Tax season just ended, so I thought I'd talk about something specific to medical marijuana patients: the sin tax on medicinal cannabis that Sacramento voters voted into office in 2010 via Measure C. In a city council session early in Summer 2010, before the midterm election, the Sacramento City Council was having discussions about the medical marijuana ordinance. They were discussing making dispensaries licensed and legal in Sacramento City, when a city council member thought it would be prudent if they put a marijuana tax on the ballot. The idea behind it was that if Prop 19 made it legal for the recreational use of cannabis, they would need a tax structure in place in order to make

On any given weekday, how often do you see a food truck in downtown or midtown? Think about it. While it's true that there will be about 27 street food vendors under the freeway on Saturday for SactoMoFo 6, the question must be asked: Why do we rarely see food trucks in the city? Two years to the day after SactoMoFo 1, nothing has changed with city ordinances and this has, in fact, caused most of the regions food trucks to give up on the city altogether Ordinances have been at an absolute stand still since last September when the City of Sacramento's Law and Legislation Committee put a kibosh on those pertaining to food trucks on the street. Nevermind that a group of food truck owners, r

Spring has sprung and the time has come for everyone to plant their gardens. If you live in a residential zone in Sacramento, you most likely won't be legally employing the sunshine to nourish your marijuana plants. It has been totally illegal for a few years now to plant any cannabis outdoors or indoors in the County of Sacramento, This was all due to a ban passed by the County Board of Supervisors in 2010. No law prohibiting cultivation of cannabis existed in the City of Sacramento until November 2012 when the Sacramento City Council passed it’s own ban on growing marijuana outdoors. The City Council pushed it through quickly and it now exists in the form of Ordinance 2012-045. This l

Have you ever heard of “drugged driving?” Well, the proponents of Senate Bill 289 are making it their job to bring this new phraseology into the vernacular of the California electorate. What precisely is "drugged driving?" On the surface this law seems to make sense – nobody wants someone who is incapacitated behind the wheel of heavy machinery. However, closer scrutiny reveals that anyone who has consumed cannabis in the last few weeks could test positive. While the law will allow for prescription drugs to be exempt, this exemption does not apply to those who choose marijuana as medicine because they can only get it through a doctors recommendation - which is not the same, legally, as a

Since its formation in 1970, the nonprofit known as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws aka NORML has not had a presence in the Sacramento area. Originally formed by Keith Stroup on a mere $5,000 donation from the Playboy Foundation, the Washington, D.C.-based group has grown to have 12 chapters in California and more than 100 in other American cities and abroad. Bob “Adman” Bowerman took it upon himself to change all that. Newly retired at 61 from his multimillion-dollar ad agency Concepts, Bowerman became familiar with medical cannabis due to personal illness. “I got my medical cannabis card in 2002,” he told me in a recent interview. "Cannabis has helped me thro

Try to imagine you are in jail charged with a marijuana crime. You’ve been lead to believe that all your friends believe the exaggerated claims made about you by the media. You enter a courtroom, but are in a cage to protect the room from you. Feeling humiliated, subjugated and demoralized you look up to see a courtroom full of people wearing green ribbons to show their support.. You are elated! You can see your community has not turned its back on you – you have friends who care enough to support you. This is the power of court support. On March 9, over 30 supporters of medical marijuana filled up a courtroom in Yuba County for the case of Eric Salerno. The group was organized by Winagai

Before opening in Midtown in summer 2011, BarWest's owners told neighbors and the press that they wouldn't seek an entertainment permit from the city. Not quite two years later, the bar/restaurant that took the place of Aura on J Street is doing exactly that, inciting the wrath of neighbors who say BarWest isn't holding to its original agreement. "Needless to say, I'm incredibly disappointed that they have gone back on their word," said Julie Murphy, co-chair of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association. "And we have grave concerns about how an entertainment permit will affect the ecosystem on that block." In a letter dated Feb. 22, 2013, the City of Sacramento's communi

If you pay attention to medical marijuana politics, you may know some of the big California activists like Ed Rosenthal, Dennis Peron, and the DeAngelo Brothers. Not a lot of people know the folks behind-the-scenes and fighting locally for patients’ rights to access cannabis free of harm. Since I’ll be writing about these folks regularly, I thought I’d take a minute to introduce you to them. I have to start with Joy Cole, a local activist and founder of “SacPatients” a Sacramento based patient advocacy group that hosted a lot of the rallies and educational events early on in our movement. who passed away on April 29th 2012. She was a cancer survivor living in Del Paso Heights. In spite o

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is helping income-eligible Sacramento residents save up to $72 annually on their utility bills. The newly-launched Utility Rate Assistance Program (URAP) is designed to offset some of the recent water and wastewater rate increases that took effect last year by applying up to a $6 monthly bill credit to qualifying households. To qualify, residents must complete and submit a URAP application, available at www.cityofsacramento.org/utilities. Residents must also: • Be at or below 100-percent of the Federal Poverty Level (up to $23,050 for a family of four) • Occupy and be responsible for the utility bill for a single-family residence, condomini

We are in a complete legal quagmire with medical cannabis law in California. Localities want to allow and tax cannabis, and the federal government is simultaneously trying to destroy anyone providing cannabis in a medical context, all the while claiming it will honor state and local law. Smack-dab in the middle of this debacle is the city of Sacramento. Cannabis was made legal in California for medical use (by doctor recommendation) Nov. 5, 1996, by a voter approval of 55 percent, a hearty victory. More than one president claimed a mandate when exceeding 55 percent of the vote. Since that time, thousands of California patients, doctors, farmers and nonprofit collective operators have been

Sacramento will likely have a new police chief by month's end and the leading candidates for the position are about to be put through their paces by series of tests, exercises and interviews. The candidates will go through a job skills and knowledge assessment next week, which is being conducted by a consultant – Bob Murray and Associates. Then they will go through a management exercise and short interview with a panel of community members representing each council district, according to City of Sacramento Spokeswoman Linda Tucker. Based on scores from both processes, the candidates will be ranked, and those rankings will be forwarded to City Manager John Shirey, who will ultimately make

Time is running out for you to throw your two cents into the debate over whether Sacramento needs a new bridge to cross the American River. Friday is the deadline to complete the city's nine-question, non-scientific survey, which looks at ways to better connect the central city to south Natomas. Survey questions include how often you cross the American River, what type of transportation you use, and what a bridge should achieve for the area. "The limited connections across the American River today create longer trips, which discourage walking and bicycling and create a dependence on the automobile, while reducing the potential to achieve planned urban development and redevelopment of opp

To much cheer and applause, Councilmembers Warren Allen and Steve Hansen were sworn in for District 2 and 4, respectively, on Dec. 11, 2012. A large crowd gathered inside City Hall for an opening reception prior to the council meeting at 7 p.m., with seats packed after in the chambers themselves. Mayor Kevin Johnson announced the new Councilmembers, who joined Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell as incumbent reelects. Johnson himself, who was reelected for his second term, celebrated by making a lap around the chambers. For more photos of the event, head to the City's Facebook page.

Envision Sacramento. What is it? Coming in January is a public engagement tool designed to gather your ideas and opinions to further the effort of creating Sacramento as aa involved community. You, as part of the community, will have the opportunity to share your ideas from the comfort of your own home. What’s on your mind Sacramento? You can tell us starting January 10. Create a profile today at www.envisionsacramento.com. Check out a quick teaser video below: http://youtu.be/qPxCIomodS8

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, the Sacramento Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday, and remind residents to be mindful when cooking. “Thanksgiving Day is a time where people are cooking and spending a lot of time in the kitchen,” said Chief Ray Jones. ”Safety in the kitchen is very important, especially with so many in the home and so many items being cooked at the same time. People should take their time.” Please consider these tips as you enjoy your holiday to ensure that it is a safe holiday for everyone.   Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button. Stay in the home when cooking your turke

There are nearly 1,000 homeless men and women sleeping outdoors on any given night in Sacramento. As the cold, rainy weather approaches, the demand for emergency shelter will exceed available beds in our community. Without a warm, dry, safe place to sleep, these homeless individuals may be at greater risk of illness, injuries and even death. Sacramento Steps Forward has partnered with the faith community early this year to make sure the third Winter Sanctuary Program is available for homeless men and women needing a place to sleep during the harsh winter months. Twenty-two churches and mosques have already signed up to provide nightly shelter and meals on a rotating basis to 100 single ho

Mayor Kevin Johnson and the Sacramento City Council have unanimously approved a resolution declaring October 2012 as “Co-op Month” and honoring 2012 as the “Year of Cooperatives” in Sacramento. “Co-ops are a vital part of Sacramento’s economic lifeblood, employing hundreds of workers and injecting millions of dollars into our economy,” said Steven Maviglio, President of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, one of the largest co-op’s in the city. “We appreciate the recognition by the Mayor and Council of the critical importance of co-ops to our city and nation.” Co-ops are member-owned and controlled businesses that operate for the mutual benefit of members. For more than a century, they h

The city of Sacramento’s investigation into $2 million in employee credit card charges came to a close as City Auditor Jorge Oseguera presented his findings and recommendations, including reducing the number of employees who can use credit cards, stricter authorization policies and updated credit card use training. The scandal that rocked City Hall this summer was addressed without so much as a whimper, as the discussion finished in just under 13 minutes with little public comment.  “The city’s policy under the credit card purchase program explicitly states that they are to be used for business purposes only,” Oseguera said.  With department credit card purchase totals reaching upward o

The Sacramento Press will host a debate on Oct. 30 with the candidates seeking to represent the central city and Land Park on the City Council next year: Steve Hansen and Joe Yee. The debate will occur at 6:30 p.m. in the Cosmopolitan Cabaret theater, 1000 K St. Access Sacramento will film the event, with broadcast times to be announced soon. If you plan to attend, please RSVP via our Eventbrite page. Questions will come from the live audience, community organizations, Sac Press readers and staff. If you have a question that you'd like to see included, please let us know in the conversation below this article or email us at hub[at]SacramentoPress.com. We will follow up via email with an

A scavenger hunt is being organized to get you acquainted with Sacramento's sustainable side! Get your walking shoes and "green" thinking caps on as well as have your smart phones ready, and join the City of Sacramento, Greenwise Joint Venture, and 350 Sacramento at the free "Cut Your Cubes" scavenger hunt on November 10 beginning at 1 p.m. Teams of two to four will vie for gift baskets valued at $500, and will include gift cards to local businesses and more. "As part of the scavenger hunt, we want people to discover what sustainable features are downtown, in Old Sacramento, and in midtown," said Maurice Chaney, media and communications specialist with the City of Sacramento. "We have a