Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "natomas"

Standoff in Natomas ends with two arrests

2013-02-14T05:13:01Z

A standoff with two suspects in an apartment complex in Natomas ended Wednesday after Sacramento Police arrested both men.

"We have good news at this point. Both suspects the Sheriff's Department detectives were looking for earlier this evening, we have them in custody," said Michelle Gigante, spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department.

The full statement from Gigante:

The incident began in the early afternoon when Sacramento Sheriff Deputies and Sacramento Police Officers arrived at a condominium complex near Club Center Drive and Natomas Boulevard to arrest a parolee on felony charge.

The facts, according to Gigante:

- At about 3:30 p.m. a woman who came out of the apartment was detained by police, who questioned her and verified that the wanted suspect was inside with another man.

- At no time was there a hostage situation, but both subjects refused to come out, Gigiante said.

- The Sacramento Police Department SWAT team and Hostage Negotiation were called to the scene and the suspects surrounded by 6:15 p.m.

- Nearby apartments were evacuated and Northbound Natomas was closed for a short time.

Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tuesday morning and highlights our best stories, photos and videos from the week prior. Sign me up.

Tax assistance super event this Saturday

2013-02-06T22:40:14Z

The Sacramento Coalition for Working Families will host it’s final Taxes Done Right Super Event this Saturday, February 9th from 9am - 2pm at Grant High School.

To prepare a return, participants need to bring:

A copy of last year's return.
Their Social Security or ITIN number (and for all family members).
Photo identification.
Any tax related forms received from their employer or benefits provider.
Documentation or receipts for deductions and credits.
Their child care provider's Tax ID number (if applicable).
A voided check to use for direct deposit of refunds.

Up to 200 people are expected to attend. Call 211 to schedule an appointment.

Additional events will take place at the following locations:

Hiram W. Johnson High School - Feb 16 & 23 (9am - 1pm)
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services - Feb 16, 23, Mar 2, Apr 13 & 14 (9am - 1pm)
La Familia - Feb 23 (9am - 2pm)
Mutal Assistance Network - Feb 23, Mar 16, April 13 (10am - 1pm)

Ongoing assistance is provided at the following locations:

DHA Florin Road Bureau - Tues & Fri (5pm - 8pm), Sat (9am - 1pm)
DHA Fulton Avenue Bureau - Mon & Wed (5pm - 8pm), Sat (9am - 1pm)
DHA Watt Avenue Bureau - Mon & Thur (5pm - 8pm), Sat (9am - 1pm)
Consulado de Mexico - Fri (9am - 1pm)
Goodwill Industries - Sat (9am - 1pm)
Oak Park Community Center - Sat (9am - 1pm)
Folsom Cordova Community Partnership - Sat (9am - 1pm)
SAFE Credit Union - Sat (9am - 1pm)
Sam Pannell Community Center - Wed, Thurs & Fri (10:30am - 1:30pm)
South Natomas Community Center - Sat (10am - 3pm)
Mutual Assistance Network - Tues & Wed (4pm - 6pm)
George Sim Community Center - Tues (10:30am - 1:30pm)

The IRS Tax Filing Deadline is Monday, April 15, 2013.

Call 211 for more information regarding these events and to schedule an appointment.

This program is not a program of the Sacramento County (or surrounding counties) Unified School Districts and they have no liability or responsibility for this program.

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Natomas' Roadside Memorials

2013-02-01T08:05:00Z

Roadside memorials stand as silent monuments where a life has been lost.

In Natomas, three different memorials pay tribute to three very different men. The one thing they had in common: violent deaths.

Zachary Ragan, 42

Plastic flowers, candles and dirty stuffed animals surround a cross in a vacant lot in the Sleep Train Arena's shadow. The memorial marks the spot where Ragan – suspected of assaulting a teen with a knife the day before – was shot and killed by a Sacramento Police officer on Oct. 28. 2010.

Adam Steinbach, 27

A memorial on the roadside at Del Paso and Northgate boulevards sits near the spot Steinbach was found dead of stab wounds on May 31, 2011. A week later, Sacramento Police arrested Dawayne Lawrence on suspicion of killing Steinbach after attempting to burglarize the vehicle in which he slept. Lawrence is due in Sacramento County Superior Court next week.

Anthony Fairamitani, 23

The Interstate 80 overpass on Truxel Road dons Fairamitani's nickname – “MASA” – overlooking the traffic below. Fairamitani died on June 22, 2012 after he lost control of his motorcycle, was thrown into traffic and struck by an oncoming vehicle. Last week, his memorial was updated with bright red tinsel to mark what would have been his 24th birthday.

Disclosure: Brandy Tuzon Boyd publishes The Natomas Buzz, an online newspaper at natomasbuzz.com.

Hoops raises food for needy

2013-01-23T01:54:54Z

Multiple basketball teams took part in the Hoops for the Hunger event on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at Natomas Charter School.

Teams consisted of ten players and each participating player brought two canned goods for the single-game elimination tournament.

Event organizer Carl Gayle discusses the tournament and future plans in the following video:

Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tuesday morning and highlights our best stories, photos and videos from the week prior. Sign me up.

Second Hand Weed Smoke with Wiz Khalifa

2012-11-13T04:57:05Z

Wiz Khalifa and the Taylor Gang came to the Sacramento Sleep Train Arena, Sunday, Nov. 11.

This concert took a turn for the interesting before I had even left the stadium parking lot. Several of its participants were already drunk or smoking the band’s preferred choice: weed. Many car alarms went off as some people stumbled into the arena to watch the artists that made up the Taylor Gang and the headliner Wiz Khalifa.

Once inside the arena it became quickly obvious that this was not a family outing. The outfits ranged from interesting in color to scantily clad. But as Wiz said when he first took to the stage, “We are all about creating an environment where you feel free to be yourself. Drink what you want, smoke what you want and be you.” And the crowd did.

The Taylor Gang consists of Berner, Lola Monroe, Chevy Woods and Juicy J. Berner was the first to hit the stage. While he had a good beat and carried his timing well, the real show didn’t start until Monroe came on stage. She rapped new songs from her upcoming CD, “Lipstick & Pistols.” Woods followed her performance before introducing Juicy J.

Juicy J is the ultimate performer. He utilized everything from the props on the stage, to the lighting effects, to his own charismatic personality. At one point even I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what he would do next. For one of his songs, he invited 300 ladies in the crowd to come up on stage and dance with him. This ended up being the most entertaining part of the night.

Then Juicy J did something he swore he had never done at a concert: he invited a guy up to his stage. This ended up being a 14-year-old kid who looked like he won the lottery. Juicy J encouraged the girls on stage to make this “a night he would never forget.”

By the time Wiz Khalifa had taken the stage, I had lost count of how many times all the performers had asked the crowd, “Who is smoking the good weed?” Needless to say, the arena had become hazy with smoke and glowed with light from hundreds of lighters. Center stage to Wiz was a larger-than-life statue of a bong that occasionally had steam (at least I hope that’s what it was) coming from it.

Wiz rapped songs that had mostly not been heard before. He has a new album coming out Dec. 4, and he was taking his material from that. There was a great moment in the night when all the members of the Taylor Gang came out on stage with Wiz, and he not only rapped with them, but also gave each a personal shoutout to the crowd.

The night was memorable, down to the stage dancers who were dressed as a lighter and blunt. The greatest thing I can say, though, about the music is that there was a sense of family with this group; all for one, and we look out for each other. Each took time to promote the other. And they all flowed so seamlessly together as if they had been working with each other for multiple years.

While they all had great timing in their raps, it really comes down to the group dynamic. I think this is what made this concert so special. And I think this is what is going to keep them around and at the top of charts for a while.

Eric Church Comes to Sleep Train Arena

2012-11-13T04:52:09Z

Eric Church played at the Sleep Train Arena on Saturday, Nov. 10, with special guests Justin Moore and Kip Moore.

While I am personally not a fan of country music, I couldn’t help but be a little charmed by the fans who are. Dressed in cowboy boots and hats, it was nice to have the door held open for me and to hear “Excuse me, ma’am,” as I passed by. Church is a very popular country musician, especially with the ladies, so I saw a lot of jumping up and down as crowd members made their way to their seats.

Justin Moore started the night off, playing crowd favorites like “Til My Last Day” and “Small Town USA,” which got the audience amped up. Kip Moore followed. One of his more entertaining songs, “Beer Money,” got the most amusing crowd participation, since beer seemed to be the drink of choice for the night.

Church used fog and lights to create a unique stage experience. The backdrop was a black-and-white frame from his CD “Chief,” which was well-recognized by all his fans. The crowd accompanied him in many of his songs, making this a boisterous event.

Church played popular songs like “Creepin’,” which had many people dancing either in their seats or among the general audience. I have to admit my foot may have also been tapping. There is something contagious about a group that is truly enjoying themselves.

The song that drove the crowd wild, though, was “Drink in My Hand.” The arena almost came to life as everyone lifted the drink they were drinking toward the stage. There was a unity in the music and words that was not only fun to see, but also special.

Church loves his music and it’s obvious from his fans that they love him, too.

Opinion: Joe Yee is the right choice for Sacramento

2012-11-05T06:04:38Z

There is a stark difference between the two candidates in City Council District 4.

Joe Yee has dedicated countless hours over his lifetime to Sacramento. From chairing the committee that released the much-heralded Sacramento 2030 General Plan** to chairing the Planning Commission to serving as an appointed council member, Joe has shown that true leadership takes hard work, integrity, and openness – not backroom deals and political ploys.

(**This document is the single most important planning document for Sacramento through the year 2030 and has received numerous awards for its forward-looking focus and its solutions to seemingly intractable planning problems.)

He has spent decades talking to his neighbors about the problems facing Sacramento and used his talents to solve those problems, such as being instrumental in planning and approving what is blossoming into a livable and vibrant Midtown. Joe has never used his various appointed positions to promote himself or create press events. Joe has done his hard work, whether or not a camera was on. That’s why dozens and dozens of local elected officials and community leaders have lined up behind Joe and not only endorse him, but walk and phone for him. Joe’s as honest as the day is long, and we all know he will put the hard work (and long days) in that this job needs.

Because he’s done it before.

Joe is the one and only candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party. In recent years, the Democratic Party has made it a priority to endorse candidates who promise to campaign and raise funds ethically. Joe has lived up to every bit of his promise, as have his campaign staff and volunteers. He has ignored the rumormongers and demanded his campaign team and volunteers refrain from responding to false statements made about him by others. But that’s exactly the type of guy Joe is. He sets his sights high and expects the best of those around him.

Classy in every respect of the word.

But Joe isn’t a flashy guy. He doesn’t have slick answers to debate questions that fit neatly into sound bites or tweets. That’s because Joe thinks through every problem carefully and mulls over ramifications to find the right solutions for Sacramento. We need Joe on the City Council because he will protect District 4 by always putting Sacramento first. He will serve us well because he grew up here, raised his family here, opened his business here, and will continue to live and work here long after his campaign is over.

A thriving Sacramento is Joe's passion.

Sacramento faces tough times and, with tough times, we need a serious candidate with the experience, talent and foresight to see the long-term solutions to fixing Sacramento.

And that’s Joe Yee.

Disclosure: Anna Molander is a supporter of Joe Yee and has served on a commission with him.

Vice Mayor Ashby introduces the "Summer of Fun" for Natomas families!

2012-06-26T15:11:21Z

Last week, the Office of Vice Mayor Ashby officially kicked off the “Summer of Fun” program for Natomas families. This amazing summer program is chock-full of great activities sponsored by the Vice Mayor as well as a plethora of activities available throughout the entire City.

Natomas families are invited to participate by visiting the Summer of Fun webpage to see hundreds of activities going on throughout June, July and August. Several events have already passed (such as the North Natomas Regional Park Baseball Complex Ground Breaking and our first Natomas at Nite: Movie in the Park) but there's plenty more to enjoy.

Natomas families can join the Vice Mayor for fun events such as the Natomas Snooze Under the Stars on Friday July 13th as well as another Natomas at Nite: Movie in the Park on August 13th for a showing of Kung Fu Panda 2.

During the summer months, kids can pick up a Passport for Play at any of our events or parents can stop by the Natomas Police and Community Resource Center (2701 Del Paso Road, Suite 140).

Passports can also be downloaded at www.angeliqueashby.com/summerfun.

Kids can complete their passport during the summer months by participating in fun activities, and then bring it to the Summer Sunset Party on August 8th at 6:30 pm for a Natomas night at Fairytale Town. Each child will receive cool prizes, including tickets to the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town and more!

Please see below for a list of special events sponsored by the Office of Vice Mayor Ashby during our “Summer of Fun” but make sure to visit www.angeliqueashby.com/summerfun for a complete calendar. We are adding events and activities every day!

6/26/12 - Natomas Teen Mural Project: Reception & Special Presentation

5 PM, New City Hall - 915 I Street

6/25-8/8 - District One Play Group Events

Various Times & Locations, see link for more details

7/13/12 - Natomas Snooze Under the Stars

8 PM, North Natomas Community Park - Corner of Crest Drive & Cagney Way

8/8/12 - Summer of Fun: Summer Sunset Party

6:30 PM, Fairytale Town - 3901 Land Park Drive

8/10/12 - Natomas at Nite: Movie in the Park (Kung Fu Panda 2)

8 PM, North Natomas Community Park - Corner of Crest Drive & Cagney Way

Disclosure: Angelique Ashby is a mother, business owner, neighborhood leader, first-term Councilmember and currently serves as the Vice Mayor for the City of Sacramento.

Light rail from Downtown to River District opens Friday

2012-06-12T19:28:05Z

The first leg of the long-awaited Green Line from downtown to the airport will make its debut Friday at a grand opening celebration.

The Green Line is a 12.8-mile-long project that will eventually connect downtown Sacramento to South and North Natomas and the Sacramento International Airport. This first phase, which opens Friday, is a 1.1-mile segment that extends from downtown at the H and Eighth streets station to the the Township 9 station at Seventh Street and Richards Boulevard in the River District.

In addition to linking the central city to the airport, the Green Line was designed to serve as a key connector to the airport and to the central city for residents in the Natomas area – a part of the city that has seen its population almost quadruple since 2003.

The project broke ground in 2009 and will include 13 light rail stations, a light-duty maintenance facility and seven park-and-ride lots when it is completed, according to the Regional Transit website.

Here is the map of the proposed Green Line from downtown to the Sacramento airport.

RT Light Rail Green Line Map“For the River District, this is going to be a signature station,” Patty Kleinknecht, executive director for The River District, said Tuesday. “We are all about connecting: the river, downtown, the railyards and more. The future of the Green Line is going out to the airport, and this is just one step to get us there.”

The Green Line is funded by a combination of local, state and federal funds that include developer fees, sales tax revenues and federal grants, according to the Regional Transit website. The first segment from downtown to Richards Boulevard/Township 9 was designed and built without federal funds.

The project’s final completion date has not been determined because it depends on when funding becomes available, according to the website.

The grand opening event Friday begins with a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. hosted by the Sacramento Regional Transit District, followed by a lunchtime celebration with food, live entertainment, community booths and prize drawings, according to a press release.

The inaugural Green Line train will arrive at the Township 9 station at 11 a.m.

For more information about the Green Line, go the Sacramento Regional Transit website.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial note: The article has been corrected to relfect that the first phase of the Green Line extends from the H and Eighth streets station to the Township 9 station.

Vice Mayor Ashby kicks off a “Summer of Fun” in Natomas

2012-05-11T22:10:24Z

SACRAMENTO – The Office of Vice Mayor Ashby invites all Natomas families to participate in our “Summer of Fun” during the months of June through August.

First, if you haven’t already signed your kids up, make sure to check out the Summer Oasis program. This summer day camp for kids, once offered every summer throughout the City, has been saved for a second year by the Vice Mayor, with help from active families in Natomas who voiced their support for the program and community sponsors. This year’s program has a major sponsor coming in to cover seventy percent of the program’s cost, allowing us to offer the 8 week camp for just $75 per participant. A HUGE thank you to our partner Walmart for providing Natomas kids with a healthy and fun summer activity!

This 8 week camp will run from June 4th to July 27th from 8 to 1pm Monday through Friday, at Regency Park with fun activities such as arts, crafts, games, sports, field trips and more. Register NOW as space is filling up quickly! In just a few short weeks, the program is already two thirds full. To learn more or register, visit: http://www.angeliqueashby.com/2012-summer-oasis-camp

Next, be on the lookout for an announcement from the Office of Vice Mayor Ashby about a summer passport program. This program will feature a free kick-off event at Fairytale Town to get things started and will focus on getting Natomas kids and families out and moving during summer break. Check out the following page often as we will be making more announcements soon! http://www.angeliqueashby.com/summer-of-fun-in-natomas

Angelique Ashby is a mother, business owner, neighborhood leader, first-term Councilmember and currently serves as the Vice Mayor for the City of Sacramento.

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In bad economy, developers get paid a little at a time

2012-04-12T03:23:36Z

Nearly seven years after completing infrastructure work for housing developments in Natomas, developers are still receiving reimbursement payments from the city as part of an unusual “pay-as-you-go” arrangement between the city and the developer.

“(This situation) is unique in that the city doesn’t pay for everything at once,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said Tuesday.

When the City Council agreed Tuesday to take $1.1 million from a Mello Roos special tax fund to reimburse a developer for public improvement projects, it was the eighth such payment in four years on an ongoing agreement that is usually handled a different way.

Typically, the city issues bonds to pay builders immediately for the completed infrastructure work, and then taxes collected are used to pay the interest on the bonds.

In the case of K. Hovnanian Forecast Homes in Natomas, the forces of timing and bad economy played a part in creating an alternate method of reimbursement.

“The work was done and costs were verified,” said Mark Griffin, program manager with the city Finance Department.

“Just as we formed the district to issue bonds, the economy went bad. We couldn’t issue bonds,” he said.

The downturn in the economy coupled with a Federal Emergency Management Agency construction moratorium in the Natomas area made it too expensive to issue bonds for the projects.

Griffin said the “pay-as-you-go” agreement with the developer allowed the city to make payments as taxes were collected from the special tax district.

“It’s not great for the developer, but there really wasn’t a choice,” Griffin said. “The timing of the economy was very unfortunate.”

A Mello Roos tax district is set up by the city for specific areas, and property taxes collected are solely for the purpose of financing public improvements within the district.

There are 24 such districts in Sacramento – some of those were formed to issue bonds that pay for infrastructure projects. Others were established to pay for ongoing services like streetscapes, park maintenance, drainage basin maintenance and open space maintenance.

“Most of the time, we set up these (Mello Roos) districts to issue bonds, and the developer is fully reimbursed for work already done from the bonds,” Griffin said.

The situation in Natomas is unusual because it is the one of the few places in Sacramento where construction was started during the housing boom and halted after the housing bust – and it had the additional burden of being in a flood-prone area.

The “pay-as-you-go” agreement is not typical in Sacramento, but it was necessary to make sure the city lived up to its agreement with a developer that paid up front for required infrastructure work, Griffin said.

As inconvenient as it may be for the developer who is stuck waiting for payments to trickle in, the situation is “neutral” for the city and property owners, Griffin said.

“If we issued bonds, we’d be paying a debt service on the bonds with the taxes collected,” Griffin said. “With pay as you go, we are still collecting taxes and reimbursing costs.”

The cost difference for the city and property owners between pay as you go and issuing bonds is negligible, Griffin said, because taxes are still being collected – they are just being disbursed differently.

As of March 15, the city has collected $10.1 million from special taxes in Natomas and paid out close to $9.1 million, according to the city staff report.

After the current $1.1 million payment from the special district tax fund, the developer is still owed approximately $1.45 million on a total $11.5 million billing.

“All we are doing here is reimbursing developers for work that they paid up front to make sure was completed,” Ashby said.

Griffin said K. Hovnanian has done other work that they haven’t requested reimbursement for yet – perhaps as much as $10 million more in eligible costs – and when the entire bill is paid, the pay-as-you-go agreement ends.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Blake Shelton and Justin Moore bring honky-tonk to Sacramento

2012-03-19T04:51:22Z

Country crooners Blake Shelton and opening act Justin Moore charmed Sacramento during Shelton’s “Well Lit & Amplified Tour” Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion.

Referencing the sea of cowboy hats and daisy dukes, Moore riled up the female fans in the audience by noticing, “there are more country girls here than anywhere in the world!”

Red Solo cup in hand, he called Sacramento “the best keep secret ever” and went on to perform a 10-song set chock full of cheeky lyrics.

The raucous audience raised their beers in appreciation of Moore’s saucy hits like, “If You Don’t Like My Twang,” “Bait a Hook” and “I Could Kick Your Ass,” which he dedicated to all the “rednecks” in California.

Moore next slowed it down with a few love ballads, “My Kind of Woman,” “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” and the particularly sappy, “‘Til My Last Day,” his hit single written in dedication to his wife.

As his performance came to a close, he jokingly thanked the audience for buying tickets they couldn’t afford, especially the fans sitting in the “cheap seats.”

With the energy high and the audience in the throes of a romance with country music, Moore gave over the stage to the star of the night.

Shelton opened his 15-song set by injecting some honky-tonk into Kenny Loggins’ classic, “Footloose.”

With a country twang that made hearts flutter, he revved up the audience for a lively performance.

“I know you all have to go to work tomorrow morning but I don’t give a crap! Let’s have a good time tonight!” before going on to sing, “It’s All About Tonight.”

Shelton crooned about living, loving and (naturally) drinking. He sang current radio hits including "Drink On It," “God Gave Me You” and “Honey Bee,” and got the crowd stomping their cowboy boots with upbeat hits like “Hillybilly Bone” and “Some Beach.”

Fans were treated to a surprise duet with Shelton and season one runner-up from “The Voice,” Dia Frampton. A Sacramento native, Frampton took the stage donning a Kings jersey, to Shelton’s dismay.

“That’s cheatin’!” Shelton playfully whined, “I had to wear this stupid vest.”

Using Frampton's appearance as an opportunity for a little bit of self-promotion, Shelton called the NBC hit show the “coolest thing” he’s ever done.

In a nod to his co-star, Shelton injected a bit of pop into the Pavilion with Cee Lo’s “Forget You.” Interrupting his own song halfway through, he asked himself out loud what he was thinking singing a pop song at a country show.

Switching gears back to his own genre, Shelton belted out a few tunes from wife Miranda Lambert. Chaos ensued when Lambert took the stage, surprising the excited crowd.

With the thrill of Lambert still in the air, Shelton wound down the night with classics from early on in his career like, “Nobody But Me,” and his first debut single, “Austin.”

Shelton made hearts pitter patter yet again when he put a couple on the Jumbotron and encouraged a man to sing the lyrics to “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking” to his date. The man obliged, much to the delight of his girlfriend (and the audience).

During another strategically planned PR move, Shelton put his own Twitter page up on the big screen, performing a live tweet to “his people” in Nashville, who Shelton said give him trouble for drinking, raising hell or tweeting.

The later-deleted tweet kicked off the sassy, “Kick Your Ass.”

As the show came to a close and Shelton exited the stage, the crowd was left wanting much more.

Giving into the crowd’s pleads of “Blake! Blake! Blake!” Shelton returned to the spotlight with Moore by his side. The two performed a bonus duet of “Whiskey Ain’t Working Anymore."

As the show came to a close, fans left completely enamored with Shelton's country boy charm; Men want to be him and women want to be his "Honey Bee."

Following a St. Patrick’s Day performance in Las Vegas, and a quick stop in Reno, Moore and Shelton are heading back across the country to the Bismarck Civic Center in North Dakota on Tuesday.

Photo credit: Steven Chea, Steven Chea photography

Community Partnership Meetings return this week

2012-01-08T23:12:58Z

The Neighborhood Services/Special Events Division of the City of Sacramento will hold their first in a series of quarterly Community Partnership Meetings on Monday, January 9, 2012 at the South Natomas Community Center at 6:30pm.

The meetings are held to facilitate broad communication between the City and the community on issues, policies & priorities.

Top discussion topics include a presentation by the Department of Utilities regarding proposed water and sewer rate changes. Utilities has provided their own outreach through Rate Workshops and the "Your Utilities, Your Voice" website.

Another top discussion topic is the update to the Special Events Ordinance, particularly changes regarding amplified sound and the permitting process.

Other discussion topics include updates regarding copper wire theft in the community, the green development code, and zoning code parking regulations.

Additional Community Partnership Meetings will be held at the following locations:

Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Pannell-Meadowview Community Center
6:30pm - 8:00pm

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
George Sim Community Center
6:30pm - 8:00pm

Neighborhood Services staff will be available at 6:00pm at each meeting to assist attendees with neighborhood questions, concerns and chronic issues.

For more information regarding the meetings, call 916-808-6789.

Disclosure: Christopher Shannon interns for the Neighborhood Services Department

Sacramento gets federal funding for area water projects

2011-12-20T01:06:51Z

Congress passed a funding package Friday for water projects in the Sacramento region – including $25 million for improvements along the American River – but without federal authorization, the levees surrounding the Natomas Basin can’t use more than four or five thousand of those dollars.

"While it is very encouraging to see Washington D.C. responding to some areas of flood control in the Sacramento Valley,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said in an email Monday, “this funding does not address the most important public safety infrastructure project in Northern California.”

Although the newly-passed funding package includes more than $50 million for flood control projects in the Sacramento region, the funding only applies to projects that have already been authorized by Congress and design work for future projects.

The bill gives $20 million to continue construction on spillways at Folsom Dam, $4.9 million to improve flood protection in the South Sacramento area and $25 million for work within the American River watershed, according to a press release from Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

A federal nod of approval is the one thing the Natomas levee improvement project doesn’t have yet.

“(Federal) authorization is key,” Jay Davis, a consultant for the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, said Monday.

Levee improvements in Natomas have been federally authorized in the past, Davis said, and those projects were funded and completed in the late 80s and early 90s. The newest levee improvement project requires new authorization.

“These (recent funding) dollars can only be used for design work, not actual improvements,” Michelle Kille, director of public policy for Ashby said Monday. “If we get authorized, we could use those dollars now.”

According to Ashby, the process to request authorization has already started, but Congress is in no hurry to grant it because the levee improvement project is currently considered an “earmark” project – something the rules of the House of Representatives prohibits.

As it stands, Kille said, the federal water project funding can only be used for remaining design elements of the levee improvements – and those elements will require only about four or five thousand dollars.

The funding package – called the “megabus” bill – included an energy and water appropriations bill, which funds the Army Corps of Engineers and, in turn, Sacramento’s flood projects.

Those projects, which range from levee improvements in south Sacramento to studies conducted on the American River, have been under way for a few years and are in various states of completion, Davis said.

Despite the limitations of the most recent federal funding, Rick Johnson, SAFCA Executive Director, said Monday that the passing of the megabus bill gives more certainty of funding for the upcoming year for other important projects.

“Given the fiscal circumstances in Washington,” Johnson said, “We are fortunate to achieve the results that we've gotten.”

Of the 42 miles of levee surrounding the Natomas Basin, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency has completed approximately 18 miles of levee improvements.

As for the remaining 24 miles of levees, Ashby said it is “imperative” for the city of Sacramento that improvement efforts move forward – but it is unclear how soon Congress will authorize the project.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Natomas tree lighting suffers gusts, but boasts gusto

2011-12-02T03:22:34Z

photographs by Barry Wisdom

Wednesday's Grinchy wind storm may have turned the centerpiece of the South Natomas Community Center's holiday tree lighting into a slightly bent, Whoville caricature, but the shiny bright ornaments, entertainment, refreshments and neighborhood fellowship were straight-up festive.

Emceed by Sacramento Councilmember Steve Cohn, the ceremony featured music by the drummer boys and girls of the Natomas High School Drum Corps, as well as the Natomas Middle School Choir and the Heritage Park Chorale.

"Santa Claus" also made an appearance to lend an ear to the whispered wishes of the children during the event's post-lighting reception in the community center.

Local chefs open new eatery in Natomas

2011-10-25T01:03:18Z

A group of central city restaurateurs is teaming up to branch out into Natomas, but in a more casual setting than their full-service Midtown and East Sacramento locations.

Pork Belly Grub Shack is scheduled to open this week and is a collaboration between the owners of Kru, a Japanese restaurant at 2516 J St., and Formoli’s Bistro, which recently moved to 3839 J St.

“It’s going to be really casual – burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads,” said Billy Ngo, owner of Kru. “It’s going to be simple, good food, and it’s going to be cheap.”

Menu items will feature a lot of pork, with a pork belly grilled cheese, sandwiches built around pork, and burgers such as the Notorious P.I.G., a 10-ounce beef patty with a slab of braised pork belly and pork rinds on a bun.

Suzanne Ricci, wife of Formoli’s Bistro Chef Aimal Formoli and one of the partners along with Formoli and Ngo, said pork was the obvious focus because all of them enjoy it so much.

“Everyone’s had bacon, but best part of the pig is the belly,” Ricci said, explaining that the savory area will be the restaurant’s focus.

“It’s super-basic, super-simple stuff,” she said. “It’s got lots of pork belly, which is really the best part of the pig, and it’s heavier, comfort food with competitive prices.”

Also on the menu will be some Asian-inspired dishes, most notably banh-mi sandwiches with meat selections.

Pork Belly Grub Shack, located at 4261 Truxel Road, will have items ranging from $4 - $9 and will primarily be a lunch place and sell take-out for early dinner. Hours are planned to be from about 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., though they may change.

Ngo said he, Ricci and Formoli thought the deal on the space it was too good to pass up and decided to bring a local independent eatery to an area dominated by larger chain businesses.

“There’s a lot of chain restaurants out there, so we want to bring some Midtown-style cooking to the area,” Ngo said.

Ricci said that while they all have traditionally operated full-service restaurants, the new place, which is looking to do a lot of catering and takeout as well as counter service inside, is more appealing in a down economy.

The approximately 1,600-square-foot space can seat about 30 people and used to be a specialty chocolate shop, so food-service necessities such as floor drains were already installed, Ricci said.

Outdoor seating is planned for the future, once the restaurant gets up and running.

Interior décor will feature pig paintings by locals Liz Miller and Matthew Byrd.

“We want to bring some of a Midtown artistic, creative feel to (the restaurant),” Ricci said.

Opening amid fears of a second recession, Ricci said the economy is always a consideration, but she believes the restaurant will do well.

“With Billy (Ngo) and Aimal (Formoli), I know the food is going to be good,” she said. “If the product is good and the pricing is reasonable, then it’s definitely going to be a place people can bring their families.”

General Manager David West was previously a bartender at Red Lotus, and he said he sees the restaurant growing in popularity and turning into a small chain if it does as well as he expects.

“There’s two amazing chefs behind it,” he said. “It’s gonna be good.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

City Council receives, reviews arena reports

2011-09-14T05:58:28Z

City staff and Think Big Sacramento representatives presented the City Council with technical and financial option reports on the proposed entertainment and sports complex Tuesday, and asked council to direct them where to go next.

“We have a lot of work to do in the next six months,” said City Manager John Shirey, “and we need both internal and external resources to do it.”

To keep things moving forward, though, Shirey told council members that he plans to deliver three things: “a game plan with a timeline, a list of the consultant work we need and a list of how we’ll pay for those things.”

Although the technical report presented Tuesday included more detail than previous reports, Shirey said it will take some time to “dig deeper and determine if the project is really feasible.”

Shirey said he and his staff will need “special help” from outside resources to do that digging. That means turning to consultants, investment bankers and outside council for the “due diligence” necessary to thoroughly review the entertainment sports complex proposal, Shirey said.

One of the aspects of the ESC project discussed Tuesday was the potential for re-use of the current Power Balance Pavillion site in Natomas.

“Natomas re-use possibilities present tremendous opportunity,” said Rachel Hazlewood, Economic Development Department senior project manager. “We need to develop a plan of action to bring (the space) to its highest and best use.”

Hazlewood said that, because the building moratorium in Natomas will be lifted in 2013, the large site may allow for multiple users and will require rezoning – aspects of the “total arena plan” that need to be considered.

“We will need to identify potential business prospects and get the site shovel-ready for development,” Hazlewood said, “before we can re-use the Natomas site for something other than the arena that is already there.”

Arena finance expert Dan Barrett outlined the recently released Nexus report of finance “menu” options.

Barrett told council members that a public-private partnership is essential to the success of the project.

“When you structure a deal like this, it has to work for all parties,” Barrett said. “It’s clear that the public cannot fund this facility on its own, and the team cannot fund it on its own.”

Barrett said that parking income potential discussed in the Nexus report is “not a standalone financing solution,” and the Kings’ loan has to be part of the solution.

“The $387 million cost (in the initial feasibility report) may change,” said John Dangberg, assistant city manager.

Dangberg noted that infrastructure costs are not included in the estimated $387 million cost of the facility.

Dangberg urged council members to direct staff to look at financial, legal and practical aspects of the project.

“As we come up with a definitive financing plan,” Dangberg said, “we want to include enough resources to cover the real cost of the project as it becomes clearer.”

Barrett said it will be important for council members to explore parking opportunities “aggressively,” and to “critically evaluate” other public funding options.

“We’ll work together with you and staff to prepare a definitive financing plan by the end of December,” Barrett said.

Although Mayor Kevin Johnson acknowledged that the reports presented to council were preliminary reports and not a “final proposal” for a new complex, he said they were a good place to start.

“We did our best to protect taxpayers with this plan,” Johnson said. “This is about jobs – 4,100 jobs – for our region.”

Johnson said the project is in “a very critical stage,” and he hopes City Council and the Think Big committee can finalize as much as possible by January so the city can be in the best position possible by the March deadline.

Councilman Rob Fong said he supports the arena project and that there needs to be “a closer look” taken at all of the financing options suggested in the Nexus report.

“It’s really important that we thoroughly vet what we are hearing,” Fong said. “We have to make sure the general fund is held harmless, and figure out if there’s a way for us to go forward with the project”

For Think Big, the challenge remains to keep going “until we reach a point where we know for sure that we can do this – or that we can’t,” Fong said.

The City Council asked staff to take the reports back for more review. Council will discuss arena options further at its next meeting, on Sept. 20.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Witter Ranch Selected for ‘Blue Thumb Neighbors’ Program

2011-09-12T20:19:35Z

The Witter Ranch neighborhood in Natomas has been selected to participate in “Blue Thumb Neighbors,” a free program sponsored by the Regional Water Authority and City of Sacramento Department of Utilities.

The project will teach residents there how to create healthy, beautiful, River‐Friendly landscapes that compliment their homes and neighborhood. River‐Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to sustainable landscaping that uses resources, like water, efficiently and incorporates practices that foster soil health, reduce waste and prevent pollution of the air and waterways.

Each participating household will receive a free at‐home consultation on efficient watering, sponsored by the City of Sacramento, and then education and resource kits during three October workshops on sustainable landscape design, efficient irrigation and proper plant selection.

“When we first heard of this program, we knew that Natomas was an ideal candidate area,” said Dave Brent, Interim Director of the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities. “And when we approached Witter Ranch, their enthusiasm proved we were right. We look forward to working with them and helping them to implement real changes that will make a difference in their water use and their monthly utility bills.”

Neighborhoods from throughout the City of Sacramento were nominated for the program and then evaluated according to 13 criteria, which included whether the neighborhood is metered and representative of other communities in the Sacramento region. After interviews with leaders at top‐ranked neighborhoods, program sponsors selected Witter Ranch.

"We were impressed with Witter Ranch's sense of community pride, neighborhood association leadership and existing system of communication," said Regional Water Efficiency Program Manager Linda Yager.

Witter Ranch was the only neighborhood selected in the City of Sacramento for the 2011 Blue Thumb Neighbors program.

The free at‐home consultations, which will provide tips on irrigation scheduling and efficient watering practices, begin this month. The open workshops will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on October 11, 18 and 25 at the Witter Ranch Elementary School Multipurpose Room at 3790 Poppy Hill Way.

Blue Thumb Neighbors staff will be going door‐to‐door on Saturday, September 17 to provide more information about the program and invite residents to participate.

Interested residents may contact Blue Thumb Neighbors Program Coordinator Christine Kohn at 916‐944‐1631 or ckohn@INcommunications.biz to learn more or sign up.

Blue Thumb Neighbors is offered in partnership with the Witter Ranch Community Alliance. It is sponsored by the Regional Water Authority and City of Sacramento. It is funded in part by a grant from the California Department of Water Resources.

Disclosure: Christine Kohn is the public outreach coordinator for the Regional Water Authority.

Natomas town hall meeting encourages new ideas for old arena

2011-08-12T05:12:46Z

A new children’s hospital, a high-tech business center and a television-film-video game industry complex were some of the ideas Natomas residents discussed Thursday as potential re-uses for the current arena site – if the arena is relocated.

More than 80 residents and business owners met at a town hall meeting hosted by Assemblyman Dr. Richard Pan and City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby for an hour-long discussion and question-and-answer session about the arena’s future.

Attendees expressed ideas and concerns about what the city should do with what has been a hub of sports and entertainment activity for more than 20 years.

Power Balance Pavillion (formerly Arco Arena) has been home to the Sacramento Kings since 1988, but the future of the site has come into question recently as talk of a new arena has begun to escalate throughout the region.

Mayor Kevin Johnson initiated the “Think Big Sacramento” committee to find ways to revitalize Sacramento – and keep the Sacramento Kings NBA team from relocating – by building a new sports and entertainment complex in downtown.

Thursday’s town hall meeting in Natomas focused on both re-use ideas and the impact on area residents who would be directly affected if the current site goes unused.

Celia Hernandez, a South Natomas resident who commented at the meeting, said she valued the chance to talk directly with Ashby and Pan about where Natomas is heading.

“There are a lot of citizens who have a stake in the community,” Hernandez said. “To be able to come to (Ashby and Pan) and bring our opinions and perspectives goes a long way with us.”

Hernandez said that health care is a priority for a lot of residents in Natomas, and having a hospital in the area would have a positive impact on the residents.

“Our community has grown considerably,” Hernandez said, “and when you’re talking about this many residents, we need (a hospital). It’s irresponsible to not have one.”

Some in the audience favored a high-tech center to encourage large-scale technology companies like Google and Intel to make Natomas their new hub, bringing stable employment opportunities to the community.

Ashby and Pan are co-chairs of a Think Big Sacramento subcommittee dedicated to coming up with a designated re-use plan for the current Natomas site.

They hope to “identify a strong economic engine for the Natomas area that will not only strengthen Natomas, but the entire Sacramento region,” according to a recent press release from Ashby’s office.

“The goal of (the) subcommittee is to work concurrent to the larger committee’s efforts in addressing regional impacts associated with building a new arena,” Ashby said in the press release.

One of the larger concerns of audience members Thursday was how to bring jobs and economic vitality to Natomas at a time when the region is suffering from a stunted economy and declining home values.

Residents were also eager to emphasize their desire for Natomas to “not be left behind” as the rest of the city focuses on a new sports complex downtown, Pan noted after the meeting.

“Not only do they want to be listened to, they want action,” Pan said.

Ashby said she appreciated the tremendous interest that Natomas residents showed in the future of their neighborhoods.

“They came up with great ideas,” Ashby said. “They are open, and they’re willing to work for it. I know I can count on them.”

As the Think Big Sacramento committee continues to pursue financing options for a new arena and sports complex, Ashby and Pan and the 14-member subcommittee will follow up on ideas for re-use of the site that audience members brought to light Thursday, Ashby said.

“We will definitely come up with a new use for the (old arena) site,” Ashby said. “That is going to happen.”

Pan said he anticipates there will be additional town hall meetings in Natomas in the future, but no specific date for another meeting has been set.

The next meeting of the Think Big Sacramento committee is Aug. 25, and the committee will conclude its first 100 days with a summary report on financing possibilities to the City Council on Sept. 6.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

WWE SmackDown at the Power Balance Pavilion

2011-08-11T04:14:17Z

To those unfamiliar with wresting, it’s a somewhat confusing sport. It’s a bunch of men acting really manly but with tan, smooth, hair-free thighs and chests that glisten with baby oil while fighting in neon spandex panties.

WWE’s SmackDown at the Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday was the first time I had ever been to a wrestling event. I knew there would be a storyline but was surprised by the length of it, the amount of "back story" each match contained. It was like a soap opera for 10-year-old boys.

And there were a lot of 10-year-olds there. A lot of families. Commercials for toys based on wrestlers aired between matches on a big screen, cotton candy was sold in each aisle and an announcement was made that all WWE’s content is rated PG. “...So it’s for families.”

I could take you through each family-friendly fight, but then this article would end up way too long. And all 12 matches would be described in practically the same way: a body slam here, a headlock there, some insult about an opponent’s mother, and then a roundhouse kick to the face, maybe one more body slam, then suddenly someone’s on the floor and the crowd is counting to three.

Let’s get to the good stuff. That “back story.”

Triple H, former wrestler-turned-current COO of WWE, welcomed fans before the beginning of SmackDown. As he was doing so, he was interrupted by another wrestler, Christian, WWE’s reigning World Heavyweight Champion.

“I’m going to sue the WWE,” said Christian, in red spandex undies with his name written across the butt. “I have medical documents saying Randy Orton has anger management issues.”

Randy Orton, the “headliner” that night, is scheduled to fight Christian in a “No Holds Barred” match for the World Heavyweight Championship this Sunday.

“Forcing me to wrestle him puts me in an unsafe work environment,” he said. “If you say the match is still on, I’ll sue you, your children. I’ll sue every fan who buys a ticket to SummerSlam.”

To this, Triple H shrugged his massive shoulders in his slightly too-tight suit jacket.

“I have no choice but to say the match is still on,” he said. “It’s a breach of contract if you don’t fight, and I will fire you. I don’t respect you anymore, they don’t respect you anymore,” Triple H pointed to the cheering crowd, “quit whining and crying like a little girl and earn your respect.”

Christian eventually agreed to the match against Orton, then asked, “Who am I fighting tonight?”

Enter the only dude with red hair and no tan in the entire WWE, Sheamus, the “Celtic Warrior,” and his pal, a leprechaun named Hornswoggle.

Christian ended up leaving the fight before it was over. Sheamus won by countout.

And in the main match of the night, Orton, weighing in at 245 pounds, took down all 7 feet, 3 inches and 420+ pounds of the Great Khali.

“I learned in my anger management classes that you can’t pent up your anger,” Orten said in a backstage interview shown on the big screen to fans. “I can’t think of a better way to unleash my anger than on Christian.”

City council calls for 'neighborhood-friendly' bridges

2011-07-20T06:46:21Z

The Sacramento City Council was asked to accept a feasibility study on new river crossings Tuesday night, but council members put off taking any action until they get an acceptable definition of a “neighborhood-friendly bridge.”

The nine-month study was a collaborative effort between the city of Sacramento and city of West Sacramento that reviewed alternatives for new river crossings to improve connectivity between the two cities.

But the study did not specify a particular design for the proposed bridges, and council members – and residents who came to the meeting to voice their opinions – were concerned that the end result would be a “commuter bridge” that floods residential neighborhoods with unwanted traffic congestion.

“We need more connectivity (to West Sacramento) – that much is clear,” said Councilman Rob Fong. “But we have to have something that works (for people) on both sides of the river.”

Two potential areas were highlighted in the study as having the greatest feasibility. One would be located in a “north market” area, spanning the Sacramento River from Township 9 and Richards Boulevard area to south Natomas.

The other potential location would be in a “south market” area and would link the southern part of downtown at either Sutterville Road, Broadway or Miller Park to West Sacramento.

Currently, there are three bridges that cross the Sacramento river from Sacramento to West Sacramento: I Street bridge, Tower Bridge and Pioneer bridge.

The feasibility study, conducted by city staff along with an advisory committee, concluded that new river crossings would “increase economic activity, reduce transit delays and increase riverfront public access and recreation opportunities,” according to a city press release sent Monday.

But residents of the neighborhoods where the proposed bridges would be built aren’t convinced.

Mark Abrahams, president of the Land Park Community Association, said he opposes bridges that are “out of scale” to the neighborhoods they are located in.

“No effort should be spared to create a bridge that is smart, small and takes the neighborhood into consideration,” Abrahams said.

Building new river crossings is not a new idea, but Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said now is the right time to make it happen.

“Our city has grown,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “If you go back 10, 20, 30 years, (Sacramento was) much smaller. Now that we’ve grown to 470,000 (people), we need more connectivity outside of downtown.”

Johnson said that, if Sacramento builds a new entertainment sports complex and revitalized the Railyards project, there will be a definite need for “more ways to get in downtown and more ways to get out.”

“I’m not opposed to growth, but not at the expense of our neighborhood,” said Susan Sidhu-Manuel, a retired analyst from Land Park. “Don’t make this about West Sacramento’s transportation needs.”

The Sutterville Road location received the most opposition from residents at the council meeting, and council members took note that it was the least likely to reach final approval.

“I don’t think we should spend any money studying something no one wants,” said Councilwoman Angelique Ashby. “Take (Sutterville Road) off the table completely and be done with it.”

Ashby asked Mike McKeever, chief executive officer of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, if a “commuter bridge” is necessary to achieve the goals of the study, but McKeever suggested using different terminology.

“I think (the term) ‘commuter bridge’ is being used to conjure in people’s minds something like the Pioneer Bridge with thousands of cars.” McKeever said. “Nobody – nobody – is talking about building that sort of bridge.”

New bridges that include both pedestrian and vehicular capacity are estimated to cost between $40 million and $270 million depending on location, design and other variables, according to city staff.

Council members directed staff to return in three weeks with a definition of a “neighborhood-friendly bridge” before the council would consider approving any further studies on the potential river crossings.

“I think we’ve heard enough testimony and description tonight,” said Jerry Way, executive director of the city’s Department of Transportation. “When we come back in open session we’ll be ready to have a conversation about what the definition of a ‘neighborhood-friendly’ bridge is.”

See the possible river crossings here.
See the study executive summary here.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Foller her onTwitter @MelissaCorker.

Report: Arena could bring $7 billion

2011-07-01T00:43:32Z

A new downtown arena could draw 3.1 million visitors to the central city each year and bring the region more than $7 billion over 30 years, according to a report released Thursday by an arena campaign committee.

The 37-page report on an arena’s expected impact to the region was released to reporters at a press conference at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel.

"In downtown Sacramento, there's a considerable economic boost, just by the fact that there really isn't a facility like that," said Cathleen Dominico, author of "The Economic Engine Report: An Economic Analysis on the Regional Impact of an Entertainment and Sports Complex," during the press conference.

"If you can create a downtown core that is a destination, it boosts not only the downtown itself but trickles out to the outlying regions," she added.

Dominico, managing partner at Capitol Public Finance Group, was joined at the press conference by arena committee Chairman Chris Lehane, who also chaired the mayor's arena task force; committee members who included City Councilman Rob Fong, City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, state assemblymen Roger Dickinson and Richard Pan, Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault; and past DSP Chairman Kipp Blewett of Rubicon Partners.

The press conference was held after a report summary was first presented to members of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena campaign committee in a closed-door meeting at the hotel. The meeting was announced two weeks ago as one of seven public meetings set this summer for the committee.

The number of visitors was estimated with an average 17,300 people attending 45 Sacramento Kings events and an average 15,000 people at more than 155 other events annually.

Visitors would be expected to spend an average of $20 each, before and after events, on food, drinks, travel and other retail. About 10 percent of them could spend another $102 to stay overnight.

Total spending outside the sports facility, before and after games and other events, was estimated at $93.6 million annually, according to the economic impact report called for by Johnson.

However, after subtracting spending by existing residents and annual spending at the Kings' current arena, net annual spending in the six-county Sacramento region is expected to total only about $24.6 million, according to Dominico and the report.

The arena's operating costs would be covered by revenue generated inside the arena, according to the report, which did not look at arena revenue.

ICON Venue Group President Tim Romani and Sacramento developer David Taylor estimate an arena facility would cost $241 million, with a total project cost of $387 million.

The cost of arena construction will be financed by a combination of public and private investment, which is expected to include Sacramento Kings annual tenant fees.

The ICON-Taylor group is developing an arena financing plan with input from Johnson's 70-member regional arena campaign committe e. The group was introduced a month ago as the Here We Build coalition. The committee's name was changed this week to Think BIG Sacramento.

The ICON-Taylor group was given a late-May deadline to present an arena financing plan to the Sacramento City Council. But that didn’t happen after the Kings’ owners didn’t provide revenue information in time.

The arena campaign committee was then given until Sept. 8 to provide the council with a plan.

The Maloof family, which owns a majority share of the Kings, agreed on May 2 not to move the team if the region would undertake a serious effort to replace Power Balance Pavilion, which was constructed in outlying Natomas in 1988. The National Basketball Association and the Maloofs gave the region until March 1, 2012, to do so.

The drive to build a new arena also creates an opportunity to redevelop the existing arena, Ault said.

"We feel very strongly that this is not about a downtown versus Natomas issue," Ault said. "This is about an opportunity to activate and engage the central city. It's an opportunity to make sure that we're doing everything we can to develop something that is a replacement in Natomas that keeps them whole.

"This is something I think the region will look back on as we finally are having the right discussions and the right opportunity to really engage in a facility that's going to make a difference in this region," he said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Arena coalition members named

2011-06-14T01:35:04Z

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson released the names of his regional arena coalition Monday, amid hopes the Here We Build campaign will be able to figure out financing options.

But the absence of a representative of Natomas, where Power Balance Pavilion sits, raised protests from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce.

Johnson announced the members of a bipartisan, 15-member executive committee Monday morning. The remaining 45 members of the community coalition were expected to be announced Monday evening, according to the mayor’s office.

No one from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce, which has led a campaign to keep the arena there, had been asked to be part of the coalition as of 5:30 p.m. No Natomas representatives are expected to be in the coalition, Johnson spokesman Joaquin McPeek said.

Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna was named to the executive committee. He lives in Natomas and represents the area in his supervisor role. But he hasn’t represented Natomas economic interests in the arena process, Natomas Chamber President Ed Koop said.

"He's never been the voice of anything we've been trying to do here, as far as the economic impact,” Koop said. "In my opinion, that's not a good representation of what we've got going on here."

Frustrated chamber members are refusing to provide a letter of support for the arena effort after Johnson recently asked for one. To be asked for support is "absurd," because building a new arena downtown will "cannibalize" Natomas, said Koop, adding chamber members feel their community has been ignored throughout the arena process.

"Natomas seems to be constantly put in the back seat. We're not asked to participate in any of these things going forward," he said.

Chamber officials want the city to set up a task force to focus on reuse of the Natomas site. But no one from the mayor's office has reached out to talk about the site's future, Koop said.

"I don't believe anyone's seriously looking at what's going to happen to Natomas if this arena leaves," he said.

Johnson asked for letters of support at a regional chamber coalition meeting at Sacramento Metro Chamber headquarters on June 3 – a few days after officially announcing the coalition's formation. Representatives of all six counties were there, Koop said.

The mayor and the mayor's office followed up last week with emails asking to get the letters, which were to be addressed to the city, by June 17.

The Here We Build executive committee will be chaired by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat from Sacramento, and State Sen. Ted Gaines, a Republican from Roseville.

Other members of the committee include state Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon and Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong.

Also on the committee is San Francisco investor Darius Anderson. He told Johnson at the National Basketball Association team owners' meeting in April he and billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle wanted to buy the Sacramento Kings or bring another team here if the Kings left.

The full coalition will consist of stakeholders from around the region: elected officials, labor leaders, corporate and small business owners, grassroots organization leaders, developers and religious leaders.

Johnson said in a press conference Monday that the coalition was put together to equitably represent the metropolitan area.

“We knew if we had 22 cities and six counties, we knew we had to have about 30 electeds and maybe 30 non-electeds,” he said. “So, when it came down to the executive committee, we knew we wanted 12 to 15 members – half elected, half non-elected.”

The mayor's office cast "a wider net" to involve a broad base of the community, McPeek said.

"We want to make sure we have a nice cross section, across the board," he said.

The mayor's office is setting up the arena coalition's first public meeting for Thursday. The time and location are still being determined.

The group will be meeting to explore arena funding options and determine the "critical pathway" to financing a new arena, McPeek said.

McPeek could not say what work the ICON-Taylor group is doing to come up with arena funding options, which were due at their presentation to the City Council in late May. It's not clear how the arena experts will work with regional Here We Build coalition members to answer the funding question.

The Roseville Chamber of Commerce has sent in a letter of support commending the mayor for reaching beyond his borders to promote a regional discussion on a new arena, Roseville Chamber Chief Executive Officer Wendy Gerig said.

"It's not just about the Kings and basketball. It's about economic development and the jobs that will not only go to businesses in Sacramento, but to El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Yuba and Sutter counties," she said. "Our region is deserving of such a facility."

A link to the other coalition member names will be added in the comment section below.

Sacramento Press staff reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Business Walk to survey Natomas economic conditions on June 15

2011-06-13T18:17:31Z

The region’s international award-winning Business Walk program arrives in Natomas on June 15, when volunteers will canvass local businesses to find out what’s happening with the economy and how conditions can be improved.

The Natomas Business Walk is presented by the city of Sacramento and Natomas Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Sacramento Metro Chamber and supported by the region’s Metro Pulse partnership. The business walks have won acclaim from international economic developers and most recently as a chamber outstanding program for strengthening local economies.

The business walks help initiate contacts with businesses in the region and is the start of an ongoing conversation to help get businesses the resources they need to succeed. Volunteers who are business people or agency staff will visit storefronts and businesses, asking owners and managers three questions: How’s business, what do you like about doing business in Natomas and how can business be improved?

“As a city councilmember I am dedicated to doing everything possible to support local businesses,” said Sacramento City’s Angelique Ashby. “This joint effort between the city and chambers of commerce is an opportunity to reach out and have conversations about current challenges as well as provide available resources to support the business community.”

The Business Walks are part of a regional “best practices” strategy for business retention and expansion. In 2011, the Metro Chamber and its partners are planning a dozen events across the region.

“The Natomas Chamber is taking a proactive approach to help support businesses in Natomas,” said Ed Koop, board president of the Natomas Chamber. “The chamber and city are going to walk the streets not only to figure out what businesses need but also to let businesses know we care and are here to help.”

Businesspeople who would like to volunteer to be a business walker can register online at metrochamber.org. The business walk event, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., includes a breakfast and orientation, three hours of business visits, a lunch and roundup session, this event is free. The event will take place at Four Points - Sheraton, 4900 Duckhorn Drive Sacramento. Register online here.

“In 2010, the Sacramento region’s international award-winning Metro Pulse Program facilitated nearly 4,200 business visits—building public-private relationships with and making resource connections for local companies. At its core is the business walk model, which allows community leaders to meet with lots of companies in a short time; and, do so in a personal, one-on-one fashion,” said Matt Yancey, Metro Chamber director of business and economic development.

For more information, contact Kennedy Cullen at 916-319-4277 or kcullen@metrochamber.org.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

North Natomas Library Public Art Tour

2011-06-03T01:13:26Z

Drivers, bikers and pedestrians on Del Paso Road ~~Boulevard~~ may have noticed an 18-foot-tall steel post topped with an eyeball peering down upon a 10-foot-tall open book sculpture with giant spectacles on the side. What they are looking at is a piece of Sacramento's public art collection.

“We have one of the best public art collections in the country. We have been doing it for over 30 years,” said Art in Public Places Education Coordinator and tour guide Dixie Laws.

Art in Public Places is managed by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and is funded by the city and county through ordinances that dedicate 2 percent “of eligible capital improvement project budgets,” for artworks, Laws said.

The organization was founded in 1977 and has 700 works of art in the city and county, Laws said.

Art in Public Places presents the North Natomas Library Public Art tour from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at the North Natomas Library 4660 Via Ingoglia.

Local artists' will be present to share the story behind the artworks adorning the interior and exterior of the library. Audiences will learn about the artists’ background and the expressive goal of their pieces.

The purpose of the tour is to celebrate the public art pieces. All the art at the North Natomas Public Library was put in in the last year, according to Laws.

“People don’t think to go to the suburbs to see it,” Laws said.

The best kind of public art is what Laws calls site-specific: “It is designed for the building, when the building is being built.”

Public art is a challenge because the pieces have to be made out of permanent materials that are hard to vandalize, and also are sturdy enough to last at least 20-25 years, Laws said.

Public artworks are important for the community because they “give the places character,” Laws said. “It gives people a chance to see art without having to go to a particular place.”

Lincoln artist and educator Ray Gonzales said he has been working with Art in Public Places since the ’90s. He has public artworks at the Boys and Girls Club as well as coyote-themed “relief sculptures on 4,000-pound clay cylinders” in North Natomas’ Kokomo Park.

Gonzales’s handmade ceramic tile mural, located in the entrance hallway of the North Natomas Library, is called “Kokomo Joe and Kokomo Colleen Surfing the Stacks.”

“This mural is a layered artwork that is fun to look at and fun to touch – the more you look, the more you'll see,” Gonzales said.

The mural depicts two surfing coyotes wearing feathered headbands, with rolling hills in the background.

“I try to make my pieces relevant to the community,” Gonzales said. “The coyote is an important animal figure in a lot of Californian Indian mythology.”

He incorporated the coyote theme as a way to pay homage to the indigenous people who cultivated the land before the arrival of European-Americans.

Layered information within the mural incorporates the community and includes a tiger peeking in the grass representing Inderkum High School’s mascot and a beaver in the river symbolizing American River College’s mascot, Gonzales said.

“There is a small heart stone that looks like a rock, for my wife, Colleen,’’ Gonzales said.

“Tucked in the water are salmon, because salmon run through the rivers here,” Gonzales said.

There is a plane in the sky with “Autumn Airlines” written on it, representing Gonzales’ granddaughter. He also incorporates other symbols into his works, chilli groupings represent his three sons and nine lady bugs his family of nine.

Gonzales wrote in the initial art project proposal that “the layered information probably won’t be noticed at first – but will reveal itself to those so inclined to look with repeated visits to this area.”

Jim Piskoti, emeritus professor of fine arts from California State University, Stanislaus, has been doing kinetic paintings for 12 years.

Piskoti has worked with Art in Public Places for three years and has completed five public artworks, including a metal cutout depicting figures engaged in different sports at Hampton Park in the Meadowview area. Piskoti’s four interactive media pieces in the library’s children’s section portray a “celebration of reading,” depicting children reading with imaginations engaged.

Piskoti said he promotes the idea of stepping outside of the rectangle canvas and incorporating other dimensions into his works, like LEDs, mechanical motors or sound. Most of his artwork involves moving parts, he said.

“The building is very modern,” Piskoti said about the library. “I wanted the pieces to look like they were done in the 21st century. I wanted them to be playful and fun.”

Piskoti uses acrylic paints for the image detail and adds the LEDs, wood reinforcement, chaser circuits and wiring to the back of each piece.

“I am working on the front and back at the same time,” Piskoti said. “It is a lot of time-consuming work, but that’s the type of work I do.... Everything goes through many stages before it is complete.”

“Reading is an Adventure” is the biggest of the four mixed-media wall paintings with LEDs. The 88-inch-long heavy interactive media piece features three children peering down from a magenta magic carpet upon a world filled with favorite children’s book characters such as Charlotte from “Charlotte’s Web,” Alice and The Mad Hatter from “Alice in Wonderland,” the blue whale from “Moby Dick” and many others.

“They are not rectangle,” Piskoti said. “They have an organic shape and flow that I think works well with the images.”

Piskoti emphasizes the use of acrylic layering for his art pieces.

“I don’t like blending color, but I like having color show through, so I do a lot of layers of colors. I think that makes it exciting,” he said. “Layering, for me, is how I make the pieces lively and expressive.”

The artists will be present at the North Natomas Library Public Art tour from 1 - 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $8.50 for adults and free for ages 16 and under.

For more information about art tours, contact Dixie Laws or click here for art tour maps in Sacramento.

For more information about Jim Piskoti, click here.

The open book sculpture visible from the street is titled, “Authors of our own Destiny,” and was created by Joe Scarpa.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this story after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information has been added.

Natomas Charter High School Students Display Art Two Upcoming Shows

2011-05-12T04:36:34Z

Second Saturday at Old City Gallery
On May 14, student artists from Natomas Charter Performing and Fine Arts Academy will host a Second Saturday showing of their artwork at the Old City Gallery located at 2512 Franklin Boulevard. Admission is free.

All painting and drawing students will display at least two pieces they have created during this school year, showcasing everything from paintings that reflect the aesthetics of the Impressionists and Cubists to traditional Chinese brush paintings.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students' art to be seen in the larger Sacramento arts community!" said Carrie Markel, an artist and teacher at the school. "I hope our community comes out in support of these wonderful artists."

"Stories from the Past"
In an extravaganza of film, paint, installation, music and performance, students in sculpture, drawing, painting, and digital art will be presenting their work around the theme of Stories from the Past.

The show will be held at the Black Box Theater at Natomas Charter School, located at 4600 Blackrock Rd, Sacramento, on Friday, May 26 and Friday, May 27, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Work will be themed around family stories and will feature animated drawings and domestic spaces that the audience will be welcomed to walk through.

Tickets to the interactive gallery can be purchased at the door: $8 for students and $10 for adults. For every adult ticket purchased, you receive another one free. All proceeds will go toward field trips, workshops and special projects.

Low-cost support for Natomas moms

2011-04-29T02:39:41Z

Participating in a family-centered activity group in Natomas helped Katie Rozental feel less isolated when she was a new mom.

Rozental said she benefits from the Natomas Mothers’ Group, which offers a wide range of activities for mothers and young children up to age 5 for a membership fee of $40 per year.

“I’ve been in the group for almost five and a half years now, and I really don’t know what I would have done without (Natomas Mothers’ Group),” Rozental wrote in an email Thursday.

“There were times when I was a first-time mom where I felt trapped in my own house and just felt lost, and if I didn’t have the play groups to go to, I think I would have gone crazy! NMG has been an invaluable source of knowledge, friendships for both me and my children and support,” she said.

The group, which is welcoming new members, hosts play groups for mothers and their children about three times each week, said Leslie Whitesel, a leader in the group. In addition to the play groups, the group organizes field trips for kids, seasonal parties, and Moms’ Night Out events.

The group formed more than 20 years ago and now has about 34 members, she said.

Group members help each other when they experience major life events. When a member is pregnant, undergoing surgery or facing a death in her family, the Natomas Mothers’ Group holds its Sunshine Support activities.

“(For) anybody who needs extra support, we will ask for volunteers to bring them meals, or anything else they may need to get them through a difficult time – usually, it’s for a couple weeks,” Whitesel said. “For example, right now, there’s somebody who’s going to have surgery next week. All she wants is just somebody to take care of her kids – to get her kids out of the house, to take them to the park (and) take them to play with other kids while she’s recovering at home.”

The group is active in community service events, and has donated to Women Escaping a Violent Environment, a nonprofit organization that assists people in domestic violence and sexual assault crises.

Children also make friends through the group. Whitesel’s son, Joshua, who said he is “6 and three quarters years old,” said he met his best friend through the Natomas Mothers’ Group. He said he enjoys the group’s annual family camping trip.

“It’s like it’s a little tent neighborhood,” he said.

Email natomasmothersgroup@gmail.com to join the group.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

State may fine Dan Waters $2,500

2011-04-06T02:06:44Z

The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission will decide later this month whether to fine Dan Waters, a former city employee and son of former City Councilman Robbie Waters, $2,500 for his role in altering a permit for a business he co-owned.

FPPC staff argue that Waters, the former customer services supervisor at the city’s development department, disregarded the Political Reform Act by improperly interfering with the permit process for Oshima Sushi in Natomas. Waters co-owned LEWA Inc., a cigar business located at a patio at Oshima Sushi.

An FPPC report claims that Waters intervened in a permit process in order to improve the business environment for the cigar shop.

While staff is recommending that Waters be fined $2,500, the decision whether to fine him will be made by the commission on April 11.

Waters has already paid the $2,500 proposed fine even though the commission has not made its decision, said FPPC Executive Director Roman Porter.

The FPPC is holding onto Waters’ check, Porter said. If the commission agrees that it wants to fine him $2,500, Waters’ money will then go to the state’s general fund, according to Porter.

The FPPC investigation of Waters’ role in the Oshima permit is not related to Waters’ role in approving 35 building permits for a flood zone in Natomas in 2009.

Read the FPPC’s report on Waters here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Abandoned Natomas structures torn down

2011-03-31T01:45:59Z

The partially built TGI Friday’s and Sonic Drive-In restaurants at Truxel Road and Gateway Park Boulevard in Natomas were being torn down Wednesday. One of the buildings was crushed by 5 p.m., while the other still has yet to be demolished.

Exchange Bank, which now owns the property, is demolishing the buildings in response to a city order.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby started the process of removing the buildings in November, according to her public policy director, Michelle Kille.

The structures are located in a commercial area near many chain retail stores, including Walmart and In-N-Out Burger. The buildings were a blight in the community, Kille said.

“I am thrilled to see the structures on Truxel coming down,” Ashby said in a statement through Kille. “Those buildings have no place in our beautiful community.”

The restaurants were never fully built because the developer, Kobra Properties, went bankrupt in 2008, according to the Natomas Buzz.

Abe Alizadeh, who owned Kobra Properties, was arrested in January on suspicion of grand theft, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Found In Sac: WienerMobile

2011-03-09T16:35:08Z

Found In Sac: The Oscar Mayer WienerMobile sits outside a hotel in Natomas, March 9th 2011.

"IWSHIWR"

Fun Fact: The operators of the WienerMoblie are called "Hotdoggers", and the vehicle has a horn that can play the Oscar Mayer Jingle in 21 different genres.

Got an idea for a future Found In Sac? Send an email to me at SacramentoIsaac@gmail.com

Natomas School District's Future Hinges On Proposed Tax Extensions

2011-02-01T07:04:32Z

Natomas Unified School District officials probably know better than any other in California the importance of Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax extensions.

Voter approval in June has the power to pull this small Sacramento-area district of 10,000+ students back from the brink of bankruptcy. If the proposition fails, state funding to K-12 education could be cut 6 percent – or more – and two local legislators are poised to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would empower the state to take over the cash-strapped school district in Natomas.

While school districts statewide will be equally impacted if Gov. Brown's propositions fail to pass, Natomas Unified will financially be out of time. The question is: Can the community, more specifically California voters, save the school district from bankruptcy?

“The process of a state takeover has begun,” said Bruce Roberts, Natomas school board president.

The Natomas Unified School District has 13 schools and is home to four independent charter schools which have, in part, contributed to a decline in enrollment at its traditional campuses. The district's history of controversial budgeting practices, coupled with the collapse of the housing market and ongoing cuts to funding at the state level have created what some have described as a “perfect storm” in Natomas education.

State education code requires school districts show a balanced budget three years out and when Natomas Unified failed to do so for the 2011-12 school year, Sacramento County superintendent David Gordon started bankruptcy proceedings. Despite recent concessions by its employees – in the form of layoffs, increased class sizes, furlough days and pay cuts that balanced the budget for 2011-12 – Natomas Unified coffers cannot sustain the district into 2012-13 with its current proposed budget. Gordon fears the school district will be crippled if Gov. Brown's proposed five-year tax extensions are not approved by voters.

“I keep emphasizing to the district they have to be prepared and plan ahead,” Gordon said. “It is difficult to stay solvent if you do it for one year and just squeak by.”

Gordon knows going back to the bargaining table so soon after striking a deal is not easy, but says Natomas Unified has to budget for “automatic inflators” such as annual step and column pay raises and insurance premium increases in 2012-13. The school district, he said, also needs a contingency plan in the event tax extensions are not approved for the 2011-12 school year. The teachers union expects to resume contract negotiations in February and the classified employees union is scheduled to be at the table in March.

“The county assured the Natomas Teachers' Association that state receivership would be avoided if teachers contributed 7.9% to the budget deficit,” teachers' union president Cynthia Connell said. “The community which rallied together to urge teachers to take these cuts must finally understand that teachers cannot save this district; they've been misled to believe we can.”

In recent years, Natomas Unified has laid off dozens of employees. The school district has also reduced funding for athletics, cut stipends for extracurricular activity advisers, eliminated summer school programs, discontinued all school busing except for special education students, closed all elementary school libraries and one school.

Parent groups and the Natomas community have rallied in response to support their neighborhood schools. Fundraisers are held to pay for school supplies, equipment and field trips. Most recently, enough money was raised to temporarily reopen some school libraries for limited use. Natomas Unified superintendent Bobbie Plough is moving forward with plans to renegotiate agreements with the charter schools and earlier this month hosted a community meeting to generate additional fundraising ideas.

“I’m glad that our teachers and classified employees made generous concessions this year, but we need to fix our long-term budget problem to prevent a state takeover,” said Ryan Herche, a Natomas resident and former school board candidate who attended the meeting. “We can raise new revenue by opening school property for advertising and applying for grants.”

Herche, who repeatedly called for an audit of Natomas Unified accounting during his campaign for school board last year, believes the school district can save money by changing its competitive bidding process and by using district employees, instead of contractors, when it proves more cost effective.

“Doing business 'the way we've always done it' has caused a fair share of our financial woes,” added Connell. “It is going to take changes in policies and practices at the district and board level to turn around the years-old practice of deficit spending.”

Work toward a balanced multi-year budget continues at the school district level. Meanwhile Assemblyman Richard Pan, District 5, and Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, District 9, plan to jointly introduce a spot bill in February that would authorize a state takeover of Natomas Unified. Pan said the legislation is a placeholder that will be enacted only if necessary to keep the school district solvent.

“We would like to avoid a state takeover,” said Pan, a Natomas resident with two young children. “We also don't want the district to go under. I am hopeful that is not going to happen.”

Pan and Natomas Unified plan to hold a town hall meeting Feb. 17 about the state budget, the proposed tax extensions and the assemblyman's role in the state receivership process. Even if the district manages to make more budget cuts for 2012-13, parent volunteers like Scott Dosick, who serves on the school district's budget advisory and bond oversight committees, say they understand the depth of the school district's financial woes and what would come with a state takeover – more layoffs, larger class sizes, school closures and negative impacts on the community. They also know the future of Natomas Unified likely hinges on whether Gov. Brown's proposed tax extensions will be passed or voted down.

“That would represent a cut of $3.5 to $4 million dollars for the Natomas Unified School District,” said Dosick. “This would be beyond catastrophic – I don't even know what word to use.”

Congresswoman Matsui Introduces Critical Flood Protection Legislation for Sacramento Families, Businesses

2011-01-26T21:13:19Z

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) introduced the Natomas Basin Flood Protection Improvements Act in the House of Representatives Tuesday, which would provide Natomas families and businesses the flood protection they need by authorizing additional construction work on the Natomas Levee Improvement Program, and in turn create jobs and support the area’s construction industry.

"This is an opportunity for the federal government to deliver for the Sacramento region by improving our public safety, strengthening our economy, and creating good jobs for our constituents,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to authorize this project. This Natomas Basin Flood Protection Improvements Act is a critical component in improving the flood protection of our region.”

The Sacramento region is the most at risk urban area to river flooding in the nation. Accordingly, the region has worked continuously to bolster its flood defenses and emergency preparations, and has invested millions of dollars of local, state and federal funding to strengthen its levees. Securing federal authorization for construction in Natomas is the next critical step.

Specifically, Congresswoman Matsui’s legislation would authorize full federal participation in the Natomas Levee Improvement Program, which will restore 100-year flood protection and ultimately achieve 200-year level flood protection. Natomas is home to almost 80,000 residents and hundreds of local businesses. The Natomas area is also a key transportation hub for the region, incorporating the Sacramento International Airport, Interstate 5 and Highway 99, all a critical part of the regional economy.

Each year of delay in levee improvements exposes the community, as well as the State of California and the federal government, to additional risk, increased program costs, and direct and indirect impacts to the economic health of the region. It also creates a financial burden for families. Since the Natomas area was remapped by FEMA in 2008, homeowners have been mandated to buy flood insurance, which can cost up to $1,300 a year.

“My legislation would expedite the completion of urgently needed improvements that protect the people of Sacramento,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “A key component towards addressing public safety concerns in Natomas is seeking federal authorization to allow for these upgrades to move forward more quickly. That is why I introduced this critical measure, and will do everything I can to ensure the project is authorized.”

The foundation for Rep. Matsui’s legislation is a recently completed report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which declared the 42 mile levee improvement project to be in the federal government’s interest. The State of California and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) have started work on the levee improvement project, and by the end of this year will have spent $360 million on roughly half the project. The upgraded levees in Natomas will be some of the widest and strongest levees built in the state and will comply with new, stronger federal levee standards.

“I am working every single day to reduce our risk, ensure flood insurance is affordable, and to increase federal support of Sacramento’s flood protection projects,” Matsui added. “From the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project to the South Sacramento Streams Group, there are a number of currently authorized flood protection projects that are improving our safety and together will offer our region the best possible flood protection.”

For more information, please visit www.matsui.house.gov/floodcontrol

Disclosure: Mara Lee is the Public Information Officer for Doris Matsui's office

Natomas leaders 'frustrated' over arena battle

2011-01-25T01:45:42Z

Natomas business leaders admitted Monday they’re fighting an uphill battle to avoid losing the Sacramento Kings arena.

At a morning press conference, Natomas Chamber of Commerce leaders said they’re asking Mayor Kevin Johnson and the Sacramento City Council to reject a task force recommendation announced Frida y.

The task force, which was appointed by the mayor, recommends Sacramento developer David Taylor and a Colorado sports facility developer be chosen to explore building an arena downtown over the next three months. That team won the recommendation over three others, including one backed by the Natomas chamber.

"Natomas is not giving up the fight to keep the arena in Natomas," said Chamber President Ed Koop, who stood in a soggy field within view of Arco Arena, the Kings’ current home.

The chamber and its arena development team, Natomas Entertainment Sports Center Partners, propose building a new arena on the land – about 100 acres owned by the city.

The chamber and Natomas ESC Partners also encouraged Sacramento residents who support keeping the arena in Natomas to show their support at the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The task force is scheduled to present an analysis of four arena teams and recommendations to the City Council then.

The Natomas chamber has gathered hundreds of signatures from residents, business owners and others who want to keep the arena in Natomas, said Marni Leger, who chairs the chamber's arena committee.

Koop and Leger spent the rest of the day meeting with City Council members to discuss their concerns. More appointments were scheduled for Tuesday.

They're asking the City Council to determine how much it would cost to build an arena downtown versus in Natomas.

Skanska, the Natomas team's contractor, looked at two proposed downtown sites – the downtown railyards and Westfield Downtown Plaza – and estimated keeping the arena in Natomas would save $100 million to $200 million, said Bob Moreno, managing director of Brookhurst Development Corp. The company is a partner on the Natomas development team.

The ICON-Taylor team doesn’t have a plan to build an arena yet but asked the city for 90 days to create one. The task force is recommending the city work exclusively with that team, but the lack of a plan will continue to delay getting an area built after another attempt failed last year. The Natomas site is “shovel-ready” and has all the necessary infrastructure, they said.

"It's pretty frustrating to be at this point," Koop said. "From the beginning, we've known we're fighting an uphill battle."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

City Hall: The year in scandals

2010-12-22T02:45:51Z

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 recently-retired Councilman Robbie Waters, gave permits to K. Hovnanian Homes to develop an area of Natomas that the federal government had defined as a flood zone, according to city officials.

City officials said Waters broke Federal Emergency Management Agency rules by giving the permits to the builder in 2009.

The crisis made waves all through 2010 as FEMA and the city wrestled with how to resolve the breach of federal rules. The City Council approved an expensive solution to the problem just weeks ago, at a Nov. 16 meeting. It will cost $350,000 in general fund dollars to correct the blunder and take several actions to follow FEMA rules.

Following the scandal, Waters was not fired, but was moved to a code enforcement job from a community development department position. Community development and code enforcement were separate departments at the time Waters was transferred in 2009. The departments have since consolidated.

A Dec. 1 Sacramento Bee story quoted anonymous sources to report that the city’s management was preparing to fire Waters. City spokeswoman Amy Williams would not confirm the Bee’s report, saying that the city does not comment on personnel matters.

What happened to $2 million?
The development department faced a second scandal this year that involved more than $2 million in fees. City Attorney Eileen Teichert and independent firm Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai encountered a number of issues relating to fees at the department when they investigated the problems with FEMA and the building permits for the flood zone.

Teichert received the information about the fees, but did not investigate the claims. Instead, Teichert handed over the information on fees to a third-party auditor, Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc., which conducted an audit of the department. The audit, released in October, said the department did not collect more than $2.3 million in fees from developers. The amount is a significant sum in light of the city’s ongoing budget woes.

The issue is likely to rage on at City Hall in 2011. Councilman Rob Fong has been pushing for the City Council to do a separate investigation of the problems at the department. He also has said he wants to find out if the City Council can get the money back.

Grand Jury rips Utilities Department

The Sacramento County Grand Jury claimed in a January report that the Utilities Department may have broken state law Proposition 218. The law says that utilities fees from ratepayers must correspond to the costs of delivering the utilities services.

Partly in response to the Prop. 218 issue, a citizens’ group placed a measure on the November ballot to roll back city utilities rates. But Measure B failed at the polls.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Kevin McCarty both said on Oct. 13 that the Utilities Department should be audited. McCarty and Councilman Steve Cohn actively campaigned against Measure B.

Look for the next installment of our year-end review in the coming days. We’ll refresh you on the resignations and promotions of city officials in 2010.

Photos of Natomas homes by Kathleen Haley. Photos of council members by Brandon Darnell. Photo of Measure B sign by Suzanne Hurt.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Natomas schools, teachers reach tentative bargain

2010-12-17T21:19:04Z

Natomas Unified School District and teachers' union officials reached a tentative agreement Thursday evening to solve the district's budget woes and prevent a state takeover of the district.

Late Thursday afternoon, the Natomas Teachers' Association agreed to 7.9 percent cuts in total spending on teachers, proposed by the district, to help prevent an $8.9 million cash shortfall expected by the end of fiscal year 2012/2013. Average class size will increase by two students, according to the school district.

Teachers also agreed to take seven unpaid furlough days for school year 2011/12 and to go without extra compensation for teaching classes with more than 30 children, up to a limit, teachers’ union President Cynthia Connell said.

"We've done our part and more," Connell said in a prepared statement. "We want it to be clearly known that by accepting this agreement, in essence, Natomas teachers have 'bailed out' the district."

The district agreed to use $1.3 million in Education Jobs Fund money from the U.S. Department of Education to fix a budget shortfall without eliminating jobs. The money must be used to hire or retain teachers. With an average total compensation of $79,000 per teacher, that will save at least 16 jobs, according to Connell.

Natomas Unified School District Superintendent Bobbie Plough said she's "very happy" the two sides have reached agreement.

"It's a major step toward avoiding the state takeover," she said.

The school district has made major program cuts and is now asking all employees to make "major sacrifices," she said.

"I think anytime we're asking public school employees to take a cut in pay, that's a sacrifice," she said. "I think they deserve a whole lot more than we provide for them anyway."

The union's 440 teachers are scheduled to vote on the agreement in mid-January. Teachers represent nearly half of the district’s budget.

The school district originally proposed an 11 percent pay cut, after the teachers had taken a 3 percent cut in late 2009. Teachers had to take six unpaid furlough days this year, shortening the school year. In the last year, 40 teachers were laid off, classroom supply stipends were canceled and class sizes increased by 25 - 30 percent, according to the union.

Two weeks ago, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David Gordon initiated the possibility of the state taking over the district in an effort to get the district an emergency state loan. The district projected it would run out of money this spring or summer.

The two sides are likely to return to the bargaining table in January or February if the state makes education cuts to help balance its own budget. Plough characterized the bargaining as difficult and emotional, yet professional and collaborative.

"We ended yesterday with handshakes, hugs in the room and a commitment to continue working together," she said. "I think that's a great sign post for this community – to know that we are committed to working together, even though this is extremely difficult."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Natomas fights for arena

2010-12-16T02:11:02Z

Natomas business leaders have a critical meeting Thursday in their fight to keep the arena from moving downtown.

Natomas Chamber of Commerce President Ed Koop and N Magazine Publisher Emeritus Marni Leger, who chairs the chamber's Keep Arena committee, are set to meet at City Hall with City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby.

They'll discuss the advantages they see in a revised proposal to build a new sports and entertainment complex on 100 acres of city-owned land adjacent to Arco Arena. The original proposal, created by Natomas Entertainment Sports Center Partners, was one of seven submitted to the city late last year to construct a new arena in Sacramento.

They'll also ask Ashby to help keep the modified proposal on the list of contenders as the Dec. 30 deadline for another round of new or revised proposals approaches and those proposals are considered early next year, Koop said. (LINK to article announcing Dec. 30 deadline)

"If we're not even on that list, it's game over for us," Koop said.

The Natomas Chamber sent letters to Mayor Kevin Johnson and his arena task force last week also requesting that the proposal be kept in the running.

The chamber and its members believe the Natomas location would allow an arena to be built sooner and cheaper than any other location. The environmental review period would be shorter because acceptable air quality and traffic already exist at Arco Arena. The city-owned site is shovel-ready and has infrastructure in place – two freeways, access roads and utilities, Koop said.

Constructing an arena downtown would significantly worsen traffic congestion on freeways and streets downtown, he said.

In addition, chamber leaders contend the team of developers put together by the chamber and Mike Corrick of Nacht & Lewis Architects is the most experienced of the seven. NBBJ, a global architecture, planning and design firm based in Seattle, built the Staples Center in Los Angeles and six other arenas or stadiums.

The chamber began the campaign to keep the arena in Natomas a year ago after Johnson put out a call for arena proposals and said he'd prefer the new arena be built downtown. The committee ceased its work after the city of Sacramento entered an exclusive negotiating agreement with another team led by local developers Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor.

The committee resumed its work three weeks ago after the arena task force was reconvened. Since then, committee members and volunteers have been gathering petition signatures. They hope to collect 1,000 to present to the city and arena task force by Dec. 30.

Stickers reading "Keep the Arena in Natomas" have been popping up on car bumpers and store windows in the area. The free stickers are being handed out by the chamber and business owners such as Koop, whose Fastsigns franchise at 2840 Del Paso Road is within sight of Arco Arena.

The loss of the arena would hit retailers and other businesses like his hard. Koop has sold car wraps, promotional signs and other products to the Kings. Restaurants and bars are flocked by customers before and after basketball games and concerts at the arena. Area residents who work at Arco Arena could lose their jobs if the arena moves, Koop said.

"We want to keep the arena where it is, for a lot of reasons," Koop said. "If you put an arena in downtown Sacramento, you would be helping downtown. But at the same time, you could be destroying the economic environment in Natomas."

Both Natomas and the downtown railyards sit in Ashby's district. She didn't express support for either location.

She said she recognizes the arena brings much commerce to Natomas, yet she believes other types of development at the site could bring the same benefit. Ashby wants to see the same number of jobs and economic benefit brought to the area if the arena closes in Natomas and the land is used for something else, she said.

"All those things need to be part of the deal," she said.

A public hearing on the proposals is scheduled for Jan. 6. The arena task force has said it would present an analysis of the proposals on Jan. 21.

Natomas Chamber leaders realize downtown Sacramento needs to be improved and that something needs to jumpstart its economic engine. But Natomas businesses and residents are counting on that, too, Koop said.

"Something like this (new) arena can really help put us on the map and really help us revitalize this area," he said. "I think they're putting too much emphasis on the arena being the magic bullet that would turn downtown Sacramento around."

Photo of Ed Koop provided by the Natomas Chamber of Commerce. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Ashby talks arena, Natomas housing

2010-12-07T02:09:13Z

New Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby hosted a driving tour of North and South Natomas and the Gardenland/Northgate neighborhood for The Sacramento Press on Monday. Throughout the tour, Ashby commented on a range of issues affecting Natomas, including plans for a new basketball arena and her views on the city’s low-income housing ordinance.

Ashby’s district includes the downtown Railyards and Natomas — two spots discussed in recent months as potential homes for a new arena. As she drove by Arco Arena, she said she wants to ensure that site in Natomas is factored into any development plans for a new sports and entertainment complex.

“But if the consensus is that if an arena best serves the city of Sacramento by being built downtown, or the Railyards, or wherever, then I’m OK with that — so long as that plan includes a designated re-use plan for this Natomas site,” she said.

“And I won’t be in support of anything that doesn’t address the Natomas component.”

While driving around North Natomas neighborhoods, Ashby expressed her views on the area’s planning issues. She said she would like to reexamine a 2000 city ordinance that aims to distribute affordable housing in neighborhoods.

“Because of the low-income inclusionary housing ordinance only applying to new growth areas, we have a lot of low-income inclusionary housing in North Natomas,” she said. “[This] isn’t really a problem, except for that it’s all stacked up. And we don’t have any services for low-income folks.”

For example, North Natomas doesn’t have a food bank, she said.

“Let’s see if there aren’t some modifications (to the ordinance) we can make to help stabilize our communities,” Ashby said. “And make the neighborhoods a little bit more balanced as they address serving the needs of folks.”

Ashby also pointed out large, neglected structures that were supposed to be developed but are now bank-owned blight. She nicknamed the failed development near East Commerce Way “Stonehenge,” and said the structures should be torn down. Graffiti and a knocked-down Porta-Potty were some of the features of the site.

Ashby also provided a tour of South Natomas, pointing out Regional Transit’s plans to run a Light Rail line there on a busy part of Truxel Road.

“I’m just not convinced that running Light Rail down this street will help it,” she said. “But I’m open to the discussion and I’m listening.”

Ashby also commented on the relationship of the Gardenland/Northgate neighborhood to South Natomas. “I think Gardenland/Northgate is its own community. But they very much are neighbors with, and associated with, South Natomas,” she said.

Ashby expressed optimism about the Natomas community and future plans for the area. “Who would choose to live here, I think, is a pretty cool family,” she said. “It’s somebody who wants a suburban setting like a Rocklin or a Roseville, but they want to be in the city of Sacramento. They want to be green ... They would be willing to hang out downtown.

“When people talk about building out downtown, this is who is going to go down there and shop and eat,” she said. “So, what you don’t want is to allow this community to fall apart at the seams. Because this is the community that will help stabilize the rest of the city if we can keep it as an attractive solution to the suburbs.”

Photos by David Watts Barton.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Signs spark campaign fight

2010-10-20T01:20:55Z

A fight over campaign signs broke out Tuesday between supporters and opponents of a measure to cut city utilities rates.

The group that backs Measure B sent out a news release that claimed campaign signs have been stolen and hidden in Natomas.

Measure B would cancel a 9.2 percent utilities hike that started in July, and connect the Consumer Price Index to utilities rates.

Craig Powell, chair of the group that supports Measure B, accused the measure’s opponents of stealing 30 signs and hiding 27 others behind other signs. Powell claimed that his group’s signs are hidden from view because “No on B” signs have been installed in front of them.

He further claimed that the problems with the signs are “an effort to suppress the citizens’ campaign to roll back city utilities rates and reform Sacramento’s city utilities.”

Andrew Acosta, a campaign consultant for the No on Measure B campaign, responded to Powell’s claims.

“We understand that in the last weeks of a campaign emotions can get the better of folks, but we take these allegations seriously and have reminded all opponents of Measure B to refrain from such activities,” Acosta wrote in an e-mail.

“We have also received several reports from opponents of Measure B who have had their signs stolen and would urge all supporters of Measure B to likewise refrain from these activities.”

Read the arguments for and against Measure B here.

The supporters of Measure B sent out the above photo.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Residents celebrate Tretheway's community service

2010-10-19T05:45:48Z

Supporters of outgoing Sacramento Councilman Ray Tretheway gathered in North Natomas on Monday night to celebrate Tretheway’s nine consecutive years on the City Council.

Tretheway, who was first elected in 2001, lost the District 1 re-election race in June to his opponent Angelique Ashby. He will leave his City Council seat in late November, but will keep his position as executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

More than 100 people turned out for Monday night’s event held at the North Natomas Library. District 1 includes North and South Natomas and downtown’s Alkali Flat.

“We are knitted as a community,” Tretheway told his supporters and constituents Monday night. “There’s no doubt about it. There’s something special in Natomas ... It has been an honor to serve you and to stand side-by-side with you in so many different endeavors.”

Tretheway sat with former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, a Natomas resident herself, as several of his constituents praised him for his community work.

Nick Avdis, a District 1 resident who is active in the Valley View Acres Community Association, said Tretheway urged him to get involved with his community. Avdis said Tretheway is a neighbor. “You stand with us because you are one of us,” he said.

Jerry Way, the city’s transportation director, described Tretheway as “a man of great integrity.”

Fargo said she’s worked with Tretheway on local issues since 1980. Their shared work included planting trees, cleaning up graffiti and building parks, she said.

“He’ll be missed, but he’s not going too far away,” Fargo told the crowd. “He’s still going to be living out here and working on things, and planting trees. And he’ll still be your friend.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Cal Expo: No arena deal

2010-09-25T00:56:10Z

California Exposition and State Fair officials said no Friday to being part of an arena land swap deal.

At the end of a four-hour meeting, the board voted 7-2 against further study of a proposal by developer Gerry Kamilos and the Sacramento Convergence team to relocate the state fairgrounds to Arco Arena in Natomas and to develop the 350-acre Cal Expo site to help finance a new arena downtown.

Board members said they want proceeds from Cal Expo's development to benefit the state fairgrounds and the state, rather than a private company and an arena. The Cal Expo board has already spent too much time studying ideas to modernize the fairgrounds by helping to get an arena built, they said.

"We've got to finally come to our senses and get rid of this arena deal," said board member Steve Beneto.

The latest proposal would have turned ownership and operation of the fairgrounds and the annual state fair over to a private company, VisionMaker Worldwide. The company was founded by former Disney and Universal Studios executives. But a private equity firm, Makan Capital Group based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, bought the company in 2007, according to the company's website.

Under the plan, Cal Expo officials and staff would have had creative control of the fair and ownership of the land. VisionMaker would have returned ownership of the facilities to the state after 30 years.

The board had been willing to consider a proposal to move the fairgrounds if the site was better and brought more revenue to Cal Expo than the existing one, board members said.

"We've been working on this for three years. We have explored one alternative after another," said board member Marko Mlikotin. "Our best interests are served by staying put."

Cal Expo staff have told the developers repeatedly that Arco Arena wouldn't work for the fairgrounds and asked them to propose other locations, Cal Expo General Manager Norb Bartosik said.

The 184-acre Arco site is too small and loses Cal Expo's visibility because it can't be seen from highways. Existing neighbors have also expressed opposition to the fairgrounds relocating there, said consultant Andy Plescia.

But the $400 million arena project is not dead, Kamilos said.

He and Sacramento developer David Taylor and the other stakeholders, which include the city, VisionMaker and the Maloof family, will come up with another strategy that could involve developing the Arco Arena site to help finance building a new arena in downtown's railyards. The Convergence team is considering "a number of options" and will discuss alternatives at a workshop with the Sacramento City Council Tuesday.

The Maloofs, who own the Sacramento Kings, will now work on alternatives to get an arena built.

“We must continue to work hard to find a solution," co-owner Joe Maloof said in a prepared statement late Friday afternoon. "We look forward to hearing what are the next steps and options."

Cal Expo officials must focus on developing or selling some of the existing land to rebuild the fairgrounds at its current location, said board member Paul “Rick” Stacey.

"Maybe that is a public-private partnership," he said. "But on our terms."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mati's Indian Express to move to Midtown

2010-09-21T00:30:03Z

A popular Natomas restaurant will soon be calling Midtown home as the owners look to expand their business.

Mati’s Indian Express, 3880 Truxel Rd., will close its current location Sept. 30 and move to the Fremont building at 16th and P streets before reopening Nov. 1 as Mati’s. The new, 2,200-square-foot location will double the restaurant’s size.

“We want to expand,” said Ranjani Prasad, the establishment’s owner and main cook. “Most of our customers are from Midtown, and we want to be more centrally located.”

It will be the first move in the restaurant’s five-year history.

Prasad is from the Indian community in Fiji, and she said she learned to cook at a young age from her mother, who taught her traditional Indian recipes.

Despite other Indian restaurants already established in Midtown, Prasad said her restaurant concept is unique.

“We’re not sit-down, and we’re not a buffet,” she said. “We’re more like a Panda Express, where people can see what we have and sample it. When people have a sample, they never leave without food.”

Prasad said the names of many Indian dishes are so unfamiliar to many of her first-time customers that she added labels on the glass so people would have a better idea of what they were looking at.

For example, “Lamb Vindaloo” is described as “lamb chunks cooked in a variety of spices.” The sign also advises customers that the dish is gluten-free.

With a strong selection of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan offerings, Prasad said she has many customers who come for meals that aren’t as common at other restaurants.

One of those customers is Cosmo Mullins of Rio Linda, who said he comes to the restaurant once a week and plans to follow it to the new location.

“They have a lot of vegetarian stuff,” Mullins said. “That’s really lacking in other places.”

Another regular customer is Irina Nath of Las Vegas, who grew up in Sacramento and visits two or three times per month.

“When I come home to visit, I want home-style Indian food, and this is where I get it,” said Nath, who is of Indian descent. “I’m a vegetarian, and I come here whenever I come home because of the variety.”

In addition to the current fare offered at the restaurant, Prasad said she will be able to add a few items to round out the menu – most notably grilled meats, grilled vegetables and brown rice.

The new 2,200-square-foot location that used to house Togo’s will be about double the size of Prasad’s current building and will also allow her to put the soda fountain where it is accessible to the public, contain restrooms and “just make things more convenient.”

Another addition to the restaurant will be beer – once the alcohol license is obtained.

“We will carry Indian beers,” Prasad said, “and we’ll have some domestic ones, too, but we aren’t sure which yet.”

Ranjani Prasad’s son, Shawn Prasad, said he expects the Midtown location to be more appealing to the majority of their customers, who are generally in the under-30 crowd.

“A lot of them would rather walk to us than drive their cars,” Shawn Prasad said.

From Nov. 1, the restaurant will be open at 1601 16th St. from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, but hours may be adjusted based on need.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Johnson aims to link city services with schools

2010-09-03T01:38:02Z

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said Thursday he is organizing an effort to link city services with Sacramento school districts.

At a press conference at American Lakes Elementary School in Natomas, Johnson laid out a plan for how local schools can benefit from a relationship with city government.

Sacramento schools and the city should explore methods to share city facilities and to boost public safety and after-school efforts for schoolchildren, he said.

“We’re talking about the need to create a partnership in a way that we have not done in the past,” Johnson said to an audience that included a group of third graders.

City Hall and the school system need to bolster their relationship because both entities are experiencing challenges from budget cuts, he said.

He said he plans for school district superintendents and a representative from the city manager’s office to meet regularly to analyze efforts involving the city and the school system.

Bobbie Plough, superintendent of the Natomas Unified School District, said Johnson recognizes how it is crucial to “work smarter through partnerships.”

The school system and City Hall are separate entities, Johnson said, but they should not be cut off from each other. “There’s no way Sacramento will be a great city without great schools,” he said.

Johnson made his announcement about a new effort between city schools and City Hall in the aftermath of recent budget cuts to the city’s Office of Youth Development. It is no longer an office, and has one remaining staffer.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Councilmember-Elect Angelique Ashby Launches "Community Connections"

2010-08-21T02:22:56Z

Angelique Ashby Announces Series of Community Forums Throughout District One

It's become common, often expected, for politicians to have goals for the first 100 days in elected office. But what about goals for the 100 days prior to taking office?

On Monday, Angelique Ashby commemorated the 100 day countdown by unveiling Community Connections, a series of district-wide meetings seeking ideas, thoughts, input and experiences related to the challenges and successes throughout the region.

Ashby was elected to Sacramento's City Council on June 8 with 51% of the vote in a dramatic three-way race, unseating incumbent councilmember Ray Tretheway after nearly ten years in office in District One (Alkali Flat, Downtown, The River District / Richards Boulevard, North and South Natomas, and Gardenland-Northgate). Since Ashby secured over 50% of the vote, there is no need for a run-off in November. However, according to the city's charter, her term does not begin until after November's General Election. Her four year term begins November 23.

"It has its advantages," Ashby said about the delay. "On one hand, it's a little challenging because a lot of folks think I'm in office already and we're full of energy and can't wait to start taking care of the peoples' business. But on the plus side, it gives us the opportunity to work towards a smooth transition and to make sure our plans and partnerships are solid."

"My commitment to you as residents and business owners in District One is to represent the District's needs and goals and to maintain the highest quality of life standards possible in each of our diverse and unique neighborhoods," Ashby wrote in her announcement. "Community Connections is an opportunity for collaborative input and dialogue in formulating a comprehensive plan that seeks to strengthen our community and our neighborhoods."

Comprised of three meetings around three central themes -- Public Safety, Economic Vitality, and Quality of Life -- information gathered at the forums "will be used as a guideline identifying key areas of concern in District One and will provide the community support needed to direct the efforts of my four years as the elected councilmember in this community," Ashby said. "I need everyone's insight, support and partnership to set us off in the right direction from Day One."

The methodology Ashby will be using is not at all new to her. "It's actually the same formula I use in my work," Ashby said, referring to her career as a consultant designing and implementing programs and service delivery systems in the social services field. "In fact, we used the same process back in 2008 when we formed the Natomas Crime & Safety Leadership Team." A forum of nearly four dozen community leaders convened to prioritize issues, brainstorm solutions, and choose a team of leaders to advance the action plan that had the group's endorsement. "We accomplished all five of our objectives in just one year's time. It's a proven system and I have no doubt we will be able to put it to work for us again."

The meetings are open to the public and scheduled as follows:

1: Public Safety
Thursday, September 9, 6 to 8 PM
Homecoming Apartments, 4800 Kokomo Drive

2: Economic Vitality
Date, Time & Location To Be Announced Soon -- Check for Updates

3: Quality of Life
Wednesday, October 27, 6 to 8 PM
South Natomas Community Center, 2921 Truxel Road

Free Movies in the Park on Saturdays in Natomas

2010-08-05T18:26:19Z

Councilmember Ray Tretheway hosts free movies nights in Natomas area parks on Saturday evenings in August.

Saturday, August 7th
North Natomas Community Park
Cagney Way & Crest Drive
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Saturday, August 14th
Witter Ranch Community Park
3790 Poppy Hill Way
Charlotte’s Web

Saturday, August 21st
Two Rivers Park
3201 West River Drive
UP

Saturday, August 28th
Regency Park Community Park
5500 Honor Parkway
The Princess and the Frog

Movies start at dusk (generally 8:45 p.m.) Games and fun will start at 7:00 p.m. Bring your blankets, snacks and flashlights. Donations for local schools will be accepted and provided to Natomas and Twin Rivers School Districts.

Contact the office of CouncilmMember Ray Tretheway today at 916-808-7001 or rtretheway@cityofsacramento.org if you have any questions.

The schedule for the movies can also be found on the Councilmember's website.

Dining Out Options: Good Friends

2010-07-16T09:35:53Z

by Tony Sheppard
Originally Published in Capitol Weekly

This may be the least comprehensive restaurant review ever. So don’t be surprised if I go off on a tangent or two.

Good Friends is located in South Natomas, in a small shopping plaza on the south-east corner of the I5 and West El Camino intersection. The location is close to several housing complexes and also the campuses of the University of Phoenix and the Art Institute of Sacramento. It’s a faculty favorite for the Arts Institute and, given that the Capital Film Arts Alliance meets there, also for some of the filmmaking community. For that reason, I’ve eaten there multiple times in the last couple of years, but I’ve never actually read the menu. Hence, the limited review content.

However, there’s a good reason to skip all but the back page of the menu – that’s where the combination meals are described. They’re enough of a good deal, that if you’re looking for a hearty meal and not jonesing for something too specific, that’s what to order. I’m fairly sure that the rest of the menu is quite comprehensive, given that there are several other panels in the brochure-style document, but I have no idea what’s actually in them. There’s also a lengthy sushi menu that gets placed on the table – but I haven’t read that either, for two reasons: It’s not the back page of the regular menu, and it’s sushi (*shudder*).

The combination meals have an extensive list of primary dishes to choose from and lunch also includes fried rice, chow mein, an eggroll, the appetizer of the day, and a choice of egg-drop or extremely hot and sour soup. All of this for $6.95-$7.25–it’s a lot of food. But the dinner combination is even more voluminous, as the daily appetizer disappears in favor of a full extra order of sweet and sour pork – all for approximately $9.95. It’s essentially enough for two meals in one. I have both shared a combination dinner with a friend on occasion, and taken half home on other occasions. It’s actually too much for me to eat before a discussion-based meeting as I end up feeling close to that post-Thanksgiving, loosened clothing, basking in a recliner like a beached, overfed-whale-state.

It’s a friendly little place, with these huge meals coming out of a small facility, occupying just one, narrow plaza storefront. If you go there with a regular, you’ll witness people being greeted by name and a strong sense that people keep coming back, time and time again.

And speaking of names, although Good Friends does seem quite fitting, it also breaks all of the Chinese restaurant naming ground rules. Somewhere out there, a man with the Chinese restaurant naming chart is weeping over one list full of panda, jade, dragon, and bamboo, and another list full of palace, garden, house, pagoda, and delights. There’s some irony in the idea that Chinese restaurants can be named by making one selection from Column A and one selection from Column B. Or the combo name that doubles them up – try for example the Dragon House of Panda Delights.

That said, check out Good Friends and try a combo meal - or perhaps even read the rest of the menu. Not that there’s really any need.

Good Friends
2600 Gateway Oaks Dr
Sacramento, CA 95833
(916) 568-5100
www.goodfriendssacramento.com

Photo: Combination dinner with mixed vegetables and a separate plate of sweet and sour pork (included)

A Divided Natomas

2010-05-07T07:35:24Z

Years ago, driving home from ARCO Arena used to be like driving through a vast rural land of fields, sometimes through thick fog and orange overhead lights. Now this land is the thriving community commonly known as North Natomas filled with homes, businesses, restaurants, a high school, and a brand new library.

That’s all located north of Interstate-80. South of Interstate-80 is the established communities of South Natomas, Gardenland, and Northgate.

Calls to serve both areas equally were made at the District 1 City Council Candidates Forum, moderated by Brandy Boyd, publisher of the Natomas Buzz.

“Come on down Northgate Boulevard” said Candidate Efren Guttierrez in response to how to secure business in Natomas. “Get out of your car. Walk the boulevard. You tell me who said people are secure.”

“That’s District 1, too.”

Candidate Angelique Ashby said she was tired of seeing other projects not come to Natomas.

“We need to have an eye on the future for building up this region,” said Ashby. “We also have to be a safe place for our business. No entrepreneur would want to open up a business where there’s a lack of police.”

Candidate and current Councilmember Ray Tretheway, who had to leave early for another event, discussed youth mentoring and truancy programs.

In discussing North Natomas’ levee problems, Guttierrez pointed out a theme he consistently hears when discussing various topics.

“It’s the fact that everything is generated north of I-80, and it isn’t,” said Guttierrez. “Before I-80 was a glimmer in Heather Fargo or Ray’s eye’s, there was a community called South Natomas.”

“South Natomas was promised many things; fire station, a medical facility, a police station. We got none of these. The medical facility that was supposedly built on West El Camino and Truxel closed in six months. I didn’t see Ray or anybody else jump to keep them there.”

“At the end, there is a world south of I-80,” said Guttierrez.

Ashby also took a shot at Tretheway, who had his Campaign Manager Bryan DeBlonk sit in as his surrogate.

“No offense to Mr. DeBlonk, but Ray is not a strong advocate for our region,” said Ashby. “He is a nice guy, but he is not a person who is going to fight for this community on a day to day basis.”

Both Guttierrez and Ashby pointed out problems with crosswalks and signals in both North and South Natomas.

But Ashby continued to take shots at Tretheway when responding to nearly every question.

“I do not believe our elective representative has done his job,” said Ashby when discussing safety in the community and at schools.

When discussing public transportation, Ashby said Tretheway ignored the petition of 500 people to not run Light Rail down Truxel Boulevard.

In responding to how to preserve current Natomas business, Ashby said “Ray Tretheway has been on the council for nine years. You need to think about whether you want him the next four.”

If elected, Ashby vowed she would not treat her position as a part time position; however, DeBlonk reminded everyone of the difference between an advocate and a Councilmember.

“It’s very easy to be an advocate and to say ‘this one thing we need to be doing and I’m going to push for it, and you know what, if all of us advocate more, then more the things we want get done,’” said DeBlonk.

“It’s a very different thing to be a Councilmember.”

Sacramento Zoo looks for new home

2010-04-30T04:47:29Z

Residents gathered Wednesday evening at the Hart Senior Center to find a new home for the Sacramento Zoo. After 83 years, the zoo is looking to ditch its current Land Park location in order to gain more space. The two most probable locations are Sutter’s Landing and the Natomas area.

Merely 14 acres in size, the current zoo doesn’t allow for expansion. Many of the animals—including elephants, rhinos, polar bears and cheetahs—had to be relocated to different zoos because of the small size of the enclosures in Sacramento. In order to keep their accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the zoo has to keep up with the changing standards of the association by continuously updating its current animal exhibits.

Despite the fact that collection of animals at the Sacramento Zoo is shrinking, the staff has had to gradually raise admission fees to $11 due to construction costs associated with updating the exhibits. Mary Healy, director and CEO of the zoo, said, “We can’t be a $30 zoo with only 14 acres.”

One option being explored is relocating the zoo to Sutter’s Landing, an area that used to be a landfill that now holds a small community park with river access. The Sutter’s Landing Feasibility Study, conducted to decide if the park would be a good place for the zoo, concluded that the location would not be suitable.

Scot Mende, new growth manager at the Community Development Department, said the current road running into the park, B Street, is not clear or safe for the amount of traffic that a new zoo would bring because of the big hill and railroad tracks it features. A new roadway and freeway exit could cost more than $100 million.

The cost of construction in a former landfill area can also cost the zoo an extra $30 million on top of regular construction prices. It could also take an additional 17 years for the methane in the east end of the park to settle. All these factors combined make the probability of building a zoo at Sutter’s Landing decrease immensely. “Doing anything is a lot more difficult when it used to be a landfill,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said.

Other locations were discussed as possibilities. One was the Natomas Joint Vision Area, a 10,000-acre location currently being planned with an allocation of open space, something the zoo may be able to fit into. The city-owned, 100-acre area north of Arco Arena, where a partially built River Cats stadium now stands, was also discussed, as well as an area of the Job Corps site in Meadowview that may get surplussed in the next few years by the federal government.

Expanding the zoo at its current Land Park location is unlikely. Healy recognized that the zoo is landlocked. “Our best option is to look for a new site,” she said. A City Council resolution passed in 1988 determined that the zoo’s current boundaries within Land Park will remain as its permanent boundaries.

But the topic was still explored. Healy suggested a possible way of expanding the zoo would be to get rid of the “spaghetti” streets outside of the zoo and replace them with a roundabout, exchanging asphalt for space while improving traffic and making school bus drop-offs a lot easier. Healy also talked about creating a separate entrance for a café and gift shop to let patrons explore those areas without paying for zoo admission, as well as creating a round-trip train stop that would run from Old Sacramento to the zoo.

The senior center, located at 915 27th St., was filled with over 60 concerned citizens of the Sutter’s Landing area. Residents worried about increased traffic, as well as a possible disruption of the natural wildlife at the river. Like many Sutter’s Landing residents, Stella Meaney, of Friends of the River Banks, emphasized the importance of the river as a natural asset. “We want the environmental, the ecological, the animals,” Meaney said. “What a great asset to have a stretch of river that’s wild.”

The next community meeting about the zoo’s future will be held at 7 p.m. July 1, at the Parnell Community Center, 2450 Meadowview Rd., with another tentative meeting slated for mid-summer. The Sacramento Parks and Recreation, Community Development Department, and the Sacramento Zoological Society hope these meetings will help them gain public feedback on the different options explored so far.

Tretheway Signgate 2010: Cover-Up Worse Than the Crime

2010-04-14T03:57:55Z

When I caught incumbent Sacramento City Councilmember Ray Tretheway’s district director Dan Roth and campaign manager Corin Choppin on video tampering with campaign signs of challenger Angelique Ashby on Friday morning, I honestly didn’t think it would become such a huge story. It began as a video shared with fellow Ashby campaign supporters and volunteers on YouTube. It quickly became front-page news, led television newscasts, and even appeared in newspapers across the country. It has since spiraled into a tangled web of defensive rationalizations, backpedaling, empty apologies, and ultimately a catalyst for an investigation into the possibility of serious violations of campaign laws.

Dan Roth is an employee of the City of Sacramento – our tax dollars pay his salary. Corin Choppin works for Capitol Campaigns, so his salary comes from donations to Tretheway’s campaign – a campaign almost entirely funded by people who are ineligible to vote in our District. There is truly no valid explanation for why Roth and Choppin conspired to tamper with signs that show Sacramento’s firefighters and police officers’ support of Angelique Ashby’s campaign. Roth breached a sacred wall of separation between City business and campaign business in accompanying Choppin in such unethical conduct. As seasoned political operatives, they absolutely know better, but were caught red-handed. The only proper response is to accept whatever consequences lie ahead, up to and including termination from their posts – but neither Roth nor Choppin have done that.

Instead, they concocted a tale of fiction: that the signs were placed illegally (code section 15.148.600(K) allows campaign signs for 90 days prior to an election in areas adjacent to streets and sidewalks), that they were supposedly “doing Ashby a favor” and “kind of did the neighborly thing, honestly, and removed the signs” (does anyone believe that?) and that they were acting on a complaint sent to the city’s 3-1-1 center, even though no such complaint was ever sent to the center. When caught in these lies, Roth sank further in the quicksand, telling reporters on Monday that he himself was supposed to be the originator of the email to 3-1-1 but “I think I probably was like, ‘I’m running late,’ slammed down my computer, (and) I didn’t hit ‘send.’ ” Such contortions of logic would be downright laughable if the situation were not so serious.

Roth and Choppin could learn from some of Dale Carnegie’s famous relationship building principles: always tell the truth; do not mislead anyone; if you make a mistake, admit it immediately and emphatically; and do not tolerate anything less than the truth from anyone else. They have failed on all of these principles.

As the person who accepts full responsibility for placing the signs in question only after I reviewed city code section 15.148.600(K) governing placement of political campaign signs, I will state for the record that I believe the signs were positioned in accordance with the rules. If it turns out that our City’s Code Enforcement department differs in their interpretation and concludes they are out of compliance, I will visit City Hall to accept my citation and either pay the fine or challenge the citation in court – and when I do so, I will be sure to bring a long list of locations throughout District One that have had blatantly illegal signs installed for many months and will insist that those cases be treated with the same scrutiny.

Maybe I’ll forward a copy of that list to Dan and Corin so they can help clean them up...

Keith Sharward is a Board member and co-founder of Witter Ranch Community Alliance and a member of the Natomas Crime & Safety Leadership Team.

Press Release: Police union challenges Roth's statements

2010-04-13T20:58:07Z

Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, sent the following statement to media outlets Tuesday:

My concerns regarding the ethics of Dan Roth from Councilmember Tretheway’s Office continue grow as it seems he is weaving a series of dishonest explanations to justify his behavior on the morning of Friday, April 9th. On the YouTube video, he is with Tretheway’s campaign manager from Capitol Campaigns, Corin Choppin, as he pulls Angelique Ashby’s political signs out of the ground and throws them behind the bushes. Apparently, Corin is not only Tretheway’s campaign manager, but is also married to Tretheway’s Chief of Staff, Randi Kay Stevens.

It seems that Roth does not dispute that he was there as a paid city employee; however, he initially claimed to channel 3 that he was responding to a constituent’s complaint regarding the placement of the political signs that had been received through the city’s 3-1-1 service. Unexplained is why Choppin is taking action of removing the signs in response to a complaint Roth said he received in the course of his official duties.

Roth has now revised his version, stating that the complaint came in to his office in the form of an email from Ron Dwyer-Voss (Who is listed as a Tretheway supporter on the attached document and former client of Capitol Campaigns.) Roth gave me a copy of the email that he said he received and has now claimed that it was blind copied to him by Dwyer-Voss. (Attached).

The first thing I noticed was that the email was only addressed to Angelique Ashby which would have been the correct email format for her copy of the email if it had other blind copy destinations; but the copy Dan Roth received would have had the recipient address he received it on. Blind copy recipients do list that information on the blind copy recipients version. The copy he provided was the version sent only to Angelique.

The format also seems improper for an email, as if it were a copy of the sent version from Dwyer-Voss, not a copy received by a City terminal. I have to wonder if we are now seeing a conspiracy between Roth and Dwyer-Voss to cover for Roth’s earlier dishonesty.

In a statement to the Sacramento Press, Roth also seems to be saying that he intended to forward the complaint to 3-1-1, which makes no sense at all. I cannot think of circumstances that would warrant that, but since he mentioned the 3-1-1 system in his earlier version of his explanation, it seems as if he feels he needs to tie it into this version as well.

The California Public Records Act request being made by 522 also includes office emails. I have a very strong suspicion that there will not be a record of a blind copy email to Roth from Dwyer-Voss on that morning.

As I stated earlier, I am disappointed with the actions of Roth and Choppin for removing the signs, but I think an apology to Angelique and the Natomas residents would have properly addressed my concerns. My concerns with a potential cover up from the District 1 City Council Office and the lying that would accompany it have grown with the emergence of each new inconsistent explanation that is offered. If my suspicions are proven, I think the proper response from Councilmember Tretheway has to be to fire Dan Roth, or ask for his resignation. The credibility of his Office will suffer significant damage if he does not deal with the situation properly.

Please feel free to use or quote any portion of this email.

Mark Tyndale
Vice President, Board of Directors
Sacramento Police Officers Association

Dan Roth says he received complaint about Ashby signs

2010-04-13T06:00:32Z

The district director for City Councilman Ray Tretheway said Monday night that he took photos of City Council Candidate Angelique Ashby’s lawn signs in Natomas because he received a complaint that claimed the signs were posted illegally.

A YouTube video shows Roth watching Tretheway campaign manager Corrin Choppin remove Ashby signs in Natomas on Friday. Tretheway and Ashby are running against each other for the District 1 seat.

At a Monday press conference, Sacramento Police Officers’ Association Vice President Mark Tyndale questioned whether Roth has been making honest statements about the incident.

Tyndale took issue with comments in a KCRA 3 news story. “KCRA ran a quote from Dan Roth indicating that a complaint was made to the city’s 311 phone line that morning and that Dan Roth was acting on that complaint,” according to a media statement from SPOA and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.

Tyndale said that if Roth was making untrue statements, he should resign or be fired.

But Roth told reporters Monday night that he had received a complaint from a resident about signs Ashby had placed at sites on El Centro Road and at the intersection of El Centro and Arena Boulevard. He said he did not send the complaint to 311.

Roth noted that he received the complaint e-mail when he was preparing to attend the groundbreaking of a new fire station in Natomas.
“It’s 8:14 (a.m.)," Roth said. “I’m getting ready for an event. I thought I had forwarded 311 and city of Sacramento. I think I probably was like, ‘I’m running late,’ slammed down my computer, (and) I didn’t hit ‘send.’ ”

Roth provided reporters with copies of the resident’s complaint e-mail Monday night.

The e-mail was addressed to Ashby; Roth said he was blind copied on the e-mail. Resident Ron Dwyer-Voss claimed in the April 9 e-mail that Ashby’s signs were located in illegal areas.

The complaint should have been forwarded to code enforcement, Roth said.

“(Choppin) shouldn’t have done it,” Roth said. “And that’s what we’ve been saying. He shouldn’t have touched the signs. He didn’t break any laws ... It’s the ethic — never touch your opponent’s stuff.”

Roth claimed that the signs were in illegal areas. He said he did not touch any of the signs. Roth also said he took a photo of one of the signs.

“Corrin didn’t break a law,” Roth said. “I didn’t break a law.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Police union: If Roth's claims are untrue, he should be fired

2010-04-13T00:38:10Z

A top officer in the Sacramento police officer’s union is saying that City Councilman Ray Tretheway’s district director should be fired if he made dishonest statements about removal of campaign signs. Lawn signs that supported Tretheway's City Council opponent were removed Friday.

“It’s my belief that if Dan Roth has not been honest and he has been lying, I don’t see what alternative there is, for either him to resign or Ray Tretheway to fire him,” Sacramento Police Officers’ Association Vice President Mark Tyndale said Monday at a press conference held by the association and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.

The Sacramento Bee reported a story Saturday about a YouTube video that shows Roth looking on as Tretheway campaign manager Corrin Choppin removed signs for City Council candidate Angelique Ashby at El Centro and Arena boulevards in Natomas.

The signs stated that SPOA and Local 522 supported Ashby, according to union officials.

Tretheway is running for re-election against Ashby.

Specifically, Tyndale said he is objecting to comments in a KCRA 3 news story. “KCRA ran a quote from Dan Roth indicating that a complaint was made to the city’s 311 phone line that morning and that Dan Roth was acting on that complaint,” according to a media statement from SPOA and Local 522.

Tyndale questioned whether the removal of the signs is tied to a complaint via 311.

The statement also says Local 522 is using the California Public Records Act to find out more information about the issue. As part of their public records request, the union is asking for records on every call made Friday to the 311 phone line.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Tretheway Denies Impact of RT's Bus Service Cuts on Natomas Residents

2010-04-03T01:02:40Z

As of June 20, weekend bus service in Natomas will be reduced dramatically. North Natomas loses all of its weekend bus service and South Natomas loses much of its weekend bus service, despite false assurances from incumbent city councilperson Ray Tretheway.

This week, in response to a fiscal emergency caused by reductions in state funding, the Sacramento Regional Transit District Board of Directors voted to cut bus and light rail services throughout the region, effective June 20. Tretheway is also on RT's Board of Directors.

According to RT's northwest route map, Natomas currently receives weekday service on Routes 11 (Truxel Road) and 89 (Gateway Oaks), with service 7 days a week on Routes 13 (Northgate), 14 (Norwood), 86 (San Juan - Silver Eagle), and 88 (West El Camino). Based on service reductions described in RT's published summary, bus routes 13 and 14 are losing their weekend service, and bus route 89 is being eliminated altogether.

Routes 13 and 14 were the only routes that included any North Natomas stops (see maps for Route 13 and Route 14), so this has the effect of cutting North Natomas off of weekend service entirely. South Natomas loses its critical Northgate weekend service, although routes 86 and 88 will continue their weekend runs -- at least for now.

Considering where all of the city's low income housing was constructed in the past several years (much of which is concentrated near Del Paso and Truxel Roads) and the economically challenged Northgate corridor, it appears Natomas residents with the least amount of resources were disproportionately impacted by these transit service cuts. These are our neighbors who are more likely to depend on public transit, many of whom have varying work schedules and are more likely to rely on weekend bus service to get to their jobs.

Candidates for the June 8 city council election responded to constituents’ concerns about these service cuts at a debate hosted by the Natomas Community Association Wednesday night, moderated by the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County.

Angelique Ashby responded with concern that Tretheway did not advocate for Natomas residents with the greatest need. “RT has been cut, and this week we took another huge disproportionate hit,” Ashby said. “I don't understand -- and Ray is on that board.”

Tretheway claimed that the bus service cuts would not have much of an impact on Natomas. "I'll assure you that no [bus] lines in Natomas, South or North, were cut, with one exception, for weekends at all," Tretheway said. "One goes through North Sacramento, ends up to Natomas Marketplace and out, so it's got, the last leg is Natomas. That one was cut on weekends. All the rest I fought to restore. They were on the cutting block a week ago Monday -- every one was restored."

However, upon carefully reviewing RT route maps, RT's Issue Paper, and the bulletin posted on RT’s home page, the only Natomas route that was restored from the original proposal was Route 13 (Northgate), and that restoration only applies to weekdays, not weekends. All of the other proposed Natomas service reductions were voted into effect, in spite of Tretheway's assurances to the contrary.

Either Tretheway is quite confused and does not know what he voted for this week in his capacity as an RT Board member, or he is being dishonest to his constituents. Neither is acceptable.

Residents throughout Natomas are tired of paying for services and not receiving their fair share. Many in North Natomas are sharing the same frustrations of broken promises that residents in South Natomas have been feeling for decades. In just two months, voters will have the opportunity to elect an intelligent and articulate leader who is willing to work together, build partnerships, listen to the community, and advocate for the region – someone who will fight for the people of Natomas and help our region and Sacramento as a whole meet its potential.

Keith Sharward is a Board member and co-founder of Witter Ranch Community Alliance and a member of the Natomas Crime & Safety Leadership Team. He endorses Angelique Ashby in her campaign for Sacramento City Council's District One (Natomas/Downtown).

FEMA and Natomas: Unfinished houses unlikely to be completed soon

2010-04-02T04:20:51Z

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 sustain development.

It “proposes allowing structure protection measures to be performed on the partially completed structures and slabs to maximize the likelihood that they will still be viable when construction is allowed again in the Natomas basin.”

This means that the city does not expect the unfinished houses to be built soon.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Transit takes center stage at District 1 debate

2010-04-01T06:00:23Z

Regional Transit wrapped up their talks about service cuts earlier this week, though there was still plenty of room for finger pointing and analysis at the District 1 Candidates Debate.

"Natomas is losing all routes on the weekends as my understanding," said candidate Angelique Ashby. "That means people have jobs elsewhere on the weekends and they are going to ride the bus, they can't do that anymore."

Ashby said she didn't understand why current District 1 Councilmember Ray Tretheway, who is on Regional Transit's Board of Directors, did not fight to keep a route in Natomas.

"I don't understand how he can let them all go," said Ashby. "We certainily pay into that tax system that provides that transportation. It seems to me it should be equal, and areas that have access to Light Rail should have been cut first. We don't have any Light Rail, but buses are the only public transportation that we have."

Tretheway responded saying no lines in North or South Natomas were cut except for one operating on the weekends.

"One goes through North Sacramento and ends up to Natomas Marketplace", said Tretheway. "That one was cut on weekends. All the rest I fought to restore."

Tretheway also elaborated on the Natomas Light Rail extension, saying it's been settled on going down Truxel Blvd for the last three to five years. Ashby opposes the Truxel Blvd plan.

"I believe that we will take care of the community, community center, and neighbors, and that Light Rail will be a public asset coming down Truxel", said Tretheway.

Efren Guttierrez, the third candidate in the debate, expressed his disappointment with Regional Transit.

"The line that you're talking about Ray is Line 13," said Guttierrez. "Line 13 runs down Northgate Blvd, and that is a working class neighborhood."

Guttierrez also discussed the problems working with other transit authorities over the years.

"We've been fighting with SACOG and Sacramento Transit Authority for years to deal with our problem of buses in this city," said Guttierrez. "We've seen this coming down the pipe."

Council unanimously agrees to begin arena talks with Kamilos

2010-03-17T05:18:54Z

In a win for Mayor Kevin Johnson and his arena task force, the City Council agreed to start talks with Sacramento developer Gerry Kamilos on a plan to build a new sports and entertainment center in the downtown railyards and develop two other sites.

The City Council’s approval to begin talks with the Kamilos Group was unanimous. While an agreement between the city and Kamilos was not completed Tuesday, the council moved closer to a decision to work with Kamilos.

In Kamilos’ multi-layered plan, the downtown railyards would be the location of a new sports and entertainment center. The plan also calls for the creation of a new state fairgrounds at Arco Arena and nearby property.

Kamilos’ team, which includes developer David Taylor, further plans to purchase the state-owned Cal Expo State Fairgrounds. The development team will would then build a mixed-use development at that location.

The NBA and the Maloofs family, which owns the Sacramento Kings, support Kamilos’ proposal.

Johnson said he would like to see the project to focus on environmentally sound elements so that it could be a “world-class showcase” for a green development.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said that consultants who work with the city on this project should be paid by the developers, not the city. The city needs to be “very, very careful” if it puts any public funds or public land toward the project, she said.

While Councilman Ray Tretheway voted in favor of starting work with Kamilos, he raised concerns about Natomas. He said he wanted to know how the arena’s move to downtown from Natomas would affect Natomas’ businesses.

The City Council tasked staffers with several assignments Tuesday night. Council members decided that city staffers should start working with the Kamilos group and create benchmarks for the negotiations. The City Council also asked staff to study the financial aspects of linking the Kamilos downtown arena project to a downtown intermodal center.

Council members agreed that Johnson could appoint members of a City Council ad hoc committee to work on the effort.

Staff was also asked to inform the council of progress on creating a six-month agreement with Kamilos, as well as the project’s scope, benchmarks and funding sources. The council asked for that information to be presented within 30 days.

Further, staffers will work on a plan to gain feedback from stakeholders and community groups, Johnson said.

The Kamilos plan will need state legislation to advance. Staff will work on that issue with the development team, the council’s ad hoc committee and additional involved parties, according to the council’s decision.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Natomas public safety activist runs for City Council

2010-03-16T05:26:04Z

Angelique Ashby is a Natomas neighborhood activist who views public safety as the city's top priority. Ashby, who is running for Sacramento City Council, has the support of two major local public safety unions: the Sacramento Police Officers Association and Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522.

The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June election.

Ashby is running for City Council in District 1, which is now represented by Councilman Ray Tretheway. The district includes the neighborhoods of North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat.

The 20-year Sacramento resident is a partner in a consulting firm that contracts with businesses and government agencies. She said she has worked on programs involving at-risk youth and parolees.

Ashby, 34, is also president of the Creekside Neighborhood Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and a law degree from McGeorge School of Law.

If elected to the City Council, her key focus would be on public safety, which she described as an obligation. In her view, public safety encompasses flood and fire protection and police work.

Among other goals, she said she wants to help the City Council members communicate with each other.

Quality-of-life issues are important to Ashby. “The way I think that you address quality-of-life issues is that you listen,” she said. “You listen to what it is that people want.”

Another priority of Ashby’s would be the local economy. “We have got to bring jobs to Sacramento,” she said.

Ashby said she successfully directed the push for a Natomas community policing center — the Natomas Police and Community Resource Center was created in 2008. Ashby notes that she worked on plans to start the center without a budget. Land was donated for the center, which is operated by a group of more than 60 volunteers, she said.

The items in the center are also donated, she said, with the exception of phone and Internet.

“Those types of outside-of-the-box thinking, they ... release some pressure on having to come up with dollars in a budget that doesn’t have room, or having to create a new tax for something,” Ashby said. “Sometimes, you can just work a little harder, build a few more relationships and come up with some solid solutions.”

She also ran a drive to apply fees from developers toward a new fire station in Natomas, she said. Construction for he station, which will be located west of Interstate 5, will kick off in April, according to Ashby’s website.

In response to a question from The Sacramento Press, Ashby said she is receiving advice from political communications consultant Steve Maviglio on a volunteer basis.

Maviglio volunteers for Mayor Kevin Johnson on political issues, such as Johnson’s campaign for a strong mayor form of government. The Sacramento Press asked Ashby if she would be an ally of Johnson’s if she were elected to the City Council. “First of all, and very importantly, I consider myself to be an ally of every member of the council, including the mayor,” she said. “What they think of me is up to them. But why would anyone want to elect a person who doesn’t want to work with the city mayor? If it was Heather Fargo, my answer would be the same.”

Of the three candidates for the District 1 seat, Ashby is second to Tretheway in campaign fundraising. Tretheway took in $79,278 for his campaign last year, according to campaign statements.

Campaign statements show that Ashby raised $26,452 last year. Candidate Efren Guttierrez said earlier this month that he has raised about $2,000 for his campaign.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Forward. Finally.

2010-03-12T03:09:51Z

Sacramentans should be enjoying a sigh of relief today, and a swell of pride. After months, years, even a decade of back and forth, conflict and aimlessness, there is finally some movement forward on a sports and entertainment complex.

Yes, forward. Thursday morning's decision by the Sacramento First Task Force to recommend - if just recommend - the complicated but far-reaching "land swap" proposed by Gerry Kamilos' and David Taylor's organizations, and supported by the NBA and other crucial organizations, means that we are moving forward. Finally.

There will be a lot of arguing about this for some time. As an assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is to be praised for making progress on this a hallmark of his administration, put it, "This was the easy part." But the fact is, it hasn't been easy even to get to this point.

That we have gotten to this point is something to be celebrated.

Passions run particularly high about this subject, and there are a lot of very certain, very loud opinions about it. But at least now we have a well-considered opinion from a group of smart, well-meaning, experienced people, including task force co-chairs Lina Fat and Chris Lehane, about the best way forward.

Because no matter what you might think of the deal that would redevelop the Cal Expo grounds, build a new state fairgrounds in Natomas and place a new arena and intermodal transportation hub at the heart of a redeveloped downtown railyard, at least it does this:

It moves us forward.

Those who want other options, be they rival developers or Sacramento's well-established NIMBY crowd, will still have ample chance to weigh in, as members of the City Council did Thursday morning. There will be much jockeying and lobbying, and that's to be expected, even desired. That's how we do it.

There are many moving parts to this, sources of funding still to be identified, political agendas to be filled, and business and neighborhood interests to be resolved. At one point it was noted that this process could consume local government and businesses for the next two decades.

But that's good. That process, as tortuous as it will likely be, will create a lot of jobs, and at the end, we will have a much-improved city, with amenities we can only dream about right now.

And it could begin as soon as next Tuesday, when city staff brings the City Council its first report on the possibilities for financing, and in April, when some sort of timetable could be brought before the council.

The dream is legitimate. As a lifelong Sacramentan, downtown homeowner and resident, and frequent visitor to the current (and previous) ARCO arenas, I have not had a particularly strong opinion about where to put the new arena. I have, however, long been convinced that we DO need a new facility - and I say that as someone who has been to four Kings games in 15 years.

But as I've studied the issue, it has become clear to me, as it has to nearly everyone who watches these things, and as it was to the Task Force, that an arena needs to be downtown. Putting the arena in the suburbs would only continue to spread Sacramento out over more farmland and vernal pools and hillsides, put more people in more cars for more hours, and, worst of all, diffuse our vital cultural and commercial center just when it is finally, after decades of struggle, being established in downtown/Midtown.

As has been pointed out many times before, of the more than a dozen new arenas that have been built in the last decade, few have been built in suburban locations. That was what we did in the '70s, and like many of the urban choices made then, it was a mistake. As anyone who leaves our town can see, the placement of ATT Park in downtown San Francisco and of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has brought new life to those areas. Big, bustling, boisterous new life. Not to mention jobs and lower crime.

Now, some central city residents don't necessarily want new life in their neighborhoods. Sacramento's downtown and midtown have been quiet, nearly-suburban enclaves for so long that people have forgotten that they are, in fact, the urban core of our city. The mix of uses, particularly in Midtown, has led to some problems.

And the fact is, none of us really knows how this will affect us. I've heard dire warnings about traffic, about drunks, about noise, about air pollution, about raised taxes, and about what is essentially fear of what "those people" - sports fans, suburbanites, people with money to spend, people in cars, what-have-you - will bring to downtown.

But as Mayor Johnson has said many times, the time is now. Time is not on our side. And the future beckons: A new transportation center at the railyards will be the greenest step this city has ever taken, and increased density will stand us in good stead into the new century. A new state fair grounds in Natomas could be a showpiece for the entire state that would draw many more visitors here, and could be built in a greener, more sustainable manner than the lumbering old Cal Expo site. And having a whole new city on the old Cal Expo grounds would be greener and give more people the opportunity to live closer to downtown. To their work. To entertainment. To transportation.

To a vital new Sacramento that could finally take its rightful place as the last great undiscovered urban center of the western United States, a crossroads of north and south and east and west.

All of the details will be worked out over the next few years, as we move forward. Mistakes will be made, there will be setbacks, and arguments, and battles and wasted money. There may be a few new taxes, though that isn't going to fly in the current environment. As the mayor's assistant said, what happened today was the easy part.

But it was not easy getting even here. It took a lot of hard work, and thought, and thousands of hours of volunteer time, and negotiations. And because of that work, today, for the members of the Sacramento First Task Force, and the developers and local visionaries who pushed for this to happen, and above all to a mayor who has made progress his hallmark, was a great day.

So, this is a time to pause and take pride in our city for embracing new possibilities, even though we don't necessarily know where they will lead us. It is a proud moment, and we should savor it over the weekend.

And next week, we move. Forward.

Freestyle Supercoss hits ARCO Arena

2010-02-16T08:28:01Z

Freestyle Motocross (FMX) is acrobatics meets NASCAR as riders fly 50 feet in the air on 250 pound motorcycles while performing gravity slashing tricks such as backflips and Hart Attacks!! Gravity Slashers hit ARCO Arena.
Sacramento California
February 16, 2010

Thrills and chills is an understatement when you are referring to the event taking place at ARCO Arena this Friday and Saturday night. The Freestyle Supercross Motorcycle event comes to the arena with some of the hottest superstars in the industry. Per event promoters, the riders will converge at ARCO Arena to battle head-to-head for the top spot on the podium. The regular home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings will be transformed into a freestyle motocross playground complete with two different jumps, each measuring more than 65 feet in distance! The riders have only 45 feet to build up enough speed before hitting the ramp and propelling themselves close to 50 feet up in the air. And if that isn’t enough of a challenge, the riders will be judged on the execution of acrobatic tricks such as backflips, Hart Attacks, Cliffhangers, Tsunamis and Sterilzers, just to name a few.

You can look forward to seeing Brody Wilson (Templeton, Mass.), Derek Burlew (Cliffwood Beach, N.J.), Drake McElroy (Fernley, Nev.), Dustin Nowak (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Greg Hartman (Greencastle, Pa.), Julian Dusseau (Humbolt County, Calif.), Keith Sayers (Butte, Mont.), Nick Dunne (Redding, Calif.), and Rich Kearns (Prospect, Conn.)

I caught up with Greg Hartman today, via phone, as he was taking a stroll on Vinice Beach for a Southern Cali visit en route to Arco Arena. I had the opportunity to get to know a bit about Greg, his love for motorcycles and some of his background, and discovered a great guy.
Greg was born, raised and presently resides in Greencastle, Pensylvania. Greg has been riding motorcycles since he was five years old, in fact, the whole family rides including grandparents, cousins, etc. At the age of eleven, Greg was able to go to nationals and saw Jeremy McGrath in action. From the time Greg saw McGrath, he knew what he wanted to do.

When asked if he had any superstitions or pre-event rituals, he stated “Thank the Lord and pray for protection!” Greg sated that his faith in God is paramount in his life.

Introduced to golf a few years ago, Greg finds himself unwinding on the links and loves it. While he states he’s not a hard core golfer, it’s his favorite pass time and get’s to golf free at his local course.

Greg states that his biggest accomplishment is his gold medal at the 2007 X Games in Dubai: Obviously, this was a hallmark moment for Greg. He’s also won silver. Greg had planned to go to nationals in 2008, but those hopes were dashed when Greg sustained a major injury. As a result of the injury, Greg lost a significant amount of memory and suffered other complications. Though he didn’t remember her during this time, Greg’s wife supported and stuck with him through this challenging time. Greg stated that God and his wife is why he got through it. When Greg’s memory returned some time later, his passion for the sport returned as well. Greg has his sights set on nationals in Los Angeles and presses on with his wife and family’s full support.

Come out Friday and Saturday and cheer on Greg and his rivals as they take to the air in a motorcycle air ballet you’ll not soon forget.

photos provide by Next Level Sports Management

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Civil rights activist Efren Guttierrez declares candidacy for Sacramento City Council, slams ‘special interests’ that dominate city hall; Says his special interest will be 'people'

2010-02-09T23:04:04Z

SACRAMENTO – Declaring “my only special interests are people,”
civil rights activist Efren Guttierrez today (Feb. 9) officially
announced his candidacy for Sacramento City Council, District 1 –
and he didn’t’ waste anytime slamming big special interest money
that dominates local campaign races.

“I will only have one special interest: The People. I will not
accept contributions from large developers and similar special
interests because ‘It’s About Time’ the grip of those special
interests on the city is broken,” pledged Guttierrez, 54, a local
real estate broker and community activist as he stood outside
Sacramento City Hall with dozens of supporters.

Guttierrez is the executive director of Chicano Consortium, and
president of the La Raza Sacramento Chapter. He’s also on CORE’s
steering committee and a member of a large number of social
justice groups, including the Dept. of Justice Hate Crime Task
Force, Latino Congreso, Sacramento Mentor Program and Rescue &
Restore Coalition (anti-human trafficking), among many others listed.

Guttierrez, who held his event at a City Hall memorial of former
Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna, repeatedly used his theme “It’s About
Time,” referring to the 11 years since a Latino has been on the
Sacramento City Council. More than 22 percent of Sacramento’s
population is Latino, and it’s nearly about 27 percent in
District 1 – largely in the Natomas area.

Guttierrez said one of his goals is to “stop lining the pockets
of the wealthy and super wealthy who get special favors (from the
City). The time of sweetheart deals from the city to these
companies is over. I wan to generate not just any jobs, but
living wage jobs,” he said.

“We also need to focus on the kids…(and) provide them with an
education not just from books, but how to survive in their
community, and on this planet. We need to teach life skills,”
Guttierrez said. He also said he hopes to launch an effort to
help people in the city with soaring health care costs. “This is
everyone’s problem,” he said.

Guttierrez acknowledged that his campaign will not have large
campaign coffers because of his refusal to accept corporate
special interest money. But, he said, his “people” campaign will
be “fueled” by social justice organizations and volunteers.

“I will have the aid…of those who truly care about others more
than their own bottom line. The people have been down too long
and fooled too often by politicians. But I am not a politician.
This campaign will be about people,” he said.

More information can be found at www.EfrenGcitycouncil.org.

Investigation: 'Potential quid pro quo' in city department

2010-01-26T06:40:11Z

An investigation into the city’s development department has brought to light several new issues, including “potential quid pro quo,” according to a new report from the offices of the city attorney and city manager.

The city attorney’s office and Renee Sloan Holtzman Sakai, a third-party law firm, have been working together on an investigation into the development department’s approval of 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone.

The offices of the city manager and the city attorney acknowledge in a recent report that the city broke federal rules by authorizing the permits.

The report lists new issues in the building division of the department such as “potential quid pro quo,” “demolition without CEQA review,” “non-compliance with city’s planning requirements” and “non-compliance with fee-deferral program.”

The report will go before the City Council Tuesday. The City Council could decide Tuesday that its audit committee should address the new issues. Councilmembers Ray Tretheway, Lauren Hammond, Steve Cohn and Robbie Waters sit on the audit committee.

In November, City Attorney Eileen Teichert said that “additional issues” surfaced when investigators were examining the Natomas permits. She also said that one of the additional issues was the Facilities Permit Program, a city permitting program, but she declined to talk about other concerns.

Read the report from the offices of the city attorney and the city manager here.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Chamber Kicks Off 'Keep Arena In Natomas' Campaign

2010-01-17T17:11:20Z

City councilman Ray Tretheway, District One, takes the podium Saturday at a press conference held by the Natomas Chamber of Commerce to launch its "Keep the Arena In Natomas" campaign.

The Chamber has gone on record criticizing the NBA and Maloof family for endorsing a complex land swap proposal that would move the arena to the railyards downtoan and the state fairgrounds to Natomas. The Chamber backs a proposal to build a new sports and entertainment complex on 100-acres adjacent to the existing site.

Says Natomas business owner and chamber board member Marni Leger, "We don't want the door to be shut just because the NBA has annointed one proposal."

Photo by LARRY RODDA/PhreePhotography.COM

Keep The Arena In Natomas Pictures

2010-01-17T16:58:19Z

Just pictures.

Natomas Chamber Campaigns To Keep Arena In Natomas

2010-01-16T01:57:57Z

The Natomas Chamber of Commerce today criticized the NBA and Maloofs for backing an arena plan weeks before the Sacramento First task force is scheduled to make its recommendations to Mayor Kevin Johnson and the public.

In a statment released today, chamber officials announced plans to launch a "Keep The Arena In Natomas" campaign during a press conference set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Five Star Way and Del Paso Road. The chamber is a partner in the Natomas ESC group which presented a proposal at City Hall yesterday for an arena and entertainment complex on 100 city-owned acres located north of Arco Arena.

"Natomas needs representation in the discussion about where a new sports complex should be located," said Marni Leger, a chamber board member and "Keep the Arena in Natomas" campaign chairperson.

Chamber officials said they were disappointed in the NBA and Maloofs who yesterday announced support for a plan that would involve complex land swaps and relocating the State fairgrounds onto the current arena site in Natomas. The 12-person Sacramento First task force has yet to fully review all seven proposals put forth by developers and is not scheduled to make a recommendation until March 11.

Said Leger, "In tight times, the more economical proposal to build a new arena in Natomas should be considered."

Mayor wants federal ban on Natomas development lifted

2009-12-30T05:12:24Z

The city needs to make headway on flood protection efforts in order for the federal government to lift a moratorium on building in Natomas, Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency banned development in Natomas in 2008 because of the threat of flooding. Johnson said at his weekly press conference that flood protection will be one of his priorities in 2010.

“We have to make progress so that (FEMA) will lift the moratorium,” Johnson said.

New building in Natomas would generate dollars for the city’s general fund, he said.

“If we want to grow revenue, we’ve got to find ways to have more economic development opportunities,” he said.

Still, he noted that the city should “diversify” because it relies too heavily on jobs in the public sector and the real estate industry. He indicated that he may create an environmental initiative to provide more "green jobs" that could play a role in the city’s economy.

Natomas development and FEMA rules have been a key issue for the city in recent weeks.

Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, a third-party law firm, and the city are investigating the Community Development Department’s approval this year of 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone. In a Dec. 15 letter to FEMA, City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office noted that the city’s approval of the permits broke federal rules.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Tough economy makes for some creative home living in Sacramento

2009-12-24T07:09:40Z

When Land Park resident Ken Parks was first strolling through the listing of available places he wanted to rent, he thought “wow, newly built, upscale neighborhood, pool, gym, great price, quiet home away from home living, what more could a guy ask”. However the listing that Parks was searching through wasn’t your typical rental listing in the apartment or home market, it was a room space being rented by a homeowner out of her Natomas condo complex. Parks, a 34 year-old state employee represents a growing number of people within Sacramento County and around the country that have taken to calling someone else’s home their home with room space renting or sub-leasing housing. It is not a totally new concept, nor will it send traditional landlords out of business, yet it is a trend that realtor analysts say is growing during these crunching economic times. For some people they are trying to find some creative ways to save money and rather than simply moving back home with parents, as many adults are doing in the boomerang generation, they are taking the route of renting space from other professionals and family-oriented homeowners with a room to rent. They are doing it in areas from downtown Sacramento to Natomas, from Roseville to Folsom, from Davis to Elk Grove and areas beyond.

Sacramento like most of the nation had been hit hard by slow home sales and increasing foreclosures in the sagging housing market over the past few years. Recognizing one side of that ineffectuality President Obama opened up the government’s checkbook in his first year in office by using the people’s money with his home buying stimulus package as our country was headed toward its worst annual number of homes sold in decades. According to the California Association of Realtors November home sales report, in Sacramento the area had the largest statewide decrease of prior year sales at -16.5 percent. Overall for the state the number of homes sold has been solid with a 4.5 percent increase for the month of November, still this has not offset the number of vacant rental properties in the region. Until then the carryover meant people had to make to some hard choices with limited options in their standard of living, and some took to renting rooms out of existing homes in order to raise some instant cash.

Despite some enticements to get people interested in buying homes or condo’s, the loss of homes due to foreclosures, financial windfalls, and an unstable job market has forced many into renting rooms from others as an economic savings alternative. This has led to a decrease in new apartment leasing where rental prices for the county have spiked over the last 5 years. Within Sacramento the average 1 bedroom goes for $741.00 while the average 2 bedroom goes for $881.00. In some areas, realtors and property managers are taking notice to where their potential new and existing residents are going and now joining the fray by offering occupancy packages of lease to own, gifts for first-time buyers, more flexible sub-lease options, split month and automated deduction payments, and other discounts and incentives to help fill spaces of vacant apartments and houses sitting in beautiful suburban cul-del-sac neighborhoods. “With the number of people losing jobs, and the foreclosure market, we try to balance our services to help both the renter and landlord meet their needs”, says Ted White of Sacramento Delta, a property management company which specializes in listing available apartments and homes for rent.

One frequent search point for many would be room dwellers is Craigslist, as the popular community friendly site has an entrée of apartment, home, shared room, condo, and other listings, and it’s a list that keeps growing. Roommates.com another popular site boasts being the largest roommate matching service in the nation. White thinks businesses like his that serve as the go between of the landlord and renter do add value,” In order to better service our clients we have to utilize these tools (Craigslist) and yet we can pre- screen applicants for landlords thus making the process that much easier”.

In settings where these types of new living situations are working they offer a host of new relationships. Relationships that get formed with the social media circuit becoming as an ever popular way of communicating, and its not just students that are taking up these offers. Twenty or thirty years ago in the pre-Internet age people would use local newspapers or supermarket bulletin boards to post or find a room or apartment for rent. Today, people can not only search for rooms online but search with many specifications that makes it easier to find someone with similar tastes and compatible interests. Social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others have helped turn the cultural tide from the impersonal to personal. All of this buzz about room renting often makes it much easier for people to connect. It is common to find a bunch of college students of three, four, or five all living in a rented out house or condo. It makes for inexpensive luxury living on the cheap. A lot of what it takes to make such arrangements work is more than finding your next housemate simply because there is space available but connecting with people who you share other activities and interests with. This is why a lot of effort should go into any decision before making the plunge to rent from someone just because the price is a bargaining or you need someone to move in your apartment before you get evicted for lack of payment. While there is often less haggle over the normative of credit checks, criminal history, income verifications, move in deposits, or past rental history inquiries it seems the two most important things required are being respectful to each others space and pay your rental bill on time.

Unlike the rich and famous who often will rent out cottages in Martha’s Vineyard, the average Joe and Jane American are finding that renting room space can be a win-win for both parties. From college students to single professionals to church going families as long as there is a room available in a house or apartment going unused and some willingness to make some extra cash than expect this sub-leasing trend to continue. People are no longer embarrassed as they once were by the fact that they can rent room space from someone else. The layers of the taboo or stigma of being an inhabitant, house sitter, or transient is no more. Everyone is feeling the brunt of the economy and what better way to get some relief than rent that room out which was unused or was kept for storage or office space. Empty nesters, a term often referred to describe parents of grown children that have left home, will use what was once little Johnny’s or Sarah’s room as a new rental opportunity. Sometimes it even surprises the grown children that their parents are now renting out the room that they grew up in. For those that do move back home, they will sometimes find a rent bill attached to their room door as well, and makes for smart responsibility on the part of the elder parents. Most family advice counselors recommend that set boundaries when the children return and charging rent is a good way of ensuring the returning children that they won’t be able to freeload their way through these tough times. The idea is that it will make the children more accountable and understand that if they were staying somewhere else they would have to pay rent.

However the problems aren’t just older adult children returning home for free room and board, but many working adults have been out priced for housing and can’t afford to stay in a standard of living they were once accustomed to 5-10 years ago. All and all this seems like one creative housing trend that maybe here to stay until the economy gets back on its feet.

HPI Chronicles: A Haunting in Natomas

2009-09-26T17:20:51Z

September 25, 2009, Friday: Tonight we have an investigation in Natomas. Natomas is a suburb of Sacramento. The home we are investigating is a beautiful 2 story home that is about 7 years old. Jinnae Esteves is the primary occupant of the home. Her daughter Jasmine has witnessed all kinds of paranormal activity in this home. Here is a run down of what Jasmine has witnessed or experienced:

1. She has felt things crawling up her legs.
2. Something has grabbed her arms.
3. An entity grabbed Jasmine’s head and pushed it into the pillow and for a few seconds, she had a hard time breathing.
4. Jasmine has been pushed.
5. Jasmine’s brother has witnessed the cabinet doors opening and closing.
6. Sometimes something pinches Jasmine’s arms.
7. The entity has whispered Jasmine’s name.

To see pictures of this investigation, go here:
http://s643.photobucket.com/albums/uu157/PaulDaleRoberts_2009/Natomas/

I believe tonight, will be a very interesting investigation. Paranormal Investigators present are: Lead Investigator: Paul Dale Roberts; Hana, Renee Fontana/Michelle Fontana aka the Border Girls; Connie Brenner; Lynn Combs; Julie Lemos, Donna Jackson and Eileen VerHulst. Connie, Lynn, Donna & Eileen are HPI Investigators, but they also have their own ghosthunting group in Modesto called EVP (En-Vision Paranormal).

Equipment being used: Toshiba laptop, ghost radar, digital audio recorders, digital cameras, EMF readers, temperature gauges, K2 readers.

Something unusual happened when I walked into this home. I was going to do a blessing and my Catholic holy water containment bottle vanished. I placed it on the kitchen table and in just 2 minutes, I turn around and it was gone. I have no explanation for this, but things in this home have turned up missing and then they reappear.

With my interview of Jinnae, she tells me that her great uncle actually died in this house. Jinnae has certain items in the house that once belonged to deceased family members. Jinnae’s great uncle’s ashes are in her room. Jinnae has not witnessed paranormal activity in the house, but has heard creaking noises late at night. Jinnae’s mother has witnessed the electrical toothbrush going off and on by itself.

On this night we are having 45 minute investigative sessions with a briefing of our findings after each investigation. The first briefing we discovered that we may have an EVP that says ‘okay’. This EVP was captured on the 2nd floor bedroom. Julie Lemos took a picture of a picture of the family's late uncle Billy and on his chest, it appears that his face is imprinted on his chest area. A second photo was taken and this anomaly does not appear. We are getting orb pictures throughout the home. So far, nothing real substantial. I am writing this article during real time, so let’s see what happens after the second investigative session.

The 2nd session briefing I discover that Renee felt a tug on her pants. Julie detected a cold spot. Julie takes another picture of a picture of the late uncle Billy and gets an anomaly that looks like Billy’s face on the left hand side of his shoulder. We have a couple questionable EVPs that need to be fully analyzed later.

After two investigative sessions, we ended it by having the Border Girls conducting an Native American cleansing with burning sage. Everyone held hands around the circle while the Border Girls went into different rooms expelling any negative entities that could be residing in the home. The cleansing is a Choctaw Nation cleansing. The Border Girls are Choctaw.

Some possibilities that could be causing this haunting are:
1. Jasmine could be projecting poltergeist energy.
2. The land could be haunted. There are street signs with Indian tribe names. Perhaps the developers were aware of the Indian tribes that once inhabited this land.
3. Psychometry of items in the home that once belonged to deceased family members.
4. The family member that died in this home and if he still resides in this home, a portal could have opened allowing other entities to enter this home.
FINDINGS:
Possible EVPs, some anomalies on our photographs that need to be analyzed further and make sure it's not a type of matrixing.
CONCLUSION:
To be honest with you, I know I am not losing my mind when I said I placed the holy water containment bottle on the kitchen table and I merely turn my back for 2 minutes and look back and the bottle is gone. There was no one near or around the kitchen table. I am baffled. I started having self doubts, but I distinctly remember placing the bottle in my pocket and placing it on the table. Is this home haunted. I believe there is something odd going on in this home. This home warrants further investigation.
Below are updates for HPI and HPI Paranormal News!

Pictures of Truckee Scouting Mission, created by the Sierra Sun
http://sierrasun.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=842095&CategoryID=18263&ListSubAlbums=0

See what the Sierra Sun says about Truckee Scouting Mission:
http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20090921/COMMUNITY/909219990/1051

Follow-up from Shannon McCabe on Truckee Scouting Mission:

Truckee Hotel: Shannon McCabe
The Truckee Hotel is an awesome place to stay and hunt ghosts. I loved my room- 216 and Tim and Carol
enjoyed theirs as well. We want to send out a very BIG Thank you to the manager of the hotel Tim. He treated us
like rockstars! It was a wonderful time. We even enjoyed a FREE continental breakfast! Thank you to Tim and
your staff!!!

Moody's Bistro- Thank you to GianCarlo and the staff, excellent food and a wonderful dining experience!

More FINDINGS from Shannon:
From Shannon: "I was walking up the stair case from the 3rd floor to the 4th floor to check on the investigators
and as I stepped up the step I heard "HI" in my ear. I thought, I must just be tired there is no way I heard that.
Then I got to the top of the staircase and heard it again. This time I was positive. Just then Julie Lemos came
and said, the group just got some great EVP's you must go listen and she lead me to where the investigators
were in room 418. The EVP's were very clear. As I left the room to go back to my room, Chantal and Tammy
approach me and I tell them my experience with the "Hi" they tell me that this is where a man broke his neck on
the low hanging celling and died during a fire. Hum...

In the seance- we utilized a Frank Box and got the entity to say, Paul, Shannon and a few other things. We
also had very good responses via the dowsing rods that Renee & Tim were using. They continued to get the
same answers sitting across from each other. We also asked for a "sign" and our "spooky" sign that was sitting
on our table flew off onto the floor. I know I did not knock the table. We also had some fluctuations on the K-2
meter that could have been an entity trying to make contact. We did not get any strange anomalies on film so
we would call the seance inconclusive. "

Renee Martine - Psychic
Our very own Renee Martine has her own website and is available for readings! Check out her website here:
http://sacredheartcore.net/Events.html

Shannon McCabe and Paul Dale Roberts Speak at the Historical Anomaly Society!

September 23, 2009, Wednesday: Tom Presler - President of the Historical Anomaly Society invited Shannon and I to Pizza World at 651 North Cherokee Lane, Lodi, CA to talk about the upcoming HPI Vampire Halloween Ball; Skinwalker Ranch, Military Intelligence and the Connection to UFOs, Demonology, Our Investigations, Rolda.org, Truckee Hotel Scouting Mission, Citrus Heights Case, Mayan Prophesy of 2012, Sumerian Clay Tablets. I think we talked for about 3 hours, it was a fun group! Group Spirit of Stockton was there. Group Spirit investigates hauntings. Some of the people we got to meet were: Tim Green, Mya Temple, Frank Pesco, Ed Kenkel Jr, Maria Talamantes, Sandra Alexander, Susan Boyd, Richard Askins and Ryan Estrada. Curt and Susan Daniger won the 2009 HPI Halloween Vampire Ball tickets! To see pictures of this event go here:
http://s643.photobucket.com/albums/uu157/PaulDaleRoberts_2009/HistoricalAnomalySociety/

Paul Dale Roberts, HPI General Manager, Paranormal Investigator & Ghostwriter
Shannon McCabe's HPI
Haunted and Paranormal Investigations International
www.HPIparanormal.net
Sacramento Press Paranormal:
http://www.sacramentopress.com/tag/paranormal
Paul on Wikipedia, click link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Dale_Roberts
www.jazmaonline.com
Paul's Lair/HPI Halloween Vampire Ball is now found at: www.shannonmccabe.com
WPRT Paranormal Radio - Content Editor
Order Now! Brad Steiger’s Real Vampires, Night Stalkers, and Creatures from the Darkside!
Email: Pauld5606@comcast.net
Paranormal Cellular Hotline: 916 203 7503 (for comments on this
story).

If you have a possible investigation call: 1-888-709-4HPI

Monarchs BasketballCrawl

2009-09-03T02:54:18Z

The GrubCrawl and the Sacramento Monarchs

- together at last-

Collaborate to Present the Monarchs Basketball Crawl

@ Arco Arena Sunday September 13th @ 3:00 pm

Register now at Grubcrawlusa.com - and for only $30 - receive admission to the Monarchs GrubCrawl at the regular ticket price + the last game of the season:The Monarchs vs. the Minnesota Lynx - included at no extra charge!

Plan to come hungry!

For 3 hours, we rotate through appetizer stations at three of Natomas area's premire restaraunts, sampling a symphony of Sac’s scrumptious snacks and tasty tidbits!

Get off of the couch or come directly from church, the mall, the golf course....whatever you do on a Sunday, and get your Grub on!!!

Simply park in the spacious lot near Logans Roadhouse, (NO NEED to PAY $10.00 at ArcoArena for PARKING!) Get there three hours prior to the 6:00 pm game time and follow along as we "Tip off" @ Logans Roadhouse, then "travel" cross the lot to Chris Webber's CenterCourt, and next "Slam Dunk" at Carino's Italian Restaurante on our "Three-point" Crawl featuring Delicious Free Appetizers, Fabulous Drink Specials, Prizes and Givaways at each spot. Then board our Luxurious DeLux LimoBus for VIP transport to/from Arco Arena to watch the Sacramento Monarchs take on the Minnesota Lynx in this exciting season finale. Come down onto the court after the game for a "Meet & Greet" and special player appearences by our hometown favorites. Finally, jump back on the limo, where you will be chauffered back to Webber's Center Court Restaurant for the "Un-Official" Afterparty .

All the Food, Fun, and Fan Appreciation for only $30 (this includes the GrubCrawl, admission and Limo transpo to & from the Game, Plus [for those who can hang] entrance to the VIP Afterspot!) Register Now!

Call for your Reserve Tickets @ (916) 730-0977 or visit GrubCrawlusa.com Now!

Editor's Note: Cline Moore is the founder of Sacramento's GrubCrawl

Intoxicated man crashes into front of Natomas home with Subaru

2009-04-28T09:23:15Z

Natomas Creek residents were startled by the sound of a car crashing into the driveway of their neighbors’ house just before midnight last night.

The driver, a middle-aged male, stepped out of his light blue Subaru Impreza unharmed. The family inside—renters of the home—was not injured either. The young couple was with their two-week old firstborn baby in their bedroom on the opposite side of the house when the impact occurred.

The vehicle collided into one of the supporting pillars at the front of the house.

The driver allegedly told witnesses that his wife just left him, and that he had only consumed a few drinks.

Fire trucks and police arrived to the scene shortly after the incident. The vehicle was towed away, and the driver was escorted from the scene by police.

More details of this story to be reported.