It’s as if the ghosts of all those who have traveled through these halls before us can still be heard... I find myself yet again walking through empty rooms that echo not only my footsteps, but the seeming sounds of the past The Sacramento Valley Station finds itself as a hub of transportation for the Sacramento area. Currently serving as an intermodal complex, the facility includes Amtrak, light rail, regional bus services and taxi amenities. The public portions of the building are those that many are familiar with such as the main hall, or passenger waiting area, where customers purchase tickets or pass through to the facilities outside to the north. Outside are the bus berths, passeng

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, The Sacramento Press profiled the alleys in the central city that were formally named on Oct. 11 by an ordinance approved by the City Council. Below is the final installment of the new alley names. Rice Alley Curt Pow, the 36-year-old owner of Elixir Bar and Grill, has his business situated on the corner of Rice Alley and 10th Street. “I’m okay with Rice Alley,” he said, adding that the Asian theme fits into much of the area’s culture. While Pow said that he believes the names won’t directly help his business, he doesn’t think they will hurt it, either. “What our area needs right now is retail business,” he said. “The city should allocate more effo

On Oct. 11, the City Council approved an ordinance that officially named the alleys of the central city. On Tuesday and Wednesday, The Sacramento Press highlighted many of these alleys, including their new names and what residents and business owners think of them. More alleyways are included below. Leistal Alley Cohn said Leistal Alley is an alley that the city has put resources into renovating. With a lighted walkway and an upscale pavement job, co-owner of Old Soul Coffee Jason Griest said he hopes that all of the other alleys will soon be similarly renovated. “We see a lot more foot traffic in the alley now that they’ve renovated it,” the 36-year-old Midtown resident said. Griest

On Oct. 11, Steve Cohn’s 5-year-old idea to give the alleys of Sacramento their own formal names was finalized, giving them what many residents describe as a new sense of character. In a continuation of Tuesday’s article, The Sacramento Press has highlighted many local businesses along the alleys and spoke to residents regarding their thoughts on the alleys’ new names. Fat Alley Khalid Khan’s liquor store, called Don’s Bottle Shop, is located on Fat Alley and 16th Street. Khan, 60, said that naming the alleys won’t do his business any good. “I don’t have control over what (the city) wants to do,” he said. He emphasized that the city should be more focused on finding more direct ways

After initially being proposed five years ago, City Councilman Steve Cohn’s idea to name Sacramento alleys has finally been put into action. On Oct.11, the City Council approved a list of new names for the alleys. Cohn said that the alleys need names to help residents identify them more easily. “Instead of saying ‘the alley between L and Capitol,’ you could just say the name of the alley,” he said. The process for naming the alleys took so long, Cohn said, because it is very complicated.   What do you think of the alley names?   “It took a while because we had to do a lot of outreach,” he said. "It's part of the rules and regulations for naming streets." Cohn said that approva

Gang violence took what officials described as a drastic drop since July 2010, attributing the drop to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang-prevention programs initiated in June of 2010 and again after last December’s fatal barbershop shooting. Since implementing some of the measures, Lt. Bill Champion of the Sacramento Police Department said that the results have been effective. The number of gang-related firearm assaults has dropped by 60 percent, and the overall rate fell by 39 percent. In addition, there has been a 75 percent drop in homicide rates, and a 100 percent drop in non-fatal shootings. Community leaders gathered at City Hall Monday morning to discuss the mayor’s plan. Speakers, inc

Kim Mack said she decided to run for City Council District 2 because she saw a need that hasn’t been filled in her North Sacramento community: responsive leadership. That isn’t necessarily a dig at the current council member for the district, Mack said Tuesday – it’s a statement of purpose. Mack, 49, has a long career in government service under her belt, including campaign experience as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign where she was responsible for campaign activities from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. Mack also worked on local campaigns including Ami Bera's recent run for the 3rd Congressional District and Richard Pan’s successful run for Assembly.

Nearly 300 people arrived at Arden Mall’s Market Square at 7:30 a.m. dressed in their business suits and slippers. They had come to enjoy a plethora of breakfast cereals for the seventh annual Suits and Slippers event hosted by the Roberts Family Development Center. Guests were provided with bowls of cereal along with Starbucks coffee, muffins, bananas, yogurt and orange juice. People marvelled over creative cereal sculptures and enjoyed their breakfasts as Derrell Roberts, co-founder and CEO of the RFDC, mingled with the crowd. “It’s made people think of the center as a place for kids to grow,” Roberts said, referring to how the event has impacted the RFDC. Roberts said that the RFDC p

The massive redevelopment project on the 700 block of K Street will be submitted to the city’s building department for approval in October, and if approved, work could begin as early as the end of this year. “We’re looking to break ground in (February or March) of 2012, but it might be sooner,” said Ali Youssefi of CFY Development. The approximately $47.7 million project is a collaboration between D&S Development, Inc., and CFY Development. It will be a mixed-use project with apartments, retail spaces, restaurant/bar spaces and an approximately 15,000-square-foot live music venue. “We really want this to be a catalyst for the rest of the area,” said Bay Miry of D&S Development. For mor

At first glance, it seems that the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency may be writing some big checks over the next few months – an estimated $111 million – but the payment schedule going before City Council Tuesday is not as simple as it appears. In a recent case challenging new state redevelopment laws, the California Supreme court directed all redevelopment agencies to compile a list of their financial obligations along with a schedule for making payments and submit them to the state. The payment schedules, called Enforceable Obligation Payment Schedules (EOPS), totals up the “relative obligations” of redevelopment projects and outlines a payment schedule through the end of th

With three weeks until the historic Maydestone apartment building opens for an art show downtown, the fences have come down, the façade has been painted and several units have been staged as residences even as final work is completed. The $7 million affordable housing project at the corner of 15th and J streets received $6.1 million in loans from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. Presentation Development, LLC – set up by D&S Development, Inc. – contributed $900,000, according to Bay Miry of D&S Development. “We’re trying to design it more like a European residential unit,” Miry said. “(Europeans) like to live where there’s a lot of interaction with people, and they don’t

With nearly $450 million invested in development projects so far, the River District is moving ever closer to realizing its potential for being a valuable transit, business and community hub for the Sacramento region. Business leaders, City Council members and members of the River District association gathered Thursday to hear the latest progress report on development efforts for 750 acres along a 2.5-mile stretch of riverfront that is currently residence to industrial, retail and office uses and about 400 homes. The event, hosted by the River District board of directors and attended by more than 80 people, was an opportunity to learn about recently completed development projects and get

A new children’s hospital, a high-tech business center and a television-film-video game industry complex were some of the ideas Natomas residents discussed Thursday as potential re-uses for the current arena site – if the arena is relocated. More than 80 residents and business owners met at a town hall meeting hosted by Assemblyman Dr. Richard Pan and City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby for an hour-long discussion and question-and-answer session about the arena’s future. Attendees expressed ideas and concerns about what the city should do with what has been a hub of sports and entertainment activity for more than 20 years. Power Balance Pavillion (formerly Arco Arena) has been home to the

The future of state redevelopment agencies is in the hands of the courts now, but in the meantime, a partial stay has been issued giving those agencies a reprieve from making required payments to the state to keep redevelopment going. The California Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition filed in July challenging the constitutionality of recent legislation eliminating redevelopment agencies unless they pay the state to continue operating, it was announced Thursday. The announcement comes on the heels of a new Sacramento city ordinance establishing an agreement to make the required payments to the state to maintain redevelopment activity. The ordinance states, however, that the payments

The Powerhouse Science Center project officially broke ground this morning, commemorating its push forward with the unfurling of a large 30 x 10 foot banner, which adorned the front of the former PG&E power station building. In attendance were some 60 citizens, dignitaries, funding partners, Powerhouse Science Center staff and City staff. Speakers at the event included Mayor Kevin Johnson, Congressmember Doris Matsui, Senator Darrell Steinberg's District Director, Susan McKee, and Michele Wong, the Interim Executive Director for the project. A $7 million check was presented to the project, generated by Proposition 84's "Nature Education Facilities" grant. The funds will be used to partial

Redevelopment in Sacramento will continue, but it will cost the city more than $20 million. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday that allows the city to make an initial $18.3 million payment to the state in order to maintain the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. The ordinance – an emergency measure that takes effect immediately – authorizes the city to participate in the “Voluntary Alternative Redevelopment Program” (VARP) under a new state law (ABx27) enacted in July. Participation in the program allows redevelopment agency activity to continue as long as continuation payments are made to the state each year. La Shelle Dozier, SHRA executive director,

The Railyards is currently abuzz with activity. I recently had the chance take a short tour of the construction as part of my work with the City and it is a sight to behold. Seeing the massive excavation of dirt is am impressive far cry from what the site looked like only two months earlier, when construction started in May. The progress of the 245 plot of land is a welcome sight. The earth directly in front of the main shop buildings, north of the Sacramento Amtrak Station, takes a large dip, perhaps twenty feet deep now. Before, this area was a flat expanse of dusty land, reaching to the rail station. Excavators pepper the site, clambering around their newly built depths of soil. Steam

Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) has been named a 2011 recipient of the prestigious National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Merit Award for its efforts to reorganize electronic database waiting lists for the Sacramento region. SHRA received the award for the Access Code for Wait List in Administrative Innovation category. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in housing and community development programs throughout the nation. “I am very proud of this unique model that the Sacramento Public Housing Authority has developed for our applicants,” said SHRA Executive Director La Shelle Dozier. “This process has created greater efficiency and

If you’ve ever you’ve wondered what that old abandoned building off the west side of I-5, just north of downtown Sacramento is, wonder no more. If you aren’t familiar with it, the City now owns the former PG&E Powerhouse, built in 1912 and vacated sometime in the early 60’s. Currently it sits empty, an eyesore for most that travel along Jibboom Street between the I Street Bridge, and Richards Boulevard. Most recently, it was nominated to be a part of the National Register of Historic Places. I recently had a somewhat exclusive chance to photograph the inside of the building for the Economic Development Department. The building is being converted into a science, space and technology museu

The League of California Cities and the California Redevelopment Association filed a petition in the California Supreme Court Monday challenging the constitutionality of recent legislation affecting redevelopment agencies in the state. Assembly Bills AB1x26 and 27 were signed into law along with the state budget in June. According to the petition, both violate Proposition 22, a constitutional amendment passed by California voters in November 2010. “AB1x26 eliminates redevelopment agencies,” Kathy Fairbanks, California Redevelopment Association representative, said in a press release. “AB1x27 allows agencies to continue to exist (albeit on life support) if they agree to pay their share o