"A day after the arson fire we were already planning to rebuild," Steve Cohn, City Council, Dist. 3 explained. "Over the past week we went from posts in the ground to a real playground," he said. " I didn't know it would be quite like this. This is pretty special . A lot of people put a lot of work into it." There were 2,000 people this past week rebuilding it. "It's gonna be here," he said. "It's a legacy project. What you're seeing is what a great community Sacramento is." The new playground will have a grand opening on June 27.   Rebuild McKinley playground Facebook page SacPress coverage of the Rebuild: Day 1 Day 3 Day 6 Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tue

For the past two years, the city of Sacramento has stopped issuing permits for medical marijuana dispensaries, and the number of local dispensaries has shrink from 34 to 20, according to city documents. Existing dispensaries have found it difficult to reopen if they needed to move, because of the city's code requirements that all new dispensaries be at least 600 feet from schools or parks or 300 feet from a residence – a tall order in dense areas like the central city. All that could be about to change if the City Council follows staff recommendations to be discussed at Tuesday's Law and Legislation Committee meeting. The recommendation calls for the city to: - Allow existing dispensarie

The city council chambers will likely be packed tonight with supporters of two different breeds – those rallying to keep the Kings in Sacramento, and those fighting to keep medical marijuana dispensaries in the central city. Catch our live coverge below:  On tap is a public hearing to amend the city's zoning code as it relates to medical marijuana dispensaries. In keeping with federal law, Councilman Darrell Fong wants to extend the distance dispensaries can operate from schools and parks, from the current requirement of 600 feet, to 1,000 feet.  This new requirement would force the roughly 10 remaining dispensaries located in the central city to move, said Councilman Steve Cohn. The

Sacramento may join 60 other California jurisdictions in banning plastic bags, making it the first major inland city in the state to do away with them, if Davis and Chico don't beat it to the punch. "There is a leadership role for the city to play," said Councilman Steve Cohn, who asked staff to research the regulation of single-use plastic bags in the city. "It's time for Sacramento to do this." A movement to ban such bags is making its way through city hall, and was a topic of discussion at Tuesday's law and legislation committee meeting. Such a ban would eliminate most plastic bags used at retailers, with the exception of take-out food, produce and meat, and pharmaceuticals. Doing so

For the last 25 years developers have been trying and failing to build on a 48-acre piece of grassy, empty land in East Sacramento. Each and every time, the plans have fallen through due to fierce opposition or tough economic times. They’re about to try again. The low-lying “Centrage” site is bordered by the railroad and Business 80 and has remained mostly unscathed. The city’s former landfill, Sutter's Landing Park, sits across the freeway to the north, while East Sacramento and McKinley Park are to the south. The first proposal to develop the land came back in the 1980s, called “Centrage.” While the plot has retained the moniker, a development has yet to come to fruition. "Why would

After hearing the arguments of 18 impassioned medical marijuana advocates and a few foes, a decision on whether to toughen the zoning restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries was pushed back Tuesday night by the City Council. The council was poised to pass an ordinance amendment which would have increased the distance dispensaries are required to be from schools from 600 to 1,000 feet, but the item was pushed back three weeks after some council members spoke against the proposal and directed staff to do further research. "My concern is we've created an outright ban," said District 3 Councilman Steve Cohn. "What we're talking about here is medical marijuana, not recreational marijua

The River District continues to move forward. California Lottery moved in mid-2011, followed by a Light Rail Green Line station in June of last year. Popular food truck Krush Burger will open its first establishment on the ground floor of the California Lottery building in two weeks, and on Wednesday,Township Nine officially broke ground for its first housing unit, Cannery Place. Scott Syphax opened the groundbreaking ceremony by pointing out the the tilled earth of the mostly vacant lot which had previously been home to Bercut-Richards cannery, before it was demolished to make way for Township Nine. “Back in 1999, this place looked like the set of Robocop...at the end of the movie,” sa

Just as Sacramento is facing an increase in gun crime city wide, and a rash of muggings on the grid (including one Friday in which a woman was shot), the City Council is tasked with the decision of where to funnel funds resulting from the passage of the Measure U sales tax. What no one disputes is that the Sacramento Police Department has endured serious cuts, the question in front of the council now is how the department should be restored. On Tuesday night the council members will vote on city staff recommendations regarding the usage of Measure U funds, and those recommendations will then be finalized with more detail in the city’s budget, which will go before the council on Jan. 29.

One of Sacramento's largest recreation spots and the gateway to the American River Parkway will soon be transformed. Sutter's Landing Park -- formerly known as the 28th Street Landfill -- has been receiving improvements since the mid-90s, and was opened to the public in 1999. It will soon see more, as the city is slated to secure a $1.5 million grant to extend trails, restore riverbanks, and beautify its entrance. "What was once the city's forgotten landfill is quickly becoming Midtown's gateway to the American River Parkway," Councilman Steve Cohn stated in a news release. "We were successful landing this grant because the community spoke with one voice on the need to restore the natura

After a nonprofit defaulted on a $400,000 loan from the city, Sacramento Press wanted to know: How much does the executive director make, and why did the city make the loan in the first place? As one of the more prolific blog commenters in the Sacramento region noted, nonprofits disclose their staff compensation figures in their 990 IRS forms, which as public record are easily accessible through sites like GuideStar.org. Tthe Sacramento Region Sports Education Foundation only lists one "key employee" on its 990s – its director, John McCasey – who earned $163,975 in 2010, $160,600 in 2009 and $155,354 in 2008. The foundation has been in the red since 2009, and while a nonprofit by defini

The Sacramento City Council had tough words for the Sacramento Sports Commission Tuesday night, taking the organization to task after an audit cited poor management and lack of financial controls as factors in the organization's failure to pay back $400,000 it borrowed from city. The city loaned the money to the commission to organize for the World Masters Athletics Championships, a track and field competition for athletes over 35 that was held in Sacramento last year. Steve Cohn was one of the more critical council members. He said that the issue for him was not that the commission couldn't pay the money back, but that they had directly violated the loan agreement by failing to keep

A city audit released last week concluded that a nonprofit which defaulted on a $400,000 loan from the city had been losing money for years and lacked strong financial management or internal controls. The 18-page report took the Sacramento Region Sports Education Foundation to task for not following its own bylaws or the conditions or the city loan, including a requirement that the loan money be kept segregated from the foundation's general fund and only be used to organize and host the 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships. The foundation is, in practice, an extension of local government: It is overseen by the Sacramento Sports Commission, a joint city/county body. The executive di

It will take more than a devastating fire to snuff out the enthusiasm of East Sacramento residents trying to rebuild their neighborhood park. Donations have been pouring in, and now personalized bricks and park benches are being offered to help raise enough money to rebuild the McKinley Park playground. For a tax-deductible contribution of $150, anyone can get a 4” x 8” brick personalized with up to three lines of text. All of the proceeds will go toward rebuilding the playground, and the bricks will be installed in the playground walkways when construction is complete, according to the Rebuild McKinley website. Park benches are also available with personalized plaques: 4-foot benches ar

Train passengers who use the Sacramento Valley Station early Monday morning will be pioneers of a sort: They’ll be the first people to use a key piece of city transportation infrastructure that took years – and hundreds of millions of dollars – to build. The “Pathway to Progress” – a 1.5 block-long walkway with a passenger tunnel leading from the Sacramento Valley Station to new rail platforms – will open Monday at 5 a.m. Initially, it will be a wide stretch of asphalt, but when construction is complete, it will be a covered path for rail passengers to get to the new platforms. The $225 million railyards project included $41 million spent on moving the railway tracks about 500 feet north

The Sacramento City Council is getting set to launch – not one, but two – audits of credit card use at City Hall in the wake of a scandal among the ranks of council staff uncovered last week. Both the first audit, an internal investigation into the use of approximately 300 city-issued credit cards by employees citywide, and the second audit, which extends higher up the chain at City Hall to the offices of City Council members and the mayor, are on the council agenda for Thursday night. According to a city staff report, the second audit will be conducted by an external company, is expected to cost the city $12,000 and will take about two weeks. The internal audit is expected to be complet

Sacramento County Democratic Party chairwoman Kerri Asbury's call for a city probe into the use of office space in City Hall by nonprofits run by Mayor Kevin Johnson started a predictable row between the two, but it also raised important questions about the role these nonprofits play in public policy and the degree to which they are subject to the same type of transparency and accountability we expect from government. That, at least, was my takeaway after talking to Sacramento Bee reporter Ryan Lillis (@Ryan_Lillis) and City Councilman Steve Cohn in Wednesday's Sac Press Live chat. The mayor has organized a group of nonprofits to focus on areas he has designated as priorities, with Think

It takes a village to raise a child, the saying goes, and in Sacramento it often takes a community to build – and rebuild – the parks and playgrounds children love so much. Residents of East Sacramento and other nearby neighborhoods were left reeling after an early morning fire destroyed much of the children’s playground in McKinley Park, one of the city’s most popular parks. Now, neighbors, families, community leaders and local businesses are pulling together to recover from the loss – and you can help. City Councilman Steve Cohn, who represents the district where McKinley Park is located, established a “Gifts to Share” account through the city of Sacramento dedicated to the McKinley Pa

The Sacramento Press will be chatting live with Sacramento Bee City Hall reporter Ryan Lillis at noon about an eventual week in city politics - with the Lisa Serna-Mayorga credit card/criminal investigation and the more recent news that the Sacramento Democratic Party blasted Mayor Kevin Johnson for running a number of his non-city funded initiatives out of offices on the 3rd floor of City Hall – including the Greenwise group’s pursuit of energy and green tech opportunities and Think Big, the initiative to get an arena built in Sacramento. The chat will conintue a conversation with City Concilman Steve Cohn about the credit card scandal and the city's developing plans to rebuild the playg

Councilmember Steve Cohn may have surprised some with his announcement yesterday in SacPress of his next  Screen on the Green event.  As his disclaimer states: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a comedic cult classic with heavy sexual innuendo. It has a MPAA rating of R because the movie contains adult language, brief nudity, and mild violence. The movie is based upon complex adult themes of sexuality and personal freedoms/lifestyles." Screen On The Green working with Movies On A Big Screen have put together a whole program starting about 9 Saturday night leading up to an unprecedented midnight showing of the cult classic in an outdoor Sacramento venue.  And all of this is free.  Free! N

Councilman Steve Cohn and Pops in the Park will present a special Screen on the Green for Adults on Saturday, July 21 at Sutter's Landing Park, 20 - 28th Street (north of C Street near Sutter's Landing Skatepark).  Festivities will begin at 9:00 p.m. with a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show* (Rated R).   THIS IS A FREE EVENT. The tentative schedule is as follows: 9:00 p.m. - "Sting Ray Sam" 10:00 p.m. - Surprise Feature from Movies on a Big Screen 11:30 p.m. - live performance from the "Sizzling Sirens" Midnight - The "Rocky Horror Picture Show"*   Costumes and props are encouraged (see www.sacscreenonthegreen.com for more details).  Bring lawn chairs or blankets for