Rick D. Redding, born and raised in Sacramento, a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Desert Storm/Shield and a Public School Educator/Football coach, declared his candidacy for nomination as a Republican candidate for State Assembly (9th District). This district includes most of the city of Sacramento. The primary election is on June 8 and the general election in November.   Rick stated that, as a public school educator serving in the Assembly, he will work to ensure that every child has equal access to educational opportunities and that each student graduates from high school. As our Assemblyman, Rick said one of his goals is to expand job training opportunities for the unemployed a

They walked out onto the stage at the gym at Genevieve Didion Elementary, each wearing suits and ties. They weren’t clammed up, having talked to various people in the crowd prior to taking the stage. Each of them was familiar with the neighborhood, and had a desire to represent it. Current City Councilmember Robbie Watters, retired Sacramento Police Captain Darrell Fong, and Sacramento State professor Ryan Chin all participated in Thursday night’s Sacramento City Council 7th District Candidate Forum, organized by the Didion-Lewis Park Recreation Center Committee. And once they took their seats, none of them could escape responding to questions about the Strong Mayor Initiative, acrimony a

Sacramento seniors facing economic hardship will have one less place to relax and meet friends. Catholic Charities of Sacramento, Inc., has closed down its Cathedral Neighborhood Senior Center downtown because of a funding shortage, said Beth White, associate director of the nonprofit organization. The center, which is located at 711 J St., had provided a social atmosphere for seniors since 1975, according to White. It shut down March 1. Elderly residents of single-resident-occupancy motels as well as homeless seniors would gather at the center, White said. They would watch television or enjoy a coffee, she said. For example, a group of seniors would come to the center in the morning b

RED CROSS DAY AT THE CAPITOL In honor of March being Red Cross Month, representatives from the American Red Cross offered free workshops to Capitol workers on how to "Be Red Cross Ready". Disasters strike at any time and without warning - so it's important to learn how you can prepare your workplace or home for any disaster. Displays of various Red Cross services, including Pet First Aid, Wilderness Training and CPR and AED training were located on the west steps of the Capitol. Abigail Capano, a Red Cross volunteer, demonstrated how to perform CPR on a dog, using a stuffed toy animal.   In addition, several disaster response vehicles were parked along 10th Street and available to

The Sacramento Press wants your neighborhood-related questions for Interim City Manager Gus Vina, the city’s highest-ranking official. What issues or concerns do you have about your neighborhood? What do you think the city government should do to improve your neighborhood? Write your questions in the comments section at the bottom of this article. Questions for Vina can also be e-mailed to kathleen@sacramentopress.com. The Sacramento Press will choose several questions from community members for Vina to answer. Vina was chosen as interim city manager by Mayor Kevin Johnson and the eight City Council members and will serve for nine to 12 months. He replaced Ray Kerridge, who resigned fr

The fourth annual Green California Summit and Exhibition wrapped up today at the Sacramento Convention Center, giving attendees a look at new green technology that provided a glimpse into what the world could look like in the near future. The summit featured keynote presentations from four speakers: 15-year-old Alec Loorz, founder of Kids vs. Global Warming; Noel Perry, Next 10 founder; David Roland-Holst, director of the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability; and Fran Pavley, the state senator who authored Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The summit also offered classes on green building codes, new media

One Wednesday every month, if you drive down J Street, you will see hundreds of people lined up outside of Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. New Americans born all around the world are waiting to celebrate one of the proudest days of their lives. Once inside, these patriots will take their oaths and be sworn in as new citizens of our great country. If you look closely, you will also see a number of folks going through the line, carrying clipboards. These hardworking volunteers are helping the new citizens register to vote, so that they can fulfill one of their core civic responsibilities. Engaged citizens taking part in the process, helping to elect our leaders and making decisions on impor

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’ t

 "A university town is only as strong as its independent bookstores.  They assist in the exchange of intellectual thoughts." - Kim Tanzer                 "The independent bookstore - you know we're almost dinosaurs." - Carl Kroch                It was a beautiful morning.  My girlfriend Jess and I decided to take a bike ride around the neighborhood.  We didn't have any particular place to go, so we went down to Butch and Nellie's, our local coffee shop, to grab a cup of joe and discuss the nature of our ride.  My first thought was the California Railroad Museum, but the little woman wasn't feeling that.  Thus ended the charade that our ultimate destination would be anything besides lunc

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn is predicting deep budget cuts to local parks this year in light of the city’s $35 million-$40 million budget gap for the 2010/2011 fiscal year. Cohn’s worries about new cuts come after the city cut the Parks and Recreation Department by $8.3 million last year. “I fear that the cutbacks in parks will actually be more severe this year,” Cohn told a handful of neighborhood leaders gathered at Hart Senior Center Monday night. Cohn, who presented information about his district at the Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting, said the city may look for ways to work with neighborhoods and the business community to maintain the parks. “As we all know, most of