educated guess as to which ones would be the most valuable to you. * Cooperative Program Service (CPS) - Melissa Asher on "Cost Savings & Accessibility thru Online Learning: CDSS". * CSUS Continuing Education - Geoff Herbert on "Nurturing and Growing Your Moodle". * Dark Horse Consulting - Jeannette Monahan, SPHR Consultant on "Using ANGEL and Blackboard as tools for long-distance asynchronous learning." * Growth Analogy - Amelya Stevenson on "3D Avatars Bring Training to Life" * ARTICULATE - Ed Crosen and Angel Nazir on "Taking E-Learning to a New Level with Articulate Studio". * Los Rios College - David Wyatt & David Hyde on "Building Engaging Technical Training." * People Development Services - Dennis Wade (fyi- Tyler Wade's father), Principal Consultant on "Converting Existing Instructor-Led (IL) Courses to e-Learning Courses". * Sacramento Superior Court - Linda Shafer, Workforce Development Officer on "Creating a Captivating Customer Service Training in a Virtual Learning Environment". * Shaw & Pratt - Tina Shaw & David Pratt on "Developing e-Learning from the View of a Novice Developer". * The Knowland Group - by Bill Cushard, Chief Learning Officer on "The Self-Made Leader" * UCDavis Medical Center - by Lisa Eckels, Training Analyst on "Using Captivate to Create Engaging E-Learnings". It was a mixed bag. In hindsight, there are two (2) sessions, possibly (3), that I felt were a complete waste of my time in terms of "useful information and tech" that would be helpful in upgrading our training modalities here in CTS. However, each was still a useful presentation in gauging what available tools are being used out there for eTraining. THE LOWDOWN The Rancho Cordova City Hall facilities, and specifically the adjoining American River Room(s) complex is an excellent venue to hold the most demanding E-Learning seminars and conferences.

I have been coming to Rancho City Hall the past several years for meetings, to get different…read morelicenses and attend art shows. There is nostalgic photo historic items, around the building to Oooo and Ahhhh at. Come and check out how RC has come so far and made amazing changes to the community. RCCH has a large meeting room. If you are a business and are a part of the Chamber, you can utilize the meeting and conference rooms for your own staff meetings. They hold cool art themed shows once a quarter highlighting local artists. RC park and Rec is upstairs. They are available to sign children up for local classes, camp or rent a park space for an event. Stop by if you are looking to see what is going on in the community, considering opening a small business or meeting some local leaders. Everyone is really friendly and helpful.

This is a review just for the building, not the body of people. I'll keep politics out of this…read more I'm so glad we were able to quickly squeeze in a trip inside the capital building. With my son set to learn about California history, we thought it would be fun to give him a bit of a primer of the state capital. We got there about 30~45 minutes before closing and basically had the whole building to ourselves. It also 'helped' (but was also a bit of a disappointment) that the state senate had started their summer recess the day before so there was nothing going on. But we breezed through security and got to roam the main areas of the building all to ourselves. We even got to let our 3 kids, niece, and nephew just run around and explore without having to worry about them getting in anyone's way. The building is just absolutely gorgeous. Both inside and out. Having visited D.C., you really feel like you are in a smaller version of the nation's capital building and I really appreciated that. It gives it a nice sense of connection with the federal government even on the state level. While I wish they had a more convent parking situation (street parking is hit or miss & other lots are a bit of a walk away), I think this is absolutely worth your time.

If you've never been to the state capitol it's definitely a learning experience. There are TSA…read morestyle lines to get in with security. The lines to the elevators can be a bit of a wait. There are a lot of people that come here for multiple reasons (lobbying for laws, speaking to politicians, some are students learning how the laws work). It's a very modern and well put together building. Once you get to the floors you need to, it's pretty efficient finding the rooms of assembly members and senators. This experience was a lot more than what I thought it would be.

This is home to the Sacramento County Veterans Office (916-874-8711) and Child Care Processing Unit…read more(916-874-6000).

I went to Jermone D. Barry Park today. It wasn't listed on Yelp, but it's located in West…read moreSacramento by the railroad tracks and Sutter Health Park. It's a nice park. It has all the features you'd love in a park minus the public restroom which is a deterrent for me when picking a good park. What it does have is lots of benches to rest your weary feet on the walk over. Picnic benches with tables and metal chairs so you can bring your lunch. 2 play structures. A gazebo with picnic benches under it. They also have a bbq stand. You just need to bring your own charcoal. Parking is convienent there. There is lots of street parking. Yesterday I went to Carol's, it's an institution. It started in 1988. Carol's father, George O'Campo helped her open Carol's. This isn't the original location of Carol's. They opened their first location just down the road from its present location. Carol is from a family of restaurnnteers. Her great grandfather was a cook for Charlie Chaplin. Carol has since retired. She dedicated 20 years of her life to Carol's and now her son Ray, runs the business. I'm new to Carol's and I think Ray is doing a fabulous time. I went to Carol's with a party of 10 and they handled us like champs. We started with 6 people and as the people poured in they put another table to ours and we ended at 10. We ordered in waves and they kept up. We were all eating about the same time. Those Chefs are really on the ball. Another gem of West Sacramento is the RiverCats. We love going to their games. They are such a family friendly venue. If you want to pass on fees, just walk up to the window and buy tickets on the spot. I'm not sure how you buy tickets in advance as there is no parking near the box office. We always go day of and buy tickets. Unless you go to the Giants vs the RiverCats the games are rarely sold out. They have their own private lot and there is a charge for parking. They have a few places you can buy groceries. My go to place is Raley's. They also have a Nugget, it's' really nice, but too high end for me. You can also buy groceries at Target and Walmart. I love Raley's they have everything I need. I have a love hate relationship their discount system. You have to sign up on line and then clip their coupons each week. You don't need a smart phone to use there system which is good. All you have to do is sign in to their website, clip coupons on line and link it to your phone number. Then you can go shopping and enter your phone number at check out to get the discounts. I dislike this system as there is no spur of the moment shopping, you always have to plan ahead and remember to clip the coupons. I can go on and on about the perks of West Sacramento.

this council, dies do almost nothing for our community, i said almost nothing bec maybe they did…read moresomething for someone. i called asking for programs for projects for seniors an all are either in sacramento or davis. not eve rat control that other cities are able to handle, hee is none. No programs for seniors to stay safe at home. the council, few times i contacted them did cero. are they paid to do something?

Years back I used to live in Elk Grove when it was a sleepy town. There were few restaurants and…read morehardly any shopping or fast food joints. The only brewery was in old Elk Grove and they were fun to go to on their trivia nights. They would have you dig though your bags and pull out different items for their funny money. One of the items I recall them asking for was a $2 bill, another item was a rotary phone, show your ink was a fun one, they asked for the craziest things and we had a blast. Sadly they closed due to the competition of all the up and rising places. So much has changed in Elk Grove. It's really boomed. The main place to shop use to be Walmart, now they have Kohl's, Macys, and other departments stores. One Staple in Elk Grove is the Regional Park. We were there today for a festival. They have many festival though out the year that bring in people from all over. This was one of those types of festivals. I don't know the wing span of the crowd they got, but I know it was pretty big. Today's festival was the Vietnamese New Year Celebration that also incorporated Mardi Gras in. What a fun time we had. We mainly came from up north to see the Lion Dancers and they were better then expected. The drive was around 30 minutes to get there and we left the house an hour early to ensure we could find parking and a seat at the stage. We arrived as the google maps said in 30 minutes. We easily found parking at the first baseball field and walked though the park along the pond. We lucked out a the crowed hadn't fully arrived yet and there were still seats available. Elk Grove has really done a great job with their regional park and is set up to welcome a crowd. They have all the outdoor sports you'd want: multiple baseball fields, soccer fields, beach volleyball courts. I didn't see any bocce ball or horse shoe areas, but we may not have looked hard enough. The park is huge and we didn't explore it all. I believe they have a jungle gym at the other end of the park. We did see 2 ponds with water features that were running. Elk Grove has really flourished. Unlike my town they have both a Trader Joe's and a Costco. If you are looking for a family friendly city to live in consider Elk Grove.

These murals were created during the Paint the Grove Mural Festival (June 1-6, 2026), turning…read moreHistoric Old Town into an open-air art gallery that's free to explore year-round. I recommend starting your self-guided walk at Old Town Plaza (9615 Railroad St, Elk Grove, CA 95624). The whole area is very walkable, and it turns into a fun little scavenger hunt as you look for each mural. Along the route you'll find: * "Everyday Research 2026" by Efren Rebugio Jr. at Happy Garden Chinese Cuisine (9081 Elk Grove Blvd). This colorful mural is packed with fun details: take your time because you'll probably notice something new every time you look at it. * "TURMOIL" by Mister Toledo (9081 Elk Grove Blvd). The bold colors and expressive style really make this one stand out from the rest. * "To Be Loved Is Permanent" by Franceska Gámez at Old Town Plaza. A beautiful, heartwarming mural with a meaningful message. It was one of my favorites. * "Resilience in Glass" by Camer1sf and PawnPaint at Prost Beer Hall (9085 Elk Grove Blvd). The artwork has a dramatic, almost fantasy-like feel and looks especially striking from across the street. * The colorful "EG" mural by Cameron Moberg and Pawn at Custom Fireside (9097 Elk Grove Blvd). It's bright, cheerful, and makes a great photo backdrop. * An abstract mural by Ricky Watts on the east wall of the Elk Grove Library (8900 Elk Grove Blvd). The vibrant colors add a lot of energy to the library building and are worth the short walk.

This is a fabulous resource for both businesses and the Elk Grove community. Stopping by the office…read moreon Studio Court is resourceful.

Adj: Big, Bright, and Beneficial (to the Community)…read more Went by to check out their facilities again and also to ask some questions about their kids programs. Although not in the best part of town, I feel it's actually quite safe here and it's very well maintained. It's very clean, the bathrooms in particular were really much cleaner than private sports clubs and gyms I've been to and although the hours are more limited, 8a-8p M-F and Sat 8a-12n, there's also a gym studio with pretty decent equipment (with a very reasonable membership fee). There are afterschool programs for kids here M-F 3-6p and some adults and teens drop in open hours type of sports offerings as well. The multi-purpose room (i.e. gymnasium) is huge and can turn into a full court for basket or a couple of volleyball courts. There's also a computer lab with open hours for public use, and there are 2 full basketball courts outdoors in addition to some grassy fields (not very big though), and of course the swimming pools which are open only for the summer season. Overall, Samuel & Bonnie Pannell Community Center remains a vital part of the community in Meadowview/South Sacramento area and provides quite a lot of free and paid facilities and recreation and sports programs for all ages.

This community center is somewhat nearby to us and we've been here several times for community…read moreevents, kids activities, and/or picking up some information or resources such as compost bins. The location is central to the neighborhood and pretty walkable for those living nearby. There's a large and general clean parking lot, and the building itself is well-kept. Inside, there are several activity rooms or classrooms, 1 bigger auditorium/multi-purpose room/basketball courts gym, common areas where books & board/card games, table with seating, and lounging chairs are also available throughout. Outside there are grassy fields for sports, a very large lap swimming pool and a kid's pool with some water features to include water pipes that would shoot or dump water down and water slides for kids. All in all, this is a good community center. I think the outdoors facilities could use some update, but generally, the grounds outside and the building itself have both been kept in good condition for the most part.

This is responding to the online birth certificate "service" that is an outsourced bilking machine!…read moreA copy of a birth certificate is now pretty much required by law, and making it cost so much with additional fees is outright abusive. This level of hostility from a public service is a shame.

Ok i never knew this place was here and i almost drove all the way to florin after my Sam's club…read morerun. But something told me check google to see what was close and this came up. Of course i was unsure if they were going to be able to accomplish my needs but i walked in and was greeted by this amazing angel person! I didn't get her name but she was a young Asian lady with gorgeous hair and very personable. She explained my options for what i needed and once i let her know she was able to actually research my request and take care of me right away. I hope she is rewarded daily for just being her! Her service was 5stars and the actual location is nice clean organized, with many staff and a computer station for record copy applications