City Council representative for District 4, Rob Fong, will not be running for re-election. With no incumbent running, the race has attracted four candidates who may be unfamiliar to Sacramentans. In the interest of learning about these candidates, a questionnaire was sent to them asking for a brief (less than 100 words) response to a list of topics. The list of topics included items which have been frequently discussed by the District 4 communities or at council meetings. Topics included river crossings, city budget, marijuana dispensaries, strong mayor, leaf piles, arena funding and other city policies. The goal is to give readers a brief introduction to candidate positions at this earl

Like any city, Sacramento develops a collection of codes to be enforced. To engage in certain activities, residents and businesses must contact departments, fill out forms, and apply for permits. It seems constantly, the City is conjuring new codes, guidelines, and permits... everything from medical marijuana moratoriums to taxi cab queues. You need a permit to install an alarm system. To sell produce. To put certain signs on your property. To sell secondhand goods. To hold a fundraiser. To offer massage. To open a miniature golf course. To sell hot dogs on the street. To offer valet parking. To figure model. You need a permit to prune a tree in front of your house, or to prevent it's roo

Today, December 15th, is Bill of Rights Day. These 10 amendments to the Constitution protect our most basic rights, including: freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, and have a fair trial. Ironically, in this evening's Sacramento City Council meeting our representatives voted to support Chicago in a Supreme Court Case (McDonald v. Chicago) which would allow cities to ignore the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The City Council Proposal "Discuss and consider whether to authorize the City Attorney's Office to take the neces

As the capitol city, Sacramento has a dependent relationship on the state government. We've let the state government fill our core with monolithic government buildings. The incentive has been to keep jobs and development, but the cost has been the soul of the city. Contrary to the state employee work week, on any Saturday or Sunday you can ride your bicycle down the middle a street in downtown with hardly any cars to worry about. Many restaurants on K Street and around downtown are closed on weekends. This is not a new problem. A 1987 Sac Bee article wrote "It's 10 p.m. in downtown Sacramento, and light rail is making its last run along the K Street Mall, temporarily bathing the deserted

Sacramento is the "City of Trees". For better or worse that also means city of leaves. While suburban areas put their green waste in bins, the denser central neighborhoods have leaf piles picked off the street regularly and seasonally by the "leaf claw". This is how it's been done for years, and how many other cities do it. However, recently a few local bureaucrats have been pushing to move the entire central city to containerized bin pickup. In the suburbs, containerized green waste bins make sense. Big bins are wheeled into big backyards for weekend yard work year-round. It also makes pickup more efficient since suburban homes are sprawled out. However, in the city containerized bins ar