It's Wednesday. Sacramento basketball fans finally have something to cheer about. Plus, water experts explain why they think California missed an opportunity this winter. |
 | | Domantas Sabonis pushing the button to light the victory beam at Golden 1 Center last month.Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images |
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SACRAMENTO — A brilliant purple laser shoots into the sky. On cloudless nights, it arcs into space like a sci-fi tractor beam. |
City residents gape at it from their windows, crane their necks to catch a glimpse while driving or film it on their phones. The beam, shot from the roof of the downtown Golden 1 Center, is cause for celebration: It means the Sacramento Kings won. |
"Light the beam!" thousands of fans at Golden 1 chant when the team is on the cusp of yet another victory. Their wish is granted. The beam turns on. |
It has rarely been this joyful for basketball fans in California's capital. For nearly two decades, the Kings have been the laughingstock of the N.B.A., firing a carousel of coaches and missing the playoffs for 16 straight years, the longest drought in N.B.A. history. |
The beam was introduced this season — just as the team had begun to show real promise — and it fittingly has become a beacon of hope. |
"These fans have been loyal for so many years, and for a long time things just haven't come together," said Harrison Barnes, one of the Kings' starting forwards. "Seeing people excited, seeing people going, 'Light the beam,' all those things, it's been cool to see." |
The state capital is also struggling to address homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. But boosters still see a city with promise. While the remote work culture has reduced the number of government employees downtown, it has made the Sacramento region an attractive destination for residents priced out of the Bay Area. |
"It's rapidly changing from a traditional government town to something more dynamic," said Mayor Darrell Steinberg, a Kings fan who has lived in Sacramento for nearly 40 years. |
Sacramento, Steinberg added, is "like the Kings themselves — we're not jaded, we're earnest, we're always hopeful about the future." |
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Kings were an elite team, coached by Rick Adelman and led by dynamic playmakers like Vlade Divac and Chris Webber. They were once declared "The Greatest Show on Court," and Arco Arena, their aging but beloved stadium, was a raucous environment. |
 | | Chris Webber and Kobe Bryant in 2002 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at the Staples Center.Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images |
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It all fell apart too fast. A controversial playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and a career-altering knee injury to Webber ended the Kings' success. |
Growing up in Davis, 20 minutes from Sacramento, I have only faint recollections of the glory days. My first lasting memory is a negative one: my dad picking me up from school and informing me the Kings had traded Mike Bibby, my favorite player. (I did know enough to hate the Lakers.) |
The playoff drought during my formative years has been extraordinarily depressing. The Kings passed up generational superstars in the draft and bungled games for so long that fans gave them a nickname, sort of their hapless alter ego: the Kangz. |
All of that suffering has made the team's current success even sweeter. The Kings hired Coach Mike Brown and paired the star point guard De'Aaron Fox with Domantas Sabonis, a gifted Lithuanian American center. The result has been an offensive explosion that's pushed Sacramento to third place in the Western Conference. A coveted playoff berth is within reach when the All Star Break ends and the Kings resume play Thursday in Sacramento. |
If the Kings win that game, against the Portland Trail Blazers, you can expect a player in the arena to press a fake button to "light" the beam, which is formed by a half-dozen 300-watt "Laser Space Cannons" — approved by the Federal Aviation Administration — on the roof. |
It's a cheesy, silly gimmick, and we fans go nuts for it. There's a "Light the Beam" song and beam-branded merchandise. After wins, fans rush out of the arena to take photos of the beam and even kiss under it. |
"It's like the Bat Signal," said Doug Christie, a Kings assistant coach who was a key player from 2000-05 when the team had success. "It's taken on a life of its own." |
 | | The overflowing Russian River in mid-January. Next time there's a storm, a group of vineyards and local agencies hopes to capture more floodwater.Fred Greaves/Reuters |
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- Storing rain: Torrential rains this winter could have helped to replenish the state's depleted aquifers, but water agencies and experts say state bureaucracy, intended to distribute water fairly, has stood in the way.
- Barbara Lee: Representative Barbara Lee, the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to Democratic leadership in the House and a leading antiwar voice, entered the 2024 Senate race in California on Tuesday.
- Reproductive Freedom Alliance: Democratic governors in 20 states, including California, are forming the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a network intended to strengthen abortion access, The Associated Press reports.
- Chance of snow: A winter storm passing through California this week may bring snow to unusually low elevations, including hills in the San Francisco Bay Area and on the highest peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains, The Los Angeles Times reports.
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- Bishop killing: The authorities arrested Carlos Medina in connection with the killing of David G. O'Connell, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who was found fatally shot at his home on Saturday.
- Vaccine rates: Only 6 percent of Black children and 5 percent of Latino children younger than 5 in Los Angeles County have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, according to county data, The Los Angeles Times reports.
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- LinkedIn layoffs: LinkedIn has revealed plans to eliminate 91 jobs in three Bay Area cities in a new round of layoffs that intensify current challenges for Silicon Valley tech and biotech companies, The Mercury News reports.
- State of emergency: Frustrated by the crisis of homelessness in San Francisco, a group of residents wants the city to declare a state of emergency to enable a more urgent response, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
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 | | Mike Park |
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For $900,000: A two-bedroom bungalow in Los Angeles, a three-bedroom condominium in San Francisco or a 1941 cottage in Long Beach. |
 | | Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times |
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Yogurt berry parfait with steel-cut oats. |
 | | 17-Mile Drive, a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images |
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Today's tip comes from Janine Sprout, who lives in Monterey. Janine recommends Lynn "Rip" Van Winkle Open Space in Pacific Grove: |
"A new discovery for us, this open space is not only dog friendly, it's a dreamy adventure for hikers and kids. A narrow ribbon of open space, it's located along Congress Avenue in Pacific Grove. The terrain is untamed with paths going every which way, and is heavily forested with Monterey cypress, Monterey pine, and coast live oak. The open space borders Pebble Beach, offering pedestrian access to 17-Mile Drive." |
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
 | | Dr. Marc Beuttler, left, and Matthew Davis.Brandon Dill |
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And before you go, some good news |
Last year on March 3, Marc Beuttler's birthday, he changed into pajamas and got into bed after work. |
Matthew Davis presented Beuttler with a cupcake. Then he gave him a ring, and asked him to marry him. |
Beuttler, who grew up in Ventura, and Davis, who grew up in Princeton, N.J., and New Orleans, had kept their romance going over seven years and 14 address changes. Before their wedding in January, Beuttler accepted a position as a dermatologist in Connecticut, and the couple moved yet again. |
Thanks for reading. We'll be back tomorrow. |
Soumya Karlamangla and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
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