Uneasy Rhetoric

The Sac News and Review’s Best of Sacramento is out.

I could rant about the fact that Sacramento News and Review readers voted Starbucks the best local coffee shop, but I won’t. Maybe a little. I like Starbucks as much as anyone. The folks at 26th and J and at 9th & I know me by name, which is a little sad. But, dear readers, Starbucks is not a local coffee shop. Peets is more local, and it ain’t local neither.

The real purpose of this post is to extend my congratulations to My Urban Vista, who picked up the “Writer’s Choice” for “Best blog for armchair urban designers” (scroll all the way down). Uneasy Rhetoric was also mentioned in the blurb, so I’m tooting my little horn, too:

The quickening pace of urban redevelopment gets lots of coverage, but little actual critique, in Sacramento’s local press. Thankfully, there are lots of smart people in town keeping an eye on the ongoing imagineering of Sacramento, and they have blogs. Some of these folks actually are thinking about ways to revitalize downtown while still holding on to some of its funkiness and historic character, and–though the mind boggles–leaving some room for non-rich people. Check out My Urban Vista’s post “R Street Corridor: Urban Renewal or Urban Removal?” for example. My Urban Vista is a great supplement to the usual mix of just-the-facts reporting and boosterism that constitutes most of Sacramento’s urban journalism. Another site worth checking out is Uneasy Rhetoric for discussions of urban design and good places to eat. [links removed]

Uneasy Rhetoric was supposed to be a vehicle for talking about *all* of my interests. I guess now I’ll be expected to write more about urban revitalization and review more restaurants. Sigh. Not that I’m complaining or anything!

If you’re coming here because of the SN&R article, please take a look at my blogroll. Many of those listed are Sacramento blogs, and a number of them tackle urban revitalization issues all or some of the time.