City planning firm just mentioned for increased walkability in our inner suburbs: http://doverkohl.com/

Walkable mixed use likes smaller blocks. Sacramento's blocks are not small. From wikipedia: "the standard square blocks of Portland, Houston, and Sacramento are 260 by 260 feet (79 m × 79 m), 330 by 330 feet (100 m × 100 m), and 410 by 410 feet (120 m × 120 m) respectively (to the street center line). Oblong blocks range considerably in width and length. The standard block in Manhattan is about 264 by 900 feet (80 m × 270 m); and in some U.S. cities standard blocks are as wide as 660 feet (200 m)." --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block Not huge, but significantly larger than that of Portland.

These are the most read articles, correct?

Ownership. I can stomach many things as a life-long fan, but for several seasons our owners have failed to make the most basic two commitments to fans: 1. To the community. Both in broken promises and in lies through the media about their relocation attempts, our owners have no credibility with Sacramento, and that hurts. It seems the only thing keeping the Kings in town are the blunders the Maloofs have made in trying to relocate the team. 2. To the team. In order to make the Kings seem attractive and maybe be in the black, our franchise spends less and won't make any significant long term commitments to bring in top talent. That way a new owner can quickly turn things around or, given a better financial situation in a new city, the Maloofs can. So the Kings aren't bad by chance or even by mismanagement, but by design. I think it's a pathetic way to treat members of the organization from players to those trying to sell tickets to Geoff Petrie. But despite despicably bad ownership decisions over the last few years - I'm hopeful. For one, The Sacramento Kings are still here. The players still play hard and the coach really seems to care. Despite all else, basketball is still a game where everything gets decided on the court (until it doesn't) and this group can be as good as it wants to be if they share the ball and play team defense. I love watching basketball and there is something special about this team. There is something even more underdog about them than the usual underdog. And one more thing: most fans did not get spoiled, but during the long playoff run ticket prices spiked and the crowd at games changed. Nothing wrong about that as it paid the bills, but I remember a couple of years ago watching a fan in $200 seats literally read a newspaper - arms spread out! - rather than watch the game. When I was younger fans would be chastised for not standing and cheering for the last three minutes of a tight game, now people stare at me for trying to start a little cheer. I think there has been a lot of turnover in terms of fans who could afford to be loyal and rowdy. And I believe that lower prices would have wooed many back, but those prices dropped only after it was clear the Maloofs wanted out of town. Those fans may never come back.

Best end of the world ever!

RCFC works for me. Good for chanting.

This makes lots of sense. Keep it up!

I'll be there opening day! I'd like to see MLS, but I'm more excited about the venue choice. I think taking alcohol out of the equation could be tough, but I also remember that the River Cats grew a very strong base with teens and the lack of alcohol might actually encourage more teen and family participation.

I filled out a survey about that bridge. People can still have their voices heard.

I'm with you about delays, though I've not been late very often. And I find it reliable as an alternative to driving when traffic can make the trip just as difficult. But I think it was just an issue of semantics. I love Amtrak's schedule. They have a training leaving almost every hour and they have very early departures that work for my business trips.

It might fail here, but this is a fairly large and successful company on the east coast.

crappy schedules?

I think $20 max one way, right? If so, it is certainly better than the $31 of the train, but I don't think it's $20 round trip ...

I think that's my favorite part of this story - potentially more visitors to Old Sac. And this competes with Amtrak for me. I'll give it a try. I love Amtrak, but those fares are hard to beat.

Very nice! Now if you could just drop me off at the intersection of I-80 and hwy 89 South ...

Having watched it twice - and now I'm watching again a third time - you should try the final season again. It has a pretty darned buttoned up ending. Unlike Lost, the creators were clear on the entire story arc when they started.

@newguyinsac - no need to punish anyone for success, but those businesses don't have the multiplier effect of local small businesses in our community. And don't pretend these more successful businesses don't benefit from scale, they have advantages from tax loopholes to leverage over manufacturers to efficient large marketing buys. @Mark big box stores may not survive Amazon's coming same day strategy. They barely did the last wave of Amazon prime. But small retailers might benefit. For one, they can use Amazon, E Bay and Etsy as platforms to extend their customer base outside one region as long as they fill a niche and offer a unique curated experience. In addition, they are in a position to establish better quality consultative relationships with their customers. Sacramento has a comparatively high percentage of small businesses compared to other cities. Not are all restaurants and not are all retail either. Our economic strength is our diversity. We are a town of contrasts. We have a steady Government sector and a roiling small business sector. At the very least we should celebrate the entrepreneurs who take chances in our community.

How about the area under the light rail bridge around 20th street?

Head down to the market under the freeway on Sunday. There is plenty of economic diversity.

+1. Thanks for posting about this place. Big part of my childhood and probably should be a bigger part of my adult life in Sac.