As the Sacramento Metro Chamber prepares for its 16th annual State of the Region Forum in August, a nationwide search is working on the state of the organization’s leadership. The chamber has been conducting a nationwide search for a new president and CEO since Matt Mahood left the position in June to take a lead position at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. “We are attracting some great talent,” said Greg Eldridge, vice president and area manager at CH2M Hill and chairman of the Metro Chamber board. According to its website, the Metro Chamber represents nearly 2,000 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region on issues affecting busin

Sacramento Metro Chamber President and CEO Matt Mahood leaves behind a more unified business community as he moves on to take over the helm of the San Jose chamber this summer, colleagues and associates said Tuesday. Mahood, 45, has a reputation for being upbeat and optimistic, even as he's guided the chamber through the recession. He served as a dynamic leader for the organization and a spokesman for the region on local, state and national levels. At 6 feet 7 inches, he towers over many of those he works with in business and politics. He's known for being thoughtful and having an even-handed way for approaching issues in the job he's held for nine years. His most lasting legacy in Sacr

The owners of the Sacramento Kings announced Monday the team will stay put for at least one more season – giving the region and the National Basketball Association time for one final push to build a new arena. NBA officials quickly announced a commitment to make one last effort over the next 10 months to pave the way to replace Power Balance Pavilion. The league is sending nine people to Sacramento Tuesday to provide expert support in the regional effort to construct a new arena and to help the Kings' owners, the Maloofs, lead the team to a successful next season, NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a teleconference Monday afternoon. Kings fans, elected officials and business leaders re

Sacramento Kings fans, officials and business leaders are waiting to hear in the next few days whether the team will stay here for at least a year after businesses ponied up deposits on more than $10.2 million in financial support Tuesday. The National Basketball Association's Relocation Committee, chaired by Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, will meet between now and Monday to make a decision. Sacramento officials have asked to learn sooner than May 2, if possible, whether the Kings will remain in Sacramento rather than move to Anaheim. May 2 is the deadline for the Kings' owners, the Maloofs, to file a relocation request. There has been little public discussion of the impact a

Sacramento leaders asked National Basketball Association officials visiting Thursday to keep the Kings in Sacramento for at least another year while the region proves a new arena can be built – and an answer is expected May 2. In a closed-door meeting at the state Capitol Thursday morning, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and other elected officials from the city and state asked the NBA to give the region a year to show they will be able to replace Power Balance Pavilion with a new home for the Kings. Kings supporters also did their best to paint the town purple – waving purple-lettered signs outside City Hall, hanging Kings banners on buildings and dressing in the team's color

A National Basketball Association committee will arrive in Sacramento this week to study the possibility of keeping the Kings here. Reports surfaced Monday that a group of six would be coming here Tuesday to get more information about new financial support for the Kings. On Friday at the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, NBA Commissioner David Stern said team owners agreed to learn more about corporate sponsorships and other money that may be available to help the Kings make more money in Sacramento. The only information that could be confirmed was that Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who chairs the board's Relocation Committee, and NBA Executive Counsel Harvey Benjam

Sacramento Kings fans will have to keep holding their breath over a possible team move after a National Basketball Association official on Friday said the league needs time to learn more about the unfolding deal in Anaheim and the viability of keeping the team in the capital. The NBA Board of Governors agreed to extend the deadline for the Maloofs’ request to move until May 2. On Thursday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and San Francisco investor Darius Anderson told NBA team owners that billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle is leading a plan to buy the Kings or help bring another pro basketball team here if the Kings leave. Johnson also said he and business leaders have r

The clock is ticking for the Sacramento City Council. Sacramento Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s resignation on Friday morning means that the City Council must take immediate actions that will impact the city budget and labor negotiations with municipal unions.  Council members must find a new top city official one month before the city’s proposed budget is due. Vina’s resignation also means that the city’s labor unions will take up budget negotiations with a new city leader. “We don’t have time to grieve,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said in an interview Friday. Cohn was one of four council members who supported Vina’s earlier effort to become Sacramento’s next permanent city manager.

Mayor Kevin Johnson on Thursday sounded resigned to the idea Sacramento may soon lose its professional basketball team. A day after his first conversation with the Sacramento Kings' owners in more than a month, Johnson said Anaheim and its city-owned arena, the Honda Center, have this city beaten on too many fronts. Anaheim has a lucrative TV market and the Walt Disney Company’s Disneyland and other Fortune 500 companies that can buy sponsorships and luxury boxes and suites – critical revenue streams for basketball teams, in addition to ticket sales. Sacramento's economy is struggling and its arena is outdated, he said. "It's a business decision and the economics of Anaheim are better t

  Two local groups continue to protest the Sacramento City Council more than one month after the council decided to boycott Arizona companies. One of the groups, Boycott Sacramento, is intentionally avoiding local businesses in response to the council’s sanctions on Arizona businesses.  Another group, Recall Sacramento, is saying it will attempt to remove certain council members from office. However, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said the group has not yet officially started the recall process.  The groups formed after the City Council decided June 15 to dispute Arizona’s new immigration laws by boycotting that state’s companies.  The council passed the boycott in a 6-1 vote, wi

A Fortune 500 company is consolidating its regional office in Sacramento's central city. Although moving only two blocks, AECOM's choice to remain here and bring more workers to the city's core is cause for some celebration after many regional and divisional offices shrunk in the last two years, local business leaders said. "This is an indication that we're heading in the right direction," said Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. AECOM, headquartered in Los Angeles, merged with the environmental, planning and design firm EDAW in 2006. AECOM added construction, engineering, architecture and high-level project management, as well as a global force of 4

The Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce on Thursday endorsed the strong mayor initiative going before primary election voters next summer. Following study by a task force, the business association voiced support for an executive mayor with more power than the current city charter allows. The initiative's passage would change the form of city government that was established in 1921, according to the chamber. "The city of Sacramento deserves a government structure that is effective and accountable," said Matt Mahood, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, in a press conference at chamber headquarters. The press conference was held about a week after several local u

The Sacramento Metro Chamber office has been buzzing this week as Chief Executive Officer Matt Mahood and the rest of the staff finished last-minute details for their big annual event. One of the most important things they've done to prepare for Friday's "Perspectives 2009: An American Experience" is to work closely with each of the nationally recognized guest speakers. Surrounded by signed and framed programs from past Perspectives, Mahood talked earlier this week by phone with speakers preparing for their presentations. The work continued Thursday when speakers started flying in from around the country and Metro Chamber staff became chaperones for the VIPs. Such behind-the-scenes work