The candidates from all of the City Council district races, the mayoral race and two Board of Supervisors races will face off Saturday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. One notable exception: Mayor Kevin Johnson is not scheduled to appear. According to Johnson’s campaign manager, Steve Maviglio, Johnson has “no need” to attend. “Given the large number of events the mayor has attended over the past year, and since none of his opponents are waging a real campaign against him, he chose not to participate in this event,” Maviglio said Friday. The news of Johnson’s planned absence came as no surprise to mayoral candidate Jonathan Rewers. “He’s not even campaigning,” Rewers s

The Midtown Business Association is inviting businesses to light up Midtown by transforming their store windows into a winter wonderland this season with an opportunity to win a $1,000 advertising grant from the MBA. This is the second year the MBA has hosted “Light Up Midtown” in the hope of opening the doors of local businesses to more customers this holiday season. “We wanted to find a way to dress up the district and be festive and let people feel very involved in it,” said Heather Philpott, MBA communications and events coordinator. “Businesses can take ownership of the project and get an opportunity to be a part of making the district look great,” Philpott said Wednesday, “and bes

Nearly 100 years ago in a special election on October 10, 1911, women successfully won the right to vote in California.  Now, two museums in Sacramento will celebrate the hard-earned victory for full voting rights for women with the compelling exhibition We Won the Vote! 100 Years of Equal Suffrage in California.   Produced jointly by The Center for Sacramento History and California State Parks, the exhibition will officially premiere at the Sacramento History Museum in Old Sacramento on Thursday, June 16, 2011.   After a three-month display period at the Sacramento History Museum, the exhibition will move to the State Capitol Museum (located inside the State Capitol building) with an ope

Sacramentan Phil Angelides was in town yesterday signing reports at a local bookstore (thankfully there are still some). Noteworthy? Apparently not, there was hardly a mention in the local media. There was, of course, some buzz in January when Mr. A released the report of his federal commission, “The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report,” after an exhaustive 18-month investigation of the worst U.S., perhaps worldwide, financial crisis since the great depression, nearly a century ago. The commission’s work is the definitive piece (apologies to Michael Lewis and other contributors) on this debacle, which is so aptly described in Mr. A’s report as an avoidable result of “human action and inactio

District 5 City Council candidate Patrick Kennedy is behind in votes with 3,781 compared with Jay Schenirer's 4,309 votes. 41 of 41 precincts have been counted. There are, however, still “tens of thousands” of absentee votes turned in on election day countywide that have yet to be counted, said Brad Buyse, Sacramento County’s campaign services manager District 5 City Council candidate Kennedy gathered with his campaign party, family and friends at Coffee Garden to watch the results of the race as the polls closed and the votes were counted. Kenny Alvarado, campaign manager, was positive about the outcome of a multi-month effort.  “It's tough to say how the votes will go,” he said. “I

Check in here for hourly updates from Sacramento Press as we cover the election all over the city. Turnout was light this morning at Park Folsom Retirement Home on Wales Dr., Folsom.  Volunteers were ready to help voters. Photos by David Alvarez Kevin Johnson cast his vote at 11 a.m. at Pat Anderson Education Center at 2751 Wilmington Ave. After he voted, he commented on the World Series. "It was great ... when you're a Sacramento resident and you grow up in this community you root for the A's and the Giants and I can't think of any better prize on November 1st than the Giants clinching it on the road." Johnson added, "When I see people, my first question is, 'Did you vote?' If

This Tuesday people will (hopefully) be flocking to their polling places around Sacramento to vote. In honor of democracy, there are a few places around Sacramento who want to thank those who took the time to vote with special election day deals. Marilyn's on K (908 K St.) Guests with an “I Voted” sticker will get a discount on the cover charge ($3 instead of $5) to see the band MRQ at 8 p.m. MVP Sports Bar and Grill (2110 L St.) Guests with an “I Voted” sticker will be treated to the “Democrat Special.” Shots of Jack Daniels for $4, mixed drinks for $4, draft for $2. L Wine Lounge (1801 L St.) With the proper sticker, guests get happy hour all night: $3 beer, $6 featured wines and $4 c

Today is “mini” Super Tuesday – Election Day. And in California that means it is time to vote in the primaries to determine who will represent each party in the general election next November. It also means that we will determine the outcome of a number of initiatives that we, the people, supposedly put on the ballot in an effort to do what the legislature cannot or will not. Of course, there is very little of the “people” involved in the initiative process anymore. For some time it has been an instrument of special interests to get custom tailored laws on the books that are portrayed as benefiting the general good, but in reality specifically target a much narrower interest. Among the mos

Two weeks after taking office in December, Mayor Kevin Johnson launched a ballot reform initiative to expand the executive powers of the Sacramento mayor, suggesting that enhanced executive powers would make city government more efficient and accountable. It would also make him one of the more powerful executives in any California city. Throughout its short, tumultuous life, the so-called "strong mayor initiative" has been praised or criticized by citizen groups as either a democratizing modern reform or a gateway to tyrannical government. Last Friday, the primary group promoting the change, Sacramentans for Accountable Government, presented City Hall with a petition to put the initiativ

Tuesday, May 19th, polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. for a statewide special election for six budget-related propositions. For those Sacramento Press readers who already registered, the following is a resource guide to make sure your vote gets counted: Statewide, the Official Voter Information Guide is a great place to read a summary of the issues 1A-1F in a number of different languages, and it includes the following forward from Debra Bowen, Secretary of State:   Dear Fellow Voter: By registering to vote, you have taken the first step in playing an active role in deciding California’s future. Now, to help you make your decisions, my office has created this Official Voter Inform

Am I the only one? Okay. So I know what I am about to write may not have anything to do with Southside Park, or downtown. I don’t have a story about flooding on 9th and J Street, nor can I write about an old abandoned building that is scheduled for demolition in a few days time. I can, however, right about something that is truly going to affect everyone in this town and towns all across this nation. On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, millions of people will exercise the “hard-fought-for” right to vote for the President of the United States. I can’t control the excitement I feel inside. I have voted for a president four times in my life and only one of my guys won (two consecutive terms). Thi

 I am from Mississippi and have been living in Sacramento for a year attending school. My father arranged to have the absentee ballot sent to me here. Disappointingly, the ballot was the only straight-forward document of the bunch. The instructions were convoluted to say the least. The envelope required to mail the ballot was even more confusing. What was clear was that I had to fill out my ballot in front of a witness. The witness could be a notary public, postmaster, asst. postmaster or postal clerk. In the last general election, the directions were very clear cut. It stated that a notary should be the witness and there was room for their seal. In the new and improved procedure, there