The Sacramento City Council is eyeing a proposed rule stating that city employees could be fired for leaking confidential information. What are city officials considering 'confidential' information? And what do the definitions mean? City Attorney Eileen Teichert has drafted language for the proposed rule. The City Council postponed a decision on the proposed rule Tuesday but is expected to take up the issue again at an upcoming meeting. Leaked information from City Hall has become big news lately. In October, the Sacramento Bee used a leaked memo to report that the Community Development Department's approval of 35 building permits in Natomas may have broken federal rules. The offices of

Sacramento City Council members and the National Basketball Association are angry or unhappy with comments made Tuesday by the mayor's arena team leader. Several council members are upset after Sacramento First Task Force co-chair Chris Lehane seemed to be speaking on behalf of the city when he called the NBA's previous attempts to get an arena built here "air balls" and made other comments on the organization's website blog Tuesday morning. Council members Ray Tretheway and Rob Fong responded to Lehane's comments at the end of Tuesday night's City Council meeting. "I was terribly embarrassed by the disrespectful message that publicly humiliated the commissioner of basketball that came

Break out the yarmulkes. It is time to celebrate the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival's Bar Mitzvah year with its 13th annual Crest Theatre screening. In 1997, volunteer coordinator Margi Park-Landau teamed up with Crest Theatre manager Sid Heberger to institute the first screening. The turnout was overwhelming. According to Heberger, now co-director of the festival, the range of this year’s selections were chosen to represent the diversity of Jewish culture. “The selection process involves looking at other Jewish film festivals from around the globe," she said. "We accept submissions and we also receive titles from film companies around the world including several out of Israel.” “We

From its first note to its last song, The New Humans rocked the Sacramento State campus earlier today. The New Humans, a Sacramento-based four-piece band that describes its sound as "electro piano rock," played a 40-minute set in the University Union for approximately 150 students. It was part of Sacramento State's weekly "Wednesday Nooner" free concert series, presented by UNIQUE. The band opened with an intro that quickly set the tone for the show: Drums, synth and loops swelled until the band launched into its first song, a dance-worthy tune that featured heavy drums and piano hooks. The rest of the set was filled with energetic songs that showcased The New Humans' ability to mix so

Tuesday night's City Council meeting featured dancing, cheering and even crying. The excitement anticipated the City Council's unanimous vote for the area on Stockton Boulevard between between Riza Avenue and Fruitridge Road to be named Little Saigon. Councilman Kevin McCarty, whose district includes the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Little Saigon, proposed the vote to the City Council in January after months of public input from South Sacramento business owners and community members. It's now the city's inaugural cultural district. Starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, hundreds of Vietnamese and supporters of the campaign for Little Saigon began filling the city council chamber for a pre-council

 SCUSD superintendent urges community to weigh in before surveys close one week from today The Sacramento school district’s historic public surveys on its budget and strategic planning have drawn more than 11,000 responses so far, and Superintendent Jonathan Raymond Tuesday urged parents, teachers and students to take the surveys before the Feb. 9 deadline in one week.  This first-of-its-kind effort to involve Sacramento residents in the improvement of their public schools involves a pair of surveys on school improvements and the district’s budget. Every Sacramento community member—including parents, teachers and other employees of the district—is being asked to respond to the surveys t

After months of exhaustive review, the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County has announced its opposition to the so-called “Strong Mayor Initiative” that Mayor Kevin Johnson is pushing for the June 2010 ballot. “SAVE Sacramento is proud to have the League of Women Voters join us in opposition to the Strong Mayor Initiative. This independent, non-partisan organization is extremely well-respected by most voters for its thoughtful, reasonable review process and the resulting positions it takes on the issues. We are pleased that the League came to the same conclusion that we did – that the Strong Mayor Initiative would grant the mayor an unprecedented level of power, opens the door to

When Holiday Travel of America comes calling...hang up and run as fast as you can. They may try and entice you to go to the Holiday Inn in Sacramento. They will entice you with a vacation to Hawaii, in which they make claim that they will pay for the plane tickets and hotel accommodations. They will also have a Las Vegas packet with free shows, free buffets, etc. All filthy lies. They want you to participate in a 90-minute presentation on Timeshares. They will have 3 thugs talking to you with vacation type of music playing in the background. The song that was playing was Madonna's 'Holiday'. Holiday Travel of America will send over a salesman to your table. Remember, if you say no, you w

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH FOUND IN EXERCISE By Karen Everett Watson Roseville, Ca. – How do you prevent falls, build stronger bones, stay socially connected and lose weight? According to Lynell Ross, nutrition and wellness coordinator for the Village Center at Eskaton Roseville, the answer is . . . exercise. “Exercise is the fountain of youth,” said Ross. “If I could bottle it, I would be a millionaire.” Ross emphasized that exercise is the key to fall prevention which is the number one cause of fatal injuries to seniors. “If you have strong muscles you can catch yourself before you fall,” said Ross. “Exercise improves balance and creates flexibility. These are very important as we age.” Mill

Former Sacramento Monarchs point guard Ticha Penicheiro said Tuesday night she has agreed to, and will soon sign, a contract with the WNBA's L.A. Sparks. But she added that it will take a while to adjust to playing with a new team - especially the Sparks, the Monarchs' biggest rivals. Penicheiro played 12 seasons with the Monarchs and calls Sacramento her home. However, the Monarchs folded last year, and Penicheiro, a free-agent, was forced to find another place to play and work. At least she had the option to choose where she could go. Other former members of the Monarchs became part of the WNBA's dispersal draft and were chosen by other teams. Penicheiro, 35, chose the Sparks over San

 The Kings are searching for some place they can play and win. They've lost seven of their past 10 home games and 21 of their past 24 road games. And there isn't a neutral court game on the schedule anywhere. There is a game at Arco Arena tonight against the San Antonio Spurs followed by a Friday night visit from the Phoenix Suns. Then it is off to Toronto for a Sunday morning game, followed by games Tuesday and Wednesday nights in New York and Detroit, respectively. Then comes the All-Star break for most of the squad. Rookies Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi will play in the Rookie-Sophomore Game during All-Star Weekend. The Kings need to recognize they need to commit to defense or they w

Chuck D is a rebel without a pause. The co-founder of seminal hip-hop group Public Enemy is a rapper, author and activist. He refers to himself as a "raptivist," and "an ambassador for hip-hop." Thursday night, D will give a free speech at Sacramento State, where he'll be talking about rap, race, technology and communication. The event will also be a celebration of Black History Month. D likes to talk. Given that he writes a blog, tours the world on speaking gigs, and owns the SLAMjams music label, which recently threw together an iTunes album for Haiti, he is surprisingly available. He called me for an unscheduled interview, just a few minutes after I e-mailed him. "You can't go throug

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy is opposing a proposed rule stating that city employees could be fired for leaking confidential information. She said at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting the proposed rule would have a “chilling effect” on whistleblowers. The City Council delayed a decision on the proposal. The proposal Sheedy is opposing was drafted by City Attorney Eileen Teichert. It states that an “employee disclosing or causing to be disclosed confidential information to any unauthorized person may be subject to appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination.” Councilman Robbie Waters wanted Teichert to address confidentiality in a rule. His views on the current propo

While the strong mayor initiative is in the midst of a court battle, a second measure from the group that wrote the strong mayor proposal is much less controversial. At its Tuesday meeting, the City Council supported a proposal to create an independent budget analyst’s office. Councilman Steve Cohn said he thinks the council members “all agree there’s a need” for an independent budget analyst. The budget analyst proposal is separate from the strong mayor initiative, but both plans were written by the Sacramentans for Accountable Government (SAG) group. Council members asked staff to bring back a resolution so the council could vote to put the measure on the June ballot. The council al

Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. If you also have a crotchety dog who bites your friends, a television with a butt, or an aversion to sharing your beer, check out some of these spots on game day. Hilltop Tavern (4757 Folsom Blvd.) is hosting its second annual Super Bowl Sunday Mac-and-Cheese-Off, where local contestants will be bringing their best dishes to the bar for sampling. INK Eats & Drinks (2730 N St.) is offering 25-cent wings, $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon beers and $3 drafts. Mikuni's (1530 J St.) is offering a Super Bowl Sunday prize raffle and all-you-can-eat sushi buffet. Adult tickets cost $30, senior tickets (+55) cost $20. Old Tavern (1510 20th St.) is hosting a Supe

With unemployment rising and private college tuition skyrocketing, more and more people are returning to school at all ages. Sacramento State and Sacramento City College have both seen an increase in enrollment despite an increase in fees. Sacramento State's fees were raised $672 per year. Increased fees doesn't equal a better education. After reaching a compromise with the Board of Trustees, the California State University Employee's Union approved 24 furlough days school wide. These days are designated under the direction of President Alexander Gonzalez and each department head. With eight campus-wide furlough days, the entire school shuts down. Students are unable to inquire about fin

Beginning March 1, 2010, “Lawyers in the Library” will offer free 20-minute consultations at the Sacramento County Public Law Library *every* Monday night. Previously the program, a collaboration of the Sacramento County Public Law Library and the Voluntary Legal Services Program of Northern California, was offered only once a month. Registration for the program begins at 6:00 p.m. The first three people who sign up will receive appointments between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. A bilingual attorney, who speaks Spanish, will be available to assist customers the first Monday of the month. The “Lawyers in the Library” program is ideal for those who have a legal issue that might not be able to receiv

Sacramento, Calif. — In an employee-led initiative, Voyage Home Loans donated over eight hundred dollars to UNICEF’s ongoing humanitarian relief effort for children in Haiti. The donations were collected by members of a team from KDND 107.9 “The End” in Sacramento. The contributions were a part of Voyage’s new Social Good Directive, which hopes to promote local, regional, and global Social Good awareness through Facebook in 2010. The project was led by Voyage’s Carly Harrington and Corinne Blackney, who quickly and efficiently brought the employees together and organized the donations in slightly over an hour’s time after hearing about The End’s efforts via the “Wake Up Call” morning show

Continued from Part 1 A limited number of $150 tickets will be sold for a $1.7 million dollar, 4,900 square foot custom Mediterranean Villa situated in beautiful Granite Bay. The grand prize winner may also choose to take home $1.2 million dollars in cash as opposed to the House. The proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern California, providing support and housing to families whose children face life-threatening illnesses. The Grand Prize Drawing for the Raffle will be held on Saturday, May 29, 2010. Tickets will not be sold after May 14, 2010. Tickets may sell out before that time. An independent raffle auditor will supervise the drawing. The drawing for prizes is open

Continued from Part 2 Host a Fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities Bring together friends, coworkers, and your community groups to host an event with proceeds benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities. Some potential event ideas are listed below, but we are always open to new possibilities: Golf Tournaments Spaghetti Feeds Walk-A-Thons Casino Nights Crab Feeds Dinner Dances Car Washes If you are interested in organizing a fundraising event, please contact Stephanie Spees, Community Relations Coordinator, at (916) 734-4230. Donate Donations can be made through our online site and can help send a kid to camp or cover the costs of a family to stay at the House.  Your donations