Sacramento Homeless Funding and Tiny Home Project | “The Hidden Map” Documentary | Sacramento Rapper’s “Light the Beam”

CapRadio’s Chris Nichols shares his latest reporting on homeless funding for the Sacramento region and why a “tiny home” project in Sacramento County is delayed. A KVIE documentary shares one family’s journey during and after the Armenian Genocide. A Sacramento Rapper shares the story behind “Light the Beam”, a song honoring his beloved Sacramento Kings.  

Tiny Home project

Nearly one year ago Sacramento County announced plans to build a village of tiny homes (for unhoused residents in South Sacramento. The goal was to provide temporary housing and services to stabilize residents and ultimately help them transition to permanent housing. The site was expected to open as early as last summer, but today it remains closed and the $7-million project faces mounting delays as well as half-a-million dollars over budget. This is as unhoused residents remain camped outside waiting for it to open. CapRadio Reporter Chris Nichols, whose focus is housing and homelessness, joined Insight to discuss why the project is taking so long. He also shared his reporting on the nearly $200 million in state funds the Sacramento region received in the first year of the pandemic to address homelessness ans where the money went.  

The Hidden Map

April 24, 1915. For generations of Armenians, that date marks the beginning of a treacherous and brutal start to the mass killings and expulsion of more than 1.5 million Armenians from their ancestral homelands by the Ottoman Turks. Since the genocide of 1915, Armenians have scattered all over the world after being forced from their homeland surviving, creating, and cultivating vibrant diaspora communities. In California, from Fresno, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and here in the Sacramento region, our state is home to the largest Armenian-American population outside of modern-day Armenia. And like so many immigrant communities Armenian-Americans trace their roots to find out where their families came from. Their history is a window into their families, culture, and values. Filmmaker Ani Hovannisian was born in Fresno, raised in Los Angeles, and lives there now. It took several journeys to trace her Armenian lineage in modern-day Turkey, and along the way uncovered the buried secrets of her family’s past in her documentary “The Hidden Map.” 

Light the Beam

The Sacramento Kings have fans yelling, “Light the Beam!” after every win. The purple beam from atop Golden 1 Center is a rallying cry for the Kings' loyal fanbase who are on pace to break a historic drought and (dare we say) make it to the playoffs which haven’t happened in 16 seasons. Denzel Joyce, a rapper known as "Young Zel" is one of those loyal fans who paid homage to the team with an anthem. He joined Insight to talk about why he created the song “Light the Beam” and the reception from fans.