There are more than 100 tobacco retailers located less than 1,000 feet from local K-12 schools in Sacramento, and City Council members say that’s too close for comfort – so they are proposing tighter restrictions for retailers to keep kids safe. “Tobacco sales so close to kids in school? It doesn’t seem like its a good match,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. The new ordinance was initiated by McCarty and Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy in 2010, and it reached the full council for consideration after first being reviewed by both the Law and Legislation committee and the city Planning commission earlier this year. The City Council unanimously passed the ordinance for publication Tue

The week in film(s) Timing your movie’s release is a strange combination of art, science, and simple luck. You obviously don’t want to go head to head with a blockbuster that appeals to the same audience, but counter-programming to a different demographic might work. You don’t want to find yourself opening in the week following some epic that generates stunning audience word of mouth and dominates as much in its second week as its first. And you’re also going to suffer if you open in the week before an equally dominant film sucks the air out of the room/box office as soon as it hits the screen. This week’s crop of new films are caught between a rock and a soft place. On the one hand, nex

The rate of Illegal sales of tobacco to minors in Sacramento County remains steady at 16% according to a survey conducted by Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health. The Public Health Division’s Tobacco Education Program conducted its annual Youth Purchase Survey in April by sending under-age student volunteers and adult chaperones to randomly-selected retail outlets in each city and the unincorporated area of Sacramento County. Of the 288 stores surveyed, 16 percent sold tobacco to minors, down from 21.7 percent in 2009 and about the same rate as in 2010. No sales to minors were observed in Rancho Cordova. Of the other areas surveyed: • Isleton had an observ

For more, visit PublicCEO.com I have a confession. I drink alcohol. I enjoy soda, too. Potato chips? Love ‘em. So why are politicians posing as moral leaders and digging into my wallet over these simple pleasures? Well, simply because their vision is just as simple. Cities, states and the federal government officials have locked into the mindless notion that these "sin taxes" are either morally or economically logical. They couldn't be more wrong. It's easy to find public support when you single out a faction that can be looked down upon as taking part in immoral behaviors, forgetting about individual rights or the ability for the public to make its own moral judgments. But the trut

 "You got a cigarette?" A homeless denizen inquires, sprawled out on a stoop in front of a CPA's office. He's flanked by three others. They're casually shooting the bull, setting up camp for the night. I'm merely walking home from work. I do not have a cigarette. "Sorry," I shrug. "Thanks anyways, pard'ner." A few minutes later, I arrive home at Wayne Manor. I set down my keys. I notice my Zippo lighter. I pick it up and flip it open a few times. I'm tired but not ready for bed. The night's not over, I decide. I clutch the Zippo lighter and head out the door. I stop by the nearest quik-e-mart and buy a pack of cigarettes. I venture over towards my pard'ner's base camp and make an annou