Scandals shook Sacramento City Hall throughout 2010. A review of the past year in local politics shows city leaders in turmoil over debacles at the Community Development and Utilities departments. The troubles in the development department prompted City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy to declare in January that council members should find out what has “gone wrong” at City Hall. Before we ring in a new year, let’s take a look at the scandals that shaped city politics over the past 12 months. Troubles with the feds A scandal that began in 2009 involving the city’s development department and a Natomas flood zone continued full-throttle until the end of 2010. City employee Dan Waters, son of rece

Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong said in an interview Thursday that further actions should be taken against city employees, including code division employee Dan Waters, who were involved in the recent scandals at the city’s Community Development Department. Waters approved 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone last year. Officials with the city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency say that Waters’ action to give the permits to K. Hovnanian Homes broke federal regulations. The City Council agreed earlier this week to pay up to $350,000 to correct its violations and comply with FEMA. The violations related to 38 permits – Waters approved 35 of them, according to city spokesw

These homes are incomplete and they’re likely to stay that way for some time. In Natomas, there are four half-built homes and 21 housing foundations made of concrete, according to a city document. The unfinished houses are part of the fallout from a city employee’s decision to provide 35 building permits to a developer in a Natomas flood zone last year.  City officials have acknowledged that the move did not follow Federal Emergency Management Agency rules. The city provided FEMA with a corrective plan March 31. In the plan, the city asks FEMA if the incomplete houses can be prepared for mothballing until the agency says that the city’s flood-protection efforts are strong enough to sus

Councilman Ray Tretheway’s key goals for 2010 are in response to problems caused by the poor economy. He said he plans to concentrate on public safety, jobs and foreclosure. Tretheway’s priorities are listed here as part of a series of stories on council members’ top three goals for 2010. Links to the stories are at the end of this article. The Sacramento Press made repeated requests to interview Councilman Rob Fong, but he was unavailable. Tretheway represents District 1, which includes North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat. He is running for re-election in June against Efren Guttierrez, a real estate broker, and Angelique Ashby, a partner in a consulting firm that contracts with gov

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

While local media outlets have reported on the third-party investigation of Sacramento’s development department, the details of the investigation are complex. City Attorney Eileen Teichert shed light on the investigation’s details in a phone interview with The Sacramento Press last week. The city, together with the third-party law firm Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, is investigating the Community Development Department’s approval this year of 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone. Teichert’s office acknowledges in a Dec. 15 letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the city broke federal rules when it approved the permits. The city has placed Community Development Direc

The Rancho Murieta training facility was a disaster scene this past week. Firefighters collaborated on an Urban Search and Rescue mission to carefully extract victims stranded in cars crushed under debris. The victims in this case, mannequins, were successfully removed from the wreckage. Firefighters treat this simulation as an actual disaster so they will be prepared when they get the call. For the past four years, firefighters from all over California have been gathering in the Sacramento area for a heavy equipment and rigging training course that culminated this past Wednesday. L.A. City, L.A. County, Oakland, Elk Grove, Roseville, Sacramento City and the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire