Now available on the City of Sacramento’s website at: www.cityofsacramento.org is a video tour book featuring the Sacramento community. The video series highlights topics such as: • Culture and Entertainment • Downtown Development • Economic Development • Education • Healthcare and Bio Sciences • Sustainability Initiatives You can access the videos on the City website at: www.cityofsacramento.org under news or click on the video tour book logo on the bottom right side of the website.  

Today, the City of Sacramento City Manager John F. Shirey announced the appointment of Dave Brent as the Department of Utilities Director. “Dave has great experience and in-depth knowledge of the day-to-day operations of this important department,” said Shirey, in making the announcement. “He stepped up nearly a year ago as the Interim Director to provide steady, trustworthy leadership at a critical time for the Department and has proven he is the right person for the job,” Shirey continued. With a staff of 505 full-time employees, the Department of Utilities provides water, sewer and drainage services to Sacramento. The Department also serves as Sacramento’s floodplain manager, working c

Through the efforts of City of Sacramento Councilmember Rob Fong, the YMCA of Superior California, the City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation Department and the Southside Park Neighborhood Association, the Southside Park Community Pool will be open for swimmers this summer from June 16 through Labor Day. “This is a great example of community partners working toward a common goal that benefits our most important citizens: our kids,” said Councilmember Rob Fong. “Opening Southside Park Community Pool would not have happened this summer without YMCA’s commitment to this community.” Last year, Councilmember Fong initiated discussions with the YMCA when it was apparent the City would have t

In an effort to help stimulate the local economy and encourage growth of area businesses, the City of Sacramento now offers a local business preference for city contracting opportunities. The incentive program gives a 2 percent bidding preference to local companies located within the city or unincorporated county of Sacramento. In addition to this new program, the city has also helped to streamline the contracting process through contracting changes and technology implementation. “We understand that our local business community’s viability is essential to an economic turnaround,” Jim Rinehart, Economic Development Director. “This local business preference encourages and supports local ven

Public Encouraged to complete online budget exercise The City of Sacramento released an online budget exercise that asks, “What should the role of City government be?” The brief budget exercise will provide the community an opportunity to share with the City what their priorities are in the following areas: - Economic Vitality - Healthy, Sustainable Environment - Leisure, Cultural and Social Opportunities - Reliable Infrastructure and Effective Mobility - Safe Community - Youth Opportunities and Education   The budget exercise results will be presented to the City Council during budget hearings in May and June. The budget exercise can be found on the front page of the City’s website at

To coincide with Valentine’s Day and the month of love, today the City of Sacramento launched the first ever What Do You Love About Sacramento? campaign. The promotion is designed to inspire people to recognize what the Capitol of California has going for it. Recently, the Mayor and Councilmembers were asked what they love about Sacramento. Watch the launch video below or at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7STcmZch5g. Now it is the community’s turn to answer that question in three words or less. Participants are asked to creatively respond to the question “What do you love about Sacramento?”, upload the video to YouTube, and then send the link to the CityExpress@cityofsacramento.org

Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Steps Forward will expand its emergency shelter program to meet additional demand. An additional 57 beds will be made available through expanded Winter Sanctuary and Motel Voucher programs. Councilmember Steve Cohn and Jay Schenirer met last week with Sacramento Steps Forward, Sacramento Housing Alliance, as well as homeless advocates, the faith community, and business leaders to discuss the critical need for additional winter shelter options. The added beds will double the existing capacity of the Motel Voucher program from 40 to 80 beds and increase the Winter Sanctuary program from 100 to 117 spaces per night. The additional beds are not fully funded for th

Sacramento County and City are working together with generous donors to coordinate winter shelter services for the homeless. “It’s imperative that the County, City and private interests work together to maximize available resources in preparation for winter shelter needs,” said County Supervisor Phil Serna. “We hope that individuals, businesses, labor organizations and others will continue to donate, volunteer and otherwise support the efforts of our shelter providers and our local faith community.” At last night’s Sacramento City Council meeting, the City Council approved $100,000 for the homeless motel voucher program. In addition, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which

On September 6, 2011 City Council approved new Council district boundaries for the City of Sacramento. The new Council district boundaries will be effective October 6, 2011. The City has developed a tool available to the community that allows individuals to enter any address within the City limits and get the current district and the new district for that address. The tool is available on the City’s main website at http://www.cityofsacramento.org/. A map of the new districts and the staff report with the adopted ordinance are also available on the City’s redistricting website at www.cityofsacramento.org/redistricting.  

The City and County of Sacramento remind Sacramento residents to take time this month to prepare for emergency situations including extreme winter and summer weather and flooding. Residents and businesses should have emergency plans and kits ready. Everyone should build a kit including all items necessary to sustain them through a disaster. All Sacramento area residents and businesses are encouraged to purchase a flood insurance policy, even if it is not required. Homes and businesses are often the largest investments that you have and homeowner’s policies will not cover flooding damages caused by heavy winter rains or levee failures. Flood insurance policies can be as little as $350 per

Sacramento City Councilmember Rob Fong, community, local skateboarders and the City’s Parks and Recreation Department to celebrate grand opening of Reichmuth Skate Park. Wednesday, August 31, 2011 11 A.M. Reichmuth Park (6135 Gloria Drive) Reichmuth park improvements include a skate park, concrete walkways, a seating area, bike racks, a security camera and signage. The total construction cost was approximately $227,600. Funding for this project came from Park Impact Fees which come from development projects in this planning area.  This funding cannot be used for park maintenance, operations or other City Departments.  Construction began in November 2010 and was completed in August 2011.

On Tuesday, August 2, 2011, City of Sacramento Councilmember Ashby will join residents of District One in celebrating the 28th annual “National Night Out” against crime. Over 20 neighborhoods throughout the district have events planned such as block parties, ceremonies, BBQs, ice cream socials and other neighborhood social activities. These events allow neighbors to get to know one another, so that together they can fight to keep crime out of their communities. Public Safety is a community and team effort. Councilmember Ashby encourages neighbors to get to know each other and work together toward safer communities. Let’s send a message to criminals that crime and illegal activity in our n

 Enjoy Free Swim, Children’s Activities and Del Paso Heights Farmers’ Market Sacramento City Councilmember Sandy Sheedy, Gateway Community Charters, and the Sacramento Neighborhood Center invite members of the public to Robertson Park Summer Celebration on Saturday, July 30 at the Robertson Community Center (3525 Norwood Avenue). Details: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free Swim at Robertson Park Play Pool, Children’s activities, bounce house, face painting, etc. 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Del Paso Heights Certified Farmers’ Market “This is a great opportunity for families and community members to come together, have some food and fun, and share the joy of a summer day,” said Councilmember Sandy Sheedy.

The City of Sacramento is pleased to announce the first edition of the new citywide eNewsletter: City Express. This quarterly newsletter will contain information that has relevant topics and in depth information from the City’s perspective that businesses or residents would find interesting and helpful. You can find this newsletter at: www.cityofsacramento.org/cityexpress. “We wanted a citywide newsletter that was useful, dynamic and another way for the City to stay connected with its residents, businesses and customers,” said Amy Williams, City Media and Communications Officer. “Communicating with the public is a top priority and City Express is another key tool in that effort.” The City

The City of Sacramento reminds residents and visitors to be safe this July 4th Holiday weekend. Below are a few friendly reminders: • The City and County of Sacramento require that anybody under the age of 13 must wear a life jacket while in the regions’ waterways. • Children should be supervised at all times when fireworks are in use; even Safe and Sane fireworks can cause injury. Do not let your children run with sparklers and ensure that they maintain a safe distance from others while handling them to avoid accidental burns. Always have a functioning hose ready to fully extinguish used fireworks. • And, please do not drink and drive. Given the historically high volume of calls over

New Farmers’ Market to Open Every Saturday from 7 a.m. to Noon. The Del Paso Heights Certified Farmers’ Market will open this coming Saturday, July 2nd. The market is sponsored jointly by Councilmember Sandy Sheedy and the Sacramento Neighborhood Center, and will be open every Saturday from 7 a.m. to Noon. Details are below: Robertson Community Center Parking Lot 3525 Norwood Avenue 7AM to Noon There are approximately a half a dozen certified Farmers participating so far. The farmers are all local  and will mainly be selling reasonably priced fruits and vegetables. The Del Paso Heights Certified  Farmers’ market will serve the local community with fresh produce in an area that has been

Prepare for a weekend of fun and excitement for the unveiling of Sacramento’s first BMX bike and skate park. Councilmember Jay Schenirer along with bike enthusiasts, neighbors, and City staff will be on hand to open the Park that will be accessible to riders of all ages. What: Opening of BMX Bike Park When: Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 12 P.M. Location: McClatchy Park 3500 Fifth Avenue Sacramento, CA 95817 The BMX elements were used in the 2011 Mountain Dew Action Sports Tour in San Francisco in April that featured some of the best riders in the world. Thanks to a generous donation from Terre Cox of College Cyclery, the ramps and jumps will be set up in McClatchy Park for the summer. Th

The City of Sacramento, Parks and Recreation Department will have six swimming pools open for aquatics programs and recreational swimming. These pools include Clunie, Doyle, Johnston, McClatchy Park, George Sim, and Pannell Meadowview. These pools will be open for recreational swim from 1 pm to 5 pm, six days per week. Doyle, Clunie and Pannell Meadowview Pools will be open weekends from 1 pm to 7 pm. Doyle and Johnston Pools open beginning the week of June 13, while the others open the week of June 20. Each pool will be closed one day a week. Recreational swimming is still a bargain compared to other pools in the region. Adults 18 and over pay $2 and youth 17 and under pay $1. For detai

City of Sacramento staff and Julius "Joe" Cherry, Chairman of the Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee (SRCAC) will provide an update on the Redistricting efforts to Council on June 14th at the 6 p.m. Council meeting. The public is encouraged to attend.   The SRCAC’s charge is to review, organize, analyze, and refine the redistricting proposals submitted to the City, as well as recommend to the City Council preferred redistricting proposals. The Council has final approval authority for the new adopted boundaries. The City Charter provides that the Council shall commence and complete the redistricting process within six months of the release of the Census redistricting data

The City of Sacramento has received 37 plans from the community and interested parties for the 2011 redistricting process. The plans are now available at the City of Sacramento’s 2011 Redistricting Website www.cityofsacramento.org/redistricting. The community will continue to have opportunities to provide input to the process by attending meetings and providing testimony to the Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee and the City Council through August 2011. The Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee’s charge is to review, organize, analyze, and refine the redistricting proposals submitted to the City, as well as recommend to the City Council preferred redistr