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 Rou

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 provide

A gift of $30,000 will be given to Historic Chinatown, located on J Street between 3rd and 5th streets, for improvements to safety and lighting. The funds are coming from the Community Development Block Grant, which is made up of funding by the federal government but is given out at the discretion of the Sacramento City Council. The $30,000 was approved at the March 9 City Council meeting. Jennifer Lee-Lewis, community manager of the Ping Yuen Apartments, said the funds are needed because the area is home to a significant senior population that encounters tripping hazards. These tripping hazards, such as cracked tiles and big tree roots, are harder to spot during the night due to the poo

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

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

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

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 age

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

The city auditor’s office — vacant for nearly a year — has been brought back to life. Mayor Kevin Johnson and three council members announced at a Tuesday morning press conference that Jorge Oseguera is the city's new internal auditor. Most recently, Oseguera was a senior program performance auditor for the city of San Jose. He began work at the city of Sacramento Monday. “I think the audit function is an essential element of the public’s accountability, and I look forward to meeting my objectives in meeting the public’s accountability,” Oseguera said. He also said he would participate in preparations for an upcoming audit of the Community Development Department. The investigation will

Efren Guttierrez wants to bring his focus on social justice to City Hall. The 54-year-old real estate broker and community activist is running for a seat on the Sacramento City Council. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June election. Guttierrez is running in District 1, now represented by Ray Tretheway. The district includes North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat. Guttierrez has worked in real estate for 28 years and is co-owner of New West Realtors in Natomas. He noted that his career pays the bills, but activism is his passion. “My love has always been social justice advocacy,” he said. Guttierrez was born in Stockton and has lived in S

All but four of 13 candidates running for a City Council seat in June received campaign contributions from sources outside Sacramento County from July to December 2009. It also should be noted that many of the candidates have received numerous contributions from individuals and groups in Sacramento. To provide information about contributions to candidates from sources outside the county, The Sacramento Press has prepared the following guide. The following contributions were made to candidates between July 1 and Dec. 31. DISTRICT 1 Angelique Ashby, City Council candidate Top outside contributions: Lewis Investment Company, Upland: $500 James Milliken, retired Superior Court judge, San

Campaign contributions to City Council candidates are not a secret. Citizens can access information about contributions online at the city of Sacramento’s Electronic Filing System. The city has published campaign contributions online since 2002, said Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. In a Nov. 5 story, The Sacramento Press provided a guide to the city’s online system. Since then, the city clerk’s office has changed its website. “The navigation is a little bit different,” Mizuno said. To help the public understand the changes, The Sacramento Press is publishing the following updated guide to the online system. The city clerk’s website now has two separate links that connect you to

The Sacramento Press is reviewing campaign contributions for the candidates in June's City Council race. Here is a breakdown of the main contributions to the candidates in Districts 1 and 3 from July to December 2009. The July to December figures provide the most recent information on campaign contributions for City Council candidates. Look for the list of key contributors for Districts 5 and 7 on Tuesday in The Sacramento Press. DISTRICT 1 Angelique Ashby, City Council candidate Total monetary contributions for 2009: $26,452 Top five contributors, July to December 2009: Sacramento Police Officers Association: $2,550 Ken Stevenson, auditor: $1,500 Molly Fling, retiree: $1,500 Sha

"For us domestic riders, this is our Tour de France," Chris Jones said of the Amgen Tour of California. "It's the biggest race of our year," added the 31-year-old cyclist from Auburn. Jones and Michael Sayers, a retired professional rider, are Amgen tour veterans. They joined John McCasey, Sacramento Sports Commission director, at a Tuesday press conference at Mason's Restaurant. They introduced the tour's first stage -- from Nevada City to Sacramento -- with Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilmen Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn also in attendance. The event kicked off with a video that provided a glimpse of the scenery cyclists will see when they ride from Nevada City to Sacramento on May 16.

Councilman Ray Tretheway’s key goals for 2010 are in response to problems caused by the poor economy. He said he plans to concentrate on public safety, jobs and foreclosure. Tretheway’s priorities are listed here as part of a series of stories on council members’ top three goals for 2010. Links to the stories are at the end of this article. The Sacramento Press made repeated requests to interview Councilman Rob Fong, but he was unavailable. Tretheway represents District 1, which includes North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat. He is running for re-election in June against Efren Guttierrez, a real estate broker, and Angelique Ashby, a partner in a consulting firm that contracts with gov

Sacramento City Council members and the National Basketball Association are angry or unhappy with comments made Tuesday by the mayor's arena team leader. Several council members are upset after Sacramento First Task Force co-chair Chris Lehane seemed to be speaking on behalf of the city when he called the NBA's previous attempts to get an arena built here "air balls" and made other comments on the organization's website blog Tuesday morning. Council members Ray Tretheway and Rob Fong responded to Lehane's comments at the end of Tuesday night's City Council meeting. "I was terribly embarrassed by the disrespectful message that publicly humiliated the commissioner of basketball that came

Tuesday night's City Council meeting featured dancing, cheering and even crying. The excitement anticipated the City Council's unanimous vote for the area on Stockton Boulevard between between Riza Avenue and Fruitridge Road to be named Little Saigon. Councilman Kevin McCarty, whose district includes the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Little Saigon, proposed the vote to the City Council in January after months of public input from South Sacramento business owners and community members. It's now the city's inaugural cultural district. Starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, hundreds of Vietnamese and supporters of the campaign for Little Saigon began filling the city council chamber for a pre-council

The Sacramento Pride Festival, an annual event that brings thousands of attendees from throughout California, will be held for the first time on Capitol Mall in 2010, Bill Otton, interim director of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, announced this week. The Pride Festival and Parade will be held Saturday, June 19. Established in 1984, the day-long lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride festival has been held at Sacramento’s Southside Park for the past several years. Otton said the move to the Capitol Mall site will generate renewed excitement for an event that dates back to the early years of the gay civil rights movement in Sacramento and help bring attention to the role

The Sacramento City Council likes the idea of an ethics commission. Councilmembers decided Tuesday to examine possibilities for a future ethics committee. The proposal to research ideas for an ethics commission came from the city’s Charter Review Committee. Councilman Kevin McCarty said in a message after the meeting that he had suggested that the Charter Review Committee analyze ideas for an ethics commission. Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy spoke in favor of the idea, saying that an ethics committee would be a way to ensure “sunshine and bright light.” *** Underground tours in Old Sacramento are likely on the horizon. The City Council unanimously decided Tuesday to loan the Historic Old

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/PhreePhotogra