Water and sewer rates will head skyward for Sacramento residents after July 1 – and will continue rising for three years – as the city tries to raise revenue needed to pay for infrastructure improvements. City Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Rob Fong, Jay Schenirer, Kevin McCarty and Darrell Fong voted in favor of the rate increases, which were recommended by the Utilities Rate Commission and the city Department of Utilities. City Councilwomen Sandy Sheedy and Bonnie Pannell were opposed. “Our current water rates are among the lowest in the region, in the state and in the nation,” City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday, “and they will remain that way with the proposed rate i

David Watts Barton hosted his final “Insight” show on Capital Public Radio Tuesday, and we talked about a few stories that have caught the attention of Sacramentans recently, including arena financing, affordable housing and utilities rate hikes. After Mayor Kevin Johnson announced a tentative agreement to get a new arena built followed by a 7-2 vote by the City Council in favor of moving forward with the project, it looks like a done deal. But a local group called Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork is making an effort to put the kibosh on the deal with a new November ballot initiative. The initiative would require any public financing for the new entertainment and sports complex to g

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 regardi