The term NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) has become a common pejorative, used most often to depict people who oppose development that they believe degrades the quality of neighborhood life. NIMBYS live in a variety of older houses on generally quiet streets. DIMBYS, (Development In My Back Yard) on the other hand, scorn NIMBYS, and yearn for new, spacious dwellings with warehouse-sized garages to park their Land Rovers. They long to buy into new developments containing expansive houses with much ballyhooed “modern amenities.” The proposed McKinley Village project has fired up both groups. NIMBYS in East Sac and Midtown dread the traffic assault that will overwhelm them if developers blast thr

A disappointing week Maybe it’s just me but I’ve had a disappointing week at the movies – probably not helped by wishful thinking if not actually especially high expectations. And the near future isn’t looking any better, but more on that next week. This week’s major releases include a comedy starring people whose work I’ve generally liked, until now, and a thriller against a backdrop of prescription drug use from a director I normally appreciate far more than this.   Identity Thief Directed by Seth Gordon The idea of a comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy appeals to me – before you could even tell me a subject matter or a premise, that idea would pique my interest. And t

TGIF, am I right? Fingers crossed as the 49ers take on the Falcons this Saturday, and don’t forget that BaconFest starts on Sunday. Whether you prefer pigskin or pork fat, take a minute before heading out for the weekend to make sure you didn’t miss anything this week on The Sacramento Press. Community Contribution: 5. Outside the Cage: Max 'Pain' Griffin by Ahsan Awan Ahsan Awan offered a preview of what’s in store at this year’s West Coast Fighting Championship that included an interview with local fighter Max “Pain” Griffin. 4. The state of medical cannabis in the city of Sacramento by Ron Mullins First-time contributor Ron Mullins tracked the history of our state and city’s relati

First in an occasional series: STREET SENSE -- Driving new thinking on transportation and community. May someone who's bicycled more than 8,000 collision-free trips in Sacramento over the past 20 years offer a few observations on downtown’s new bike lanes? Bicycling is on the minds of political and civic leaders for a variety of reasons. As the Sacramento Bee’s Phillip Reese noted in a recent article, the Great Recession has seen a sharp increase in the number of Sacramento households without motor vehicles, and bicycling offers basic mobility to some of these people. Nationally, we see reduced interest among youth in acquiring driver’s licenses, as many young adults prefer electronic ga

The city is looking into the feasibility of a plan brought forth by the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates to make the Carlson Corridor, the intersection located at Carlson and H and J streets, safer for cyclists. We’re looking at how the elements laid out in the plan would improve or enhance all modes of transportation for the corridor,” City Traffic Engineer Hector Barron said. “Right now, it’s all very preliminary in nature because it takes time to get through the process of evaluation.” Once the evaluation process is finished, the focus will be shifted to seeing how much the plan would cost to implement, followed by locating money sources — something Barron said won’t happen for a whi

Q: I got a parking ticket today for $407.50 which I simply cannot pay. I do not have any money and do not have a way to pay this ticket. How do I get community service granted to pay my fine? Luis A: That’s a high-priced parking ticket! Unfortunately there is no single answer to your question. You will need to contact the agency or city that gave you the ticket to find out what options they offer. If this is in the City of Sacramento, the city does not offer any type of community service option. However, you can request to make payments instead of paying the entire sum at once. You can download the payment plan request form from the city’s website.: There is a $30 fee to set up a paymen

To improve bicycle transportation downtown, the Department of Public Works is adding bike lanes to eight well connected streets. For the first time, bicyclists will have the opportunity to have designated roadway space to travel on the streets in designated lanes just as do motor vehicles. Streets targeted for bike lanes are: G Street between 8th and 16th streets H Street between 6th and 16th streets I Street between 5th and 13th streets J Street between 4th and 13th streets Capitol Mall between 5th and 9th streets 5th Street between I Street and Broadway 9th Street between I Street and Broadway 10th Street between H Street and Broadway Work is expected to take place on weekend

In the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the former Paul Blanco aka Cal Worthington dealership at the corner of Franklin Blvd. and Florin Road, I read a lot of hilariously scary comments about the area in the Bee. Seems a number of individuals drive through the area with their doors locked and a firm grip on the wheel for fear that loiterers will assault them. Some claim even the police keep their doors and windows locked and look straight ahead as they cruise down Franklin and/or Florin. Boy, you'd think we're talking about driving through Homs in Syria or something. Just because some people are big and black doesn't mean they're bad guys out assaulting law-abiding citizens. I'

The City of Sacramento Transportation Department is considering a redesign of traffic lanes along Freeport Blvd between Sutterville Road and 4th Avenue. This part of the roadway is scheduled for resurfacing in 2013 and last August the city approved a Bike Lanes Project to study options for redesigning Freeport Blvd into a "complete street" as part of the resurfacing effort. From the National Complete Streets Coalition website: "...a complete streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind - including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities."

  The southern stretch of Caselli Circle, reinvented as Creeks Edge in order to distance itself from the infamous now defunct Franklin Villa, ends at Franklin Boulevard. Directly across the street lies the driveway to a church parking lot. There is a traffic light at this intersection, but no left turn arrow for drivers. They have to wait and hope they can make the turn before the light changes. On the east side of Franklin, where there is only the driveway, There is a pedestrian walk/wait light for pedestrians who want to cross the driveway. The driveway is used very little except on weekends. Even then the traffic is light. Pedestrian traffic along this stretch of Franklin is very ligh

Q: I’m not a California resident, but while driving home to Oregon last week I received a speeding ticket in California, more than ten hours away from where I live. If I want to contest it, do I have to drive all the way back to the county where I received the ticket? Brett A: First of all, kudos for being proactive about an out-of-state traffic violation. Many people under the same circumstance will simply ignore the citations in hopes that they won’t "follow" them back to their respective resident states. In fact, there are a few different databases that monitor driving records and violations across participating states, and there’s a good chance your state of residence belongs to at l

When Jim Ferry (an East Sacramento resident) contacted his neighbors to address the impacts of Mercy Hospital using J Street as their primary loading dock, he got a lot of supportive response. The neighborhood is stressed by Mercy's inconsideration. Mr. Ferry has done an admirable job of documenting a fairly shocking misuse of the public way for a loading dock through his blog at http://mercygeneral.blogspot.com. More than any petition, Mr. Ferry's blog uses photos to show the truth. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. The loading situation on J Street is patently hazardous. There are frequently semi-tractor trucks parked in a seven foot wide space that impinge upon the west-bo

On Tuesday evening, the City Council will consider revising a local ordinance that will bring the city one step closer to seeing cars on K Street for the first time in more than 45 years. The revised ordinance will change a city code that has been in place since the early 1960s that defined the five blocks of K Street between Eighth to 12th streets as a “pedestrian mall,” closing it to vehicular traffic. “It was something that was happening in a lot of places back then,” said Denise Malvetti, department manager at the city’s Economic Development Department. “Cities were trying to replicate the suburban experience, and they created a lot of these pedestrian malls. It was a failed experime

Q. I’ve decided to contest a speeding ticket I received recently. How do I obtain all of the police records and evidence against me?   A. Before you contest your citation, you may want to consider submitting an “Informal Discovery Request” to the issuing agency. Under California Penal Code Sections 1054-1054.7, the prosecution in any criminal case (including infractions) is required to provide the defendant with copies of all written statements, reports, and logs regarding the case. This code section also applies to a copy of the engineering and traffic survey if your citation is a radar case [Cal. Penal Code § 1054.1(f)]. Fortunately, you can submit this request before you formally cha

When parents collect students at Sacred Heart, traffic comes to a stand still. It’s one of the worst traffic jams in East Sacramento and it’s caused by a school. Sacred Heart Parish School was relocated to the west side of 39th Street between J and H Streets in 2010. The school is new and has 310 students. The campus was developed as part of Mercy Hospital’s expansion currently under construction in East Sacramento. At three o’clock vehicles are often backed up all the way to J and sometimes to H Street, two major East Sacramento thoroughfares. The worst of the congestion only lasts for about 10 or 15 minutes during morning or afternoon student drop-off and pick-up. There is a school mo

Q: I received a citation in the mail for running a red light. My brother borrowed my truck and he was the driver pictured. What do I do? Bill A: Contact the agency that issued the citation. Do not send payment to the court because then the citation will be connected to your driving record. Once contacted the issuing agency will then contact the court with the corrected information. If you fail to contact the agency or do not appear on your assigned date, additional penalties will be added to your case and your driver’s license can be suspended. Below is the contact information for local agencies: California Highway Patrol, Red Light Camera Program 903 Enterprise Drive Sacramento, CA 95

Hello, My name is Keith and I was wondering where I would put in a complaint about police, highway, and sheriff officers that are violating protocol? This came to me when I was driving on Folsom Blvd and saw a Folsom Police officer sitting under the Metro light rail bridge with his lights off his bike and he was checking peoples speeds. Now the problem is not him checking speeds, but under the bridge was very dark and a driver could not see him until the last minute and this would be very harmful if a driver was in an accident and needed to utilize the shoulder at last possible second. Thank You, Keith Dear Keith, If you have a concern or complaint about an enforcement procedure or “pr

Dear Officer Michelle,  If you guys could patrol Mid town Sacramento more it would be nice. please patrol more down town like 20TH K street and J street people speed through there all the time it not safe to even walk across the streets. Thank you, tj2007 Dear tj2007, We get a lot of requests for the intersections of 21st and K Street, and 19th and H Streets. We do patrol those intersection and our Traffic Section goes out there on traffic projects frequently. You can speak to a traffic enforcement officer by calling 808-6128. You may have to leave a message, but they will call you back. I will also forward your message to one of the traffic sergeants. Thank you for your post. Offic

There are a couple of ways to approach a crosswalk in Sacramento's inner city: With trepidation, resignation or fearlessness. The last is probably the best, but it's also dangerous. You step into a downtown/Midtown street and your life is in your hands. Rather, in someone else's hands: Those hands gripping the steering wheels of the cars bearing down on you. And while you can claim all day long that pedestrians have the right of way in California - especially in a marked crosswalk - you don't want to be declaring said truth from a hospital bed. Fortunately, you have allies, and they're a little bit crafty: The Sacramento Police Department will be conducting an undercover operation aimed

The 26.2 mile course of Sunday's California International Marathon ends at the Capitol, which means that most of it takes place outside of the downtown/Midtown Grid. But if you're planning on being out and about on Sunday morning, be aware that a number of streets will be closed in the usually-quiet central city. Particularly between about 8 a.m. and noon, Grid streets will be problematic. If you live in the Grid, walk or bike. With approximately 14,000 runners expected to participate, the area around the Capitol is likely to be crawling with cars and pedestrians. Organizers just released the mile-by-mile lowdown on road closures, by intersection. Here are the closures that will effect t