The 234 Apartment

David Engberg wheels through the third apartment he’s had in two years. PHOTO BY KARLOS RENE AYALA David Engberg and James Clark cling to their independence by a thread. Both men were born with cerebral palsy and live off Supplemental Security Income , or SSI—a stipend that puts them under the federal poverty line . So far, they’ve managed to keep a roof over their heads by splitting the cost of rent. But since the affordable housing crisis hit , the roommates have been priced out of two apartments in just two years. The stressful shuffling was witnessed by Jennifer Schmidt, their case manager at InAlliance, a nonprofit that provides employment and living services for people with disabilities. Advocates such as Schmidt are becoming increasingly alarmed by the way skyrocketing rents are affecting Sacramento County ’s 14, 000 disabled residents . Several independent surveys suggest Sacramento is experiencing some of the largest rent increases in the nation. Few feel those tectonic ma...

Recycle. Reuse. Reduce. Reclaim. Cheryl Oliver is a true believer. Her husband, Jack, is not quite so sure. For Cheryl, there is no choice because she regards recycling as crucial for the survival of the planet. Jack said he gets it, but doesn’t think a few people can make any real difference. The house divided is a microcosm of communities when it comes to recycling. Cheryl believes everyone should do their part, while Jack believes that since not everyone is doing their part, why should he? “The problem with recycling is that most people don’t do it or won’t do it,” Jack said. “I think it’s mostly due to people being plain lazy.” Jack has a point – recycling takes more effort than just throwing everything into the same trash can. There are people who might recycle but don’t because they simply don’t know how. With paper, plastic, aluminum, metal and a myriad of other color-coded options for recyclable material, deciding where each thing should go can be troublesome. ...

Comedic dynamo (and Amy Schumer squad member ) Bridget Everett has made her name as the go-to gal for raunchy laughs. Anyone who’s seen footage of her live performances — or her recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon   — knows that she is, quite simply, a force. An Amazonian beauty with a powerhouse set of pipes and a penchant for chardonnay, the woman known as the Cabaret Hurricane runs around the room motorboating and mounting audience members , whether they like it or not. (They usually like it.) The word confident might spring to mind, though it feels like a little sissy of an adjective given the off-the- wall artistic cataclysm that is a Bridget Everett show .  But when it came to playing the hard-living, not-always- nice Barb Dombrowski in the drama Patti Cake$ — about a young woman trying to escape her dead-end New Jersey town by becoming a rap star — Everett felt wobbly. We caught up with her on a rare day off. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I spoke to [ Patti ...

The Patterson man killed in a motorcycle crash during a fundraising ride Saturday south of Merced has been identified as Jason Williams, 40. Williams joined the ride with friends to raise money to help two Los Banos police officers injured in a shooting. A gofundme memorial fund established in his name says he is survived by his wife, two school-age children and a daughter in college. “It speaks volumes of his character, you know, for him to drive outside of Los Banos to be there just to be there for the cause,” Monica Gallagher, organizer of the benefit ride, told ABC 30 news in Fresno. California Highway Patrol officers responded at about 12:50 p.m. Saturday to the crash involving two motorcycles on Highway 59 at Reilly Road. After talking to people taking part in the ride, which was traveling north on Highway 59, officers determined that Williams, who was one of the lead riders, braked for slowing traffic, Sgt. Steven Lewis said. He lost control of his motorcycle, which wen...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc agreed to sell property group Archstone to two real estate investment trusts for about $6.5 billion, taking advantage of a strong market for apartments and marking an end to a 2007 gamble that helped push the investment bank into bankruptcy. The buyers, Equity Residential ( EQR.N ) and AvalonBay Communities Inc ( AVB.N ), will split the assets 60-40 and will also take on Archstone's debt, for a total transaction value of $16 billion. Lehman collapsed at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, in part because of soured real estate bets , including the $23. 7 billion leveraged buyout of Archstone. The firm filed for bankruptcy and has been liquidating assets to pay back creditors , who are still owed more than $30 billion. Archstone, one of the largest owners of U.S. apartments, has a large portfolio of properties in metropolitan areas, where apartment buildings have been pricey and difficult to come by. The acquisition would...