Two years of conflict and debate over a potential McDonald’s restaurant in Oak Park came to an end Tuesday when the City Council unanimously voted to deny an appeal to build the project with a drive-thru. “I’m pleased that the council stayed focused on the real issue, which was the drive-thru,” Michael Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said after the meeting. “They listened to the community, which has spoken so loudly for so many years and wanted to be heard. We’re very grateful.” Franchise co-owner John Ritchey declined to comment on the denial of his appeal after the council vote, but a representative provided a prepared statement from the Ritchey family. “We a

An intense struggle between residents of Oak Park and owners of a McDonald’s franchise will come to a head Tuesday when the City Council considers allowing a new drive-thru restaurant at the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Second Avenue – directly across the street from a UC Davis Med Center obesity clinic. “We are interested in something better for Oak Park,” Dr. Charlene Hauser, an Oak Park resident and a key member of the opposition to the project, said Friday. “We’d love to have something here that we feel would improve the neighborhood.” But McDonald’s franchise co-owner John Ritchey said in an email statement Sunday that he feels the restaurant will benefit the area. “We believe

Doctors, teachers and neighbors gathered Wednesday to discuss a looming concern in the Oak Park community that will soon be discussed at the Sacramento City Council – a proposed McDonald’s restaurant with drive-thru between Second Avenue and Stockton Boulevard. “We just want communities that are safe for ourselves and communities that are safe for my patients,” family physician and Second Avenue resident Charlene Hauser said. “Drive-thru fast food is completely unsafe.” The proposed site location, currently a vacant lot, is across the street from the UC Davis Medical Center, which includes a cancer center and pediatric obesity clinic. On Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council will discuss

Sacramento City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday to discuss a proposed drive-through McDonald’s on the corner of Stockton Boulevard and 2nd Avenue in Oak Park. “This is unique site,” said Lindsey Alagozian, senior planner for the city. “It’s an infill lot that has been vacant for some time and both the city and the community want it revitalized.” The proposed McDonald’s is a long-running debate as community groups including Healthy Development for Oak Park, WALK Sacramento and Oak Park Neighborhood Association express concerns about safety, pedestrian and bike access, appropriate land use, proposed hours and quality of life. More than 1,700 residents signed a petiti

A review of the proposed McDonald’s site on Second Avenue and Stockton Boulevard by the Community Development Department for the city of Sacramento has found no evidence that the restaurant would significantly impact the environment. However, some community members argue that the the environmental findings and the traffic study, reported in the Mitigated Negative Declarative released Aug. 1 does not tell the whole story about the health and traffic impact a McDonald’s would have on the Oak Park neighborhood. “I understand that McDonald’s does provide healthy choices if you choose to go down that route. I don’t think we ought to tell people what they can and cannot eat,” said Sam Allen, c

How about a hardware store, garden shop, day care center, café, dog park, hair salon, yogurt shop or art supply business? These were some ideas vocalized during the community-visioning event Saturday where more than 50 people gathered at Grange Hall to share thoughts about potential uses for a vacant lot at 2nd Avenue and Stockton Boulevard in Oak Park.  A McDonald’s with a 24-hour drive-through is currently proposed for the one-acre site, which faces commercial and medical buildings on Stockton and a residential neighborhood on 2nd Avenue.  “The goal of this meeting is to hear neighborhood concerns about the proposed McDonald’s and develop a new vision about what could go on that proper

Residents of District 5 phoned in for the monthly “Neighborhood Conversations” conference call Wednesday night to discuss their issues, concerns, and questions with City Councilman Jay Schenirer. One of the first discussions of the call centered around the crime and vandalism issues Oak Park faces. One resident from the area was the main speaker for this topic, he asked whether it was getting worse or improving and what the neighbors could do about it. Schenirer commented that crime has gone down throughout the city and that it was mainly gang rivalries between Oak Park gangs and those in the surrounding areas. In relation to gangs, he said the city is using strategies to rehabilitate g

The monthly Oak Park Neighborhood Association Meeting for January was packed with more than 50 citizens ready to debate the merits of a proposed McDonald's Restaurant to be built in their neighborhood. The meeting, which was moderated by Paul Towers, vice president of the OPNA, also had in attendance Kim Garrett, a representative for McDonald's, and Patrick Diffley, a member of the McDonald's construction team. Garrett and Diffley were stocked with data promoting potential benefits to the surrounding area should the proposed McDonald's be constructed. Some of those benefits included: * The development of a lot that has been vacant for years * The addition of approximately 128 jobs to the

Over 300 students, parents, friends, and family members braved gusty winds on the West Steps of the Capitol on Saturday, June 12, to recognize over 140 local high school graduates from the Sacramento area who had been chosen as the 2010 Ronald McDonald House Scholars. Participants at the Recognition Ceremony took photographs and shook hands with local community leaders as part of an event to award the recipients with a certificate acknowledging their scholarship award. Several prominent business and community leaders attended the event including Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, Sacramento City Council Member Rob Fong, Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez, KCRA-TV anchor Adr

When it comes to a showcase of events from Sacramento’s black community there is only one event that stands out and that is the annual Sacramento Black Expo exhibit held at the Convention Center this weekend from February 19-21. From people shopping to vendors selling goods it’s a chance to experience a lot of what the culture of African-Americans is all about. Whether its business, health, spiritual, finance, fashion, music, food, and education there is something for everyone. Among special events include a “Youth Talent Show”, “Glory Awards”, Soul Food and Exhibitors”, and “Gospel Sunday Program”. There will be a host celebrities and personalities in attendance. Major sponsors include S

One VHS player died in the making of this year's Found Footage Festival. Sunday, as part of Movies on a Big Screen, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett will bring their fourth volume of the Found Footage Festival to the Guild Theater for 90 minutes of outrageous video clips assembled from across the country. Prueher and Pickett have contributed to The Onion, "The Colbert Report" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." Luckily for Sacramento, they started touring with their found footage, sharing their collection of VHS tapes and their commentary at each showing. The last VHS rolled off the assembly line November 2008, Prueher said in a phone interview. But the majority of the clips used in

Sasha Abramsky, an accomplished author, teacher, and senior fellow at Demos think tank in New York City, posed a tough question yesterday at his book launch party for Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It, hosted by the UC Center of Sacramento. "How do you feed people who are hungry in a country with an abundance of food?" The question is one he explores in Breadline USA. Abramsky's book documents the stories of several American families and their struggle with finances and food. During the late years of the Bush administration, Abramsky described an increase in attendance at breadlines, lines of people waiting to receive food from a charitable organizati