Legendary Sacramento Anchor Stan Atkinson Dies at 92
Veteran Sacramento reporter and anchor Stan Atkinson died on Sunday. He was 92.
Atkinson reported for KCRA and KOVR as an anchor for nearly 40 years. He retired from local news in 1999.
At one time local paper The Sacramento Bee called him 'the man who owns Sacramento.'
At the age of 25, Atkinson embarked on a career in Sacramento at a station that had just gotten off the ground. It was 1957, and in walked a fresh-faced, youthful man with a tight crew cut. He'd been recruited from a small television station and the owner of KCRA at the time, Gene Kelly, had no idea he'd been hired. Kelly turned on his TV one night and saw the 11 o'clock newscast only to show up in the morning editorial meeting the next day asking 'who in the hell ever hired that damn kid?!'
Instead of firing him, Kelly kept Atkinson, beginning a decades-long relationship between KCRA and Stan Atkinson. They had a newscast in the beginning…it was 10 minutes long. Five of it was sports.
Television news was different in the 1950s. For one, it was sponsored and those sponsors' products showed up on set. The entertainment had a fried pie company. The network's 'Huntley/Brinkley news hour' had Camel cigarettes. And Stan Atkinson had Hostess.
'The floor man would roll in a table that was decorated with open or still packaged Hostess Cinnamon Dainties,' Atkinson described in a 2015 interview. 'And, it was up to me to open a package, pull one out, hold it up, take a bite, and say, Hostess Cinnamon Dainties. I'd say. Got it. Hostess Cinnamon Dainties. I'd take another bite. Get them.'"Atkinson was a principal fundraiser helping to raise money to build the $2.2 million California Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the State Capitol grounds," the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said on its website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Huntley ‘Trump Truth' store hosts dueling rallies as owner vows to stay open
Outside of her Huntley brick-and-mortar 'Trump & Truth' memorabilia shop, owner Lisa Fleischmann met with about 100 supporters who gathered on Saturday to support for Fleischmann and her business's right to exist following recent clashes with village officials. Many of the supporters, who included a 12-year-old girl dressed as the president, donned pro-Trump t-shirts and other attire, waving American flags to catch the attention of passersby, some of whom slammed on their horns in solidarity. Tables set up just outside of the strip mall store were stocked with beverages, pizza and snacks to keep the crowd energized for the afternoon. Just a half-mile south of the store on Illinois Route 47, about 200 people gathered to protest the store along the roadside with its fair share of supportive honks from drivers passing the sea of protest signs amid cheers and noisemakers. The support rally came in response to news about the tussle between Fleischmann and the village over accusations that the pro-Trump store violated village sign ordinance and building codes with its inflatable dolls of President Trump and a banner hanging outside of the store. Fleischmann and her supporters believe the scrutiny is due to her support for Trump. Her landlord has also threatened eviction after facing several citations themselves in January, but attorney David Shestokas, of Orland Park, said the eviction threat is due to pressure from the village, adding her defense includes 'possible violations of First Amendment rights.' Trump-themed shop could be closed over code issues, but owner says it's political 'Some of the citations they've given, there are other businesses in the area that have had the same stuff like things in front of the businesses or on the sidewalk and they've not been bothered even slightly,' Shestokas said. We're putting together our defense with evidence on what appears to be unequal treatment.' Shestokas said he is 'extraordinarily optimistic that we'll reach a resolution that's favorable for Lisa.' Fleischmann appeared to be in high spirits Saturday, talking to customers nonstop as they perused and purchased the Trump merchandise that covered nearly every inch of the store near the intersection of Main Street and Illinois Route 47. She said that while weekends were usually busy for her, the energy on Saturday was different. 'Everybody is so great, and people coming from all over to support me means so much,' Fleischmann said. 'It's been so fun.' Mercedes Beard said it's 'very unfair and wrong' for Fleischmann to have to deal with the village 'trying to intimidate her.' At the counter-protest, organizer Vivian Lenski, of Huntley, said her event was in part to organize against Trump and his agenda but also to show that business owners 'can't do whatever they want.' 'It's not against (Fleischmann) or her store specifically, anybody can open a store, though it's kind of an eyesore, but if she's not following the rules, it's not right,' Lenski said. 'She's got to follow the law just like everyone else.' The groups, for the most part, did not appear to interact with one another aside from a brief exchange between a lone anti-Trump protester who stood across the road from Fleischmann's store and one of her supporters who crossed the road the meet him. Tina Zucker, of St. Charles, and her daughter Lee Zucker, of DeKalb, protest and said it was important to them to be at the counterprotest, though neither of them lives in Huntley. 'We've been to similar protests in the past and the goal is always to show up and get seen by people, especially the ones who can make change happen like our senators,' Lee Zucker said. She also brought along her 6-year-old daughter, who alternated between cheering with her mom and grandma and playing in the grass. 'She doesn't understand a lot of what's going on, but she knows that we should be treating people well and be kind, and I think that's enough,' Lee Zucker said. Back at Fleischmann's store, supporters echoed their belief that pressure against the business was political. David and Mercedes Beard drove about 40 minutes from Sycamore to show their support for the store. Their first visit was about a week ago, and they knew they had to return for the rally. 'People are trying to shut her down however they can,' David Beard said. 'It's a political move. For me, I don't care whether you're a Democrat or Republican, you still have the right to be here and run your business.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
The J.M. Smucker Co. Announces Plans to Close Indianapolis Manufacturing Facility in Continued Optimization of Sweet Baked Snacks Segment
ORRVILLE, Ohio, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) announced today plans to close its Indianapolis, Indiana manufacturing facility, which manufactures products from the Company's Hostess® brand, and consolidate operations into other existing facilities. The Company will close and pursue the sale of its Indianapolis manufacturing facility by early calendar year 2026. "This decision continues the ongoing work to ensure our manufacturing network is optimized to mitigate costs and reduce complexity in support of the execution of our Sweet Baked Snacks strategy, which is focused on stabilizing the Hostess® business and positioning it for long-term growth," said Judd Freitag, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Pet and Sweet Baked Snacks. "Any decision that impacts our employees is only made after careful consideration. We appreciate the contributions of our Indianapolis employees, and we will support them through this transition." The Company will provide additional information about the decision when it releases its fiscal year 2025 fourth quarter results. About The J.M. Smucker Co. At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to make food people and pets love by offering a diverse family of brands available across North America. We are proud to lead in the coffee, peanut butter, fruit spreads, frozen handheld, sweet baked goods, dog snacks, and cat food categories by offering brands consumers trust for themselves and their families each day, including Folgers®, Dunkin'®, Café Bustelo®, Jif®, Uncrustables®, Smucker's®, Hostess®, Milk-Bone®, and Meow Mix®. Through our unwavering commitment to producing quality products, operating responsibly and ethically and delivering on our Purpose, we will continue to grow our business while making a positive impact on society. For more information, please visit The J.M. Smucker Co. is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for Dunkin'®, which is a trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. The Dunkin'® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Co. for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, e-commerce and drug stores, and in certain away from home channels. This information does not pertain to products for sale in Dunkin'® restaurants. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Co.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. advocates vow to fight ICE arrests at Bay Area courthouses
Immigrant-rights advocates rallied Wednesday to voice deep concerns about the recent arrests of asylum-seekers by federal officers at Bay Area courthouses. Standing outside of the San Francisco immigration courthouse on the corner of Montgomery and Sutter streets, advocates and protesters demanded that San Francisco officials denounce the arrests and provide more resources for legal protection, such as the SF Rapid Response Network hotline. Demonstrators held signs that read 'Hands off immigrants' and 'Abolish ICE,' and drivers passing by honked their horns in apparent support. Federal officials sought 'to undermine due process and to intimidate our immigrant communities into missing their court appointments and putting themselves at further risk of deportation,' said Sanika Mahajan, director of community engagement and organizing at Mission Action. 'We will stand up and fight back,' she added. Homeland Security officials have apparently ramped up enforcement at immigration courts throughout the country over the last week. Advocates say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have appeared outside of courthouses and in hallways to arrest people showing up to their scheduled hearings. Homeland Security spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A statement from the Department of Homeland Security provided by an ICE spokesperson said the agency was 'reversing Biden's catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets.' Richard Beam, a spokesperson for ICE, said the agency did not 'have specifics' on the arrests Tuesday, but acknowledged that the agency was 'doing targeted enforcement at immigration courts.' While arrests at courthouses are rare, advocates say, ICE appears to be using the new strategy to accelerate deportations and meet President Donald Trump's goal of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. The first arrests in San Francisco immigration court were reported Tuesday. ICE officers arrested four men outside of courtrooms after judges rejected motions from Department of Homeland Security lawyers who requested that their asylum cases be dismissed, said Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program with the San Francisco Bar Association's Justice and Diversity Center. In Concord, three people were arrested Tuesday and one person was arrested last week, said Lisa Knox, co-executive director at California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice in Oakland. Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, a deputy defender with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office's immigration unit, called the immigration courthouse arrests a fear tactic. 'They're doing this to instill fear in the immigrant community,' Savalza said. Atkinson called on government officials, attorneys and concerned residents to speak up for immigrants and volunteer for organizations providing resources to immigrant communities. 'Who has the power?' Atkinson asked the protesters. 'We have the power!' they responded. Molly Burke contributed to this report.
