News

Hundreds gather in support of equal rights at Capitol

2009-02-16T23:59:28Z

Hundreds of supporters of equal rights for all Americans gathered this afternoon on the state Capitol's west steps, waving flags and cheering on gay and lesbian couples who have claimed the right to marry, as spelled out by the California Supreme Court.

Political stars such as Senate President pro Tem Darryl Steinberg and Senator Mark Leno joined entertainers Margaret Cho, Wanda Sykes and Star Trek's George Takei and his husband Brad Altman in celebration of equal marriage rights and in anticipation of the upcoming decision by the Supreme Court regarding Proposition 8.

The court, located just across the street from the Capitol, will decide the constitutionality of Prop. 8 on March 5. Prop. 8, which was passed by a majority of voters in November, would overthrow the court's own legal judgement of last year that preventing gays and lesbians from marrying would be unconstitutional discrimination against a minority.

Monday, President's Day, with state workers off for the holiday, the Capitol resounded with the cheers of gays and lesbians and their many straight supporters, who listened to speeches from Steinberg, Leno and attorney Gloria Allred and her clients Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, whose suit led the Supreme Court to rule in favor of gay marriage.

Olson spoke before Allred, introducing her by excoriating the small band of anti-gay picketters across the street, saying "They've pick on us for years, and now they're whining because we're posting their names on the internet?" She asked the question rhetorically, in reference to a recent suit in which anti-gay contributors to Prop. 8 asked the state to make an exception for them to election sunshine laws. The suit was dismissed in Federal court.

Allred read the text of the Supreme Court's decision in favor of equal marriage rights, which amounted to a de facto reaffirmation of the Bill of Rights, after each section calling out, "Do you agree with the Supreme Court?" To which the crowd yelled out, "Yes!"

"What they were saying was, 'There's no reason to give special rights to a special class of people,' that is, straight people," said Joshua Maddux, who was there with his girlfriend, Janie Bose. "I'm being tongue-in-cheek, a little," he added. "But really, that's what it boils down to, doesn't it? Should straight people get special rights that aren't available to gay people? Should different classes of people get different rights? As a straight person, I think that's just un-American."

One highlight of the day was commedien Margaret Cho's debut as a singer/songwriter, which was redolent with foul-mouthed lyrical jokes that restored some of the edge to an event that seemed, despite the subject matter, decidedly mainstream.

Police release drawing of sexual assault suspect

2009-05-21T17:57:03Z

The Sacramento Police Department has released a composite sketch of a sexual assault suspect. Investigators hope that someone will recognize him and provide information leading to his identity.

On Monday, May 18, 2009, at 8:00 p.m., the victim, a female in her 30s, was sitting near the water’s edge just off the bike trail between the Tower Bridge and I Street. She was wearing earphones and listening to music. The suspect approached and grabbed the victim from behind and then physically and sexually assaulted her.

The suspect is described as an African-American male, 40-50 years old, 5’10”-6’0”, 180-200 lbs, with a medium length black and gray afro, a possible southern accent, and walking with a limp. He was wearing a short sleeved plaid shirt, baggy blue jeans, black tennis shoes, and a light-colored baseball cap.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this crime to contact Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

Sac Jazz Fest 2009 begins!

2009-05-22T23:42:42Z

As many as 70,000 revelers are expected to hit Old Sacramento over this weekend for the 36th annual run of what used to be called the Jazz Jubilee, but is now called the Sacramento Jazz Festival.

But Friday afternoon around 3, there was still plenty of room to move around the streets and alleys, and plenty of dance floor in venues such as Freeway Gardens.

With temperatures around a comfortable 85 degrees, things should tighten up tonight and tomorrow as music fans arrive from all over the country. Friday afternoon, the festival got off to a smooth start as bands from the Folsom Street Band to world music stalwarts Mumbo Gumbo played sets to sizable crowds that were ready for the annual tradition.

"This is always a good time," said Lowell Wheeler of Anaheim, who got to Old Sac just minutes after the gates opened. "Good people, good music, good times."

And the good-natured fun of the weekend event was apparent early, as the Ophir Prison Band, dressed in silly non-matching outfits - and tricked-out instruments - took the stage to play tongue-in-cheek brass band versions of venerable old chestnuts like "When the Saints Come Marching In."

The festival will really get going tonight and tomorrow, and will carry on through Monday afternoon at 4. The weather is expected to cooperate, with temperatures forecast to reach no higher than the low 90s.

For information on the festival, visit sacjazz.com.

Full text of the Governor's State of the State speech

2009-01-15T18:29:46Z

Lt. Governor Garamendi, Chief Justice George, President pro Tem Steinberg, Speaker Bass, Senate Republican Leader Cogdill, Assembly Republican Leader Villines, Members of the legislature, ladies and gentlemen, we meet in times of great hope for our nation.

Although we hear the drumbeat of news about bailouts, bankruptcies and Ponzi schemes, the nation with great anticipation is also awaiting the inauguration of a new president.

Our nation should be proud of what President-elect Obama's election says to the world about American openness and renewal.

President Reagan used to tell about the letter he got from a man who said that you can go to live in Turkey, but you can't become a Turk. You can go to live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese. And he went through other countries.

"But," the man said, "anyone from any corner of the world can come to America and become an American."

And now, we know that any American child, no matter what corner of the world his father or mother comes from, can even become President of the United States.

What a wonderful national story for us. This nation rightfully feels the hope of change. Californians, of course, desire change here in their own state as well.

Yet they have doubts if that is possible.

For months, in the face of a crisis, we have been unable to reach agreement on the largest budget deficit in our history.

We are in our third special session and we've declared a fiscal emergency - and every day that goes by, makes the budget problem that much harder to solve.

As a result of all this, California, the eighth largest economy in the world, faces insolvency within weeks.

The legislature is currently in the midst of serious and good faith negotiations to resolve the crisis, negotiations that are being conducted in the knowledge we have no alternative but to find agreement.

The importance of the negotiation's success goes far beyond the economic and human impact.

People are asking if California is governable. They wonder about the need for a constitutional convention. They don't understand how we could have let political dysfunction paralyze our state for so long. In recent years, they have seen more gridlock in Sacramento than on our roads, if such a thing is possible.

I will not give the traditional State of the State address today, because the reality is that our state is incapacitated until we resolve the budget crisis.

The truth is that California is in a state of emergency.

Addressing this emergency is the first and greatest thing we must do for the people. The 42 billion dollar deficit is a rock upon our chest and we cannot breathe until we get it off. It doesn't make any sense to talk about education, infrastructure, water, health care reform and all these things when we have this huge budget deficit.

I will talk about my vision for all of these things... and more... as soon as we get the budget done.

So, no, I did not come today to deliver the normal list of accomplishments and proposals. I came to encourage this body to continue the hard work you are doing behind closed doors.

There is a context and a history to the negotiations that are underway. It is not that California is ungovernable. It's that for too long we have been split by ideology. Conan's sword could not have cleaved our political system in two as cleanly as our own political parties have done.

Over time, ours has become a system where rigid ideology has been rewarded and pragmatic compromise has been punished.

And where has this led? I think you would agree that in recent years California's legislature has been engaged in civil war.

Meanwhile, the needs of the people became secondary.

Our citizens do not believe that we in government are in touch with their needs. These needs are not unreasonable.

At the end of the day, most people do not require a great deal from their government. They expect the fundamentals.

They want to live in safety. They want a good education for their children. They want jobs. They want to breathe clean air. They want water when they turn on the faucet and electricity when they turn on the switch. And they want these things delivered efficiently and economically.

One of the reasonable expectations the public has of government is that it will produce a sound and balanced budget. That is what the legislative leaders are struggling to do right now.

There is no course left open to us but this: to work together, to sacrifice together, to think of the common good - not our individual good.

No one wants to take money from our gang-fighting programs or from Medi-Cal or from education. No one wants to pay more in taxes or fees.

But each of us has to give up something because our country is in an economic crisis and our state simply doesn't have the money.

In December, we even had to suspend funding that affects 2,000 infrastructure projects that were already underway.

So, now, the bulldozers are silent. The nail guns are still. The cement trucks are parked. This disruption has stopped work on levees, schools, roads, everything.

It has thrown thousands and thousands of people out of work at a time when our unemployment rate is rising.

How could we let something like that happen?

I know that everyone in this room wants to hear again the sound of construction; No one wants unemployment checks replacing paychecks.

So, I am encouraged that meaningful negotiations are underway. And, as difficult as the budget will be, good things can come out of it.

Because, in spite of the budget crisis, when we have worked together in the past, we have passed measures that moved this state - and even the nation - forward.

When a budget agreement is reached, when some of the raw emotions have passed, I will send to the legislature the package of legislative goals and proposals that a governor traditionally sends.

These proposals are sitting on my desk. Let me tell you, I have big plans. They include action on the economy, on water, environment, education, health care reform, government efficiency and reform, job creation.

But, our first order of business is to solve the budget crisis.

And I have an idea going forward.

As you know, in the last 20 years of budgeting, only four budgets have been on time.

So, if you don't mind, let me make a little suggestion.

We should make a commitment that legislators - and the governor, too - lose per diem expenses and our paychecks, for every day the budget goes past the constitutional deadline of June 15th.

You have to admit it is a brilliant idea.

I mean, if you call a taxi and the taxi doesn't come, you don't pay the driver. If the people's work is not getting done, the people's representatives should not get paid either. That is common sense in the real world.

And I will send you some other reforms, too.

Let me close by saying something about the fires of 2008.

At one point, I got a phone call that we had 875 wildfires burning all at the same time.

I said to myself, how do we deal with this?

The next morning I get a call, "Governor, there are now 2,014 fires burning all at the same time." The largest number on record.

Imagine, 2,000 fires, a huge challenge and every one of those fires was put out.

You know why? Because we have the best trained, the most selfless, the toughest firefighters in the nation.

Thirteen of whom lost their lives.

They gave their lives for this state. Think about that, they gave their lives for this state.

Ladies and gentlemen, the courageous examples of those firefighters should not be lost on us. In our own way, we, too, must show courage in serving the public.

Ladies and gentlemen, let this be a year of political courage. Let us be courageous for the people. Let us be courageous for the common good of California.

Let us resolve the budget crisis, so that we can get on with the people's work.

Thank you.

More layoffs at The Sacramento Bee

2009-03-07T03:34:37Z

Another 34 employees of The Sacramento Bee will lose their jobs in an uncoming round of layoffs, after a vote today by the newspaper's union, the Newspaper Guild.

The question put to the guild's members asked if they would be willing to take pay cuts of either three or six percent, depending on salary. It also forced employees to accept one unpaid week off per year. Two-thirds of the guild's voting members voted to accept the company's plan, after company management made it clear that an additional 19 guild-covered positions would be lost if there was a "no" vote.

The 34 positions already targeted were not going to be saved no matter what the outcome of the vote.

According to the Associated Press, The Bee eliminated 86 positions last summer as part of a 10 percent cut affecting all McClatchy papers. Another 87 employees took buyouts in September, among them 23 editorial employees.

The guild represents about 270 of the paper's 1120 employees. As recently as 1999, the paper had more than 2000 employees.

Guild members at two other papers owned by McClatchy, the Modesto and Fresno Bees, will vote on a similar pay-cut package next week.

Hundreds of construction workers protest budget impasse

2009-02-10T20:58:35Z

Several hundred hardhats gathered at the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds this morning to protest the budget deadlock that has thrown hundreds of labor brothers out of work.

In fact, said Jarad Donabedin, a member of Laborers Local 185, “Everyone here is out of work. This is real life.”

Called by the California Alliance for Jobs, speakers from operating engineers, carpenters and laborers locals spoke in a highly-charged atmosphere to repeated cheers from those gathered.

The most common chant was “What do we want?” “A budget!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” chanted as the protesters circled around the area, holding picket signs reading “LEGISLATORS DO YOUR JOB SO WE DON’T LOSE OURS!”

Carl Goff, the vice president of the Operating Engineers Local 3, noted that “CalTrans has announced they’re shutting down 140 road projects in the state of California,” and one speaker later added that work on the Lincoln Bypass project was stopping.

Goff also noted that construction workers and engineers were suffering a double whammy in this dire economy, saying that his local had an 18 percent unemployment rate, more than double the statewide average. The drop off in jobs from the slowing of new housing construction had made things bad, but the evaporation of infrastructure jobs due to the tied-up budget made the financial hurt much worse.

Jim Earp, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs confirmed that, saying, “Our industry is already on the rocks - the only game in town now is public works projects.”

The biggest construction projects in Sacramento’s central city the new Bank of the West office tower at 5th and N Street, and the new central plant for heating and cooling many of the state buildings downtown. The latter was still under construction as of yesterday, but workers there are unsure how long the project, due to finish in May, will continue. And Donabedin said that many at the Bank of the West project have been let go.

Donabedin also said that CalTrans work on the Sheldon Road bypass in Elk Grove had stopped for lack of funds, and that he and his friends were feeling the pain.

“My wife has a state job, and she’s been furloughed,” he said. “But at least she still has a job, and benefits. I don’t, and I have 30 friends in construction who are sitting home with no work. It’s bad.”

Donabedin also noted that he had looked on craigslist at job listings for construction, and while few were listed for Sacramento, Tennessee had lots of jobs listed, he said, “And you can buy a house there for $130,000. People are going to start leaving Sacramento if this continues.”

“Just last month, we had 800 people out of work,” he added. “People have to support their families. This is bad times.”

A member of Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's office distributed a statement saying in part, "We are on your side and we will not let another week go by without action from the legislature. I am committed to bringing a vote to the floor this week."

Meanwhile, Governor Schwarzenegger's office announced just before 1 this afternoon that he would have to lay off more than 20,000 state workers this Friday if the legislature failed to reach an agreement on the budget.

River's rising

2009-03-04T23:23:25Z

So, two days ago, I took a quick shot from the I Street Bridge, upstream towards Discovery Park. This afternoon, during a break in the rain, I walked back up and took another. Not quite the same telephoto distance, but I do believe you can see some change in the height of the river.

So, how weird would it be to have a levee break in the middle of a drought?

Kings players fan out to "Paint the town purple"

2009-10-07T01:16:01Z

This weekend, the Sacramento Kings and the Sacramento Press will "paint the town purple" - and give citizen journalists the opportunity to talk to the players and preview the upcoming season themselves.

The Kings will be fanning out across the Sacramento area and making personal appearances to stir up excitement for a new season with a new coach.

On Friday, Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, Sergio Rodriguez and Kevin Martin will be among the players appearing everywhere from the Wells Fargo Bank on Capitol Mall to ARCO Arena, before the Star Wars in Concert event that same night.

On Saturday, Omri Casspi, Francisco Garcia, Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes will be among the players appearing at another four venues, including Old Sacramento in the afternoon and in Midtown for Second Saturday.

At the events, the players will be talking with fans and will take time to be interviewed by citizen journalists - who could be you. But you need to arrange this before the event. If you're interested in talking with one of the Kings, please contact us by the end of the work day on Thursday and we'll see about helping you arrange that. Reach us at journalism@sacramentopress.com, and put "Kings" in the subject line.

Below are the times, venues and players on the Kings' "paint the town purple" schedule.

Sacramento Press readers also have a chance to win a seat in the Kings' Press Row during a pre-season game on Oct. 23. The winner will also get to invite three friends to sit in the stands during the Oct. 23 game. To enter the contest, the winner of which will be determined by a random drawing, just comment on any Kings-related story on Sacramento press and add the word "PURPLE" in the comment field between now and Oct. 12 at midnight. Winners will be notified on Oct. 13 by 10 a.m.

Winners will also receive four personalized Kings jerseys and a tour of ARCO Arena.

FRIDAY, Oct. 9

Location 1: Wells Fargo
Time: 5-6 p.m.
Players: Tyreke Evans, Lanny Smith
Address: 400 Capitol Mall, Sacramento

Location 2: Raley’s
Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Players: Beno Udrih, Kenny Thomas
Address: 8870 Madison Ave., Fair Oaks

Location 3: Star Wars In Concert
Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Players: Sergio Rodriguez, Melvin Ely
Location: ARCO Arena

Location 4: Casa Roble vs. Folsom Varsity Football Game
Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Players: Kevin Martin, Sean May
Address: 9151 Oak Ave., Orangevale, 95662

SATURDAY, Oct. 10

Location 1: Arden Fair Mall/Carl’s Jr. (in the food court)
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Players: Francisco Garcia, Andres Nocioni

Location 2: Old Sacramento
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Players: Omri Casspi, Donte’ Greene

Location 3: 2nd Saturday - Midtown
Time: 6-7 p.m.
Players: Spencer Hawes, Jon Brockman
Address: 2206 K Street, Sacramento

Location 4: 2nd Saturday - Midtown
Time: 7-8 p.m.
Players: Jason Thompson, Desmond Mason
Address: 2206 K Street, Sacramento

Jerry Brown goes Facebook

2009-02-06T21:00:17Z

If you're not Facebook friends with Attorney General Jerry Brown - and actually, you can't be, the AG does't have friends, he has "supporters" - you probably haven't seen his foray into the pasttime many of us have been burning up hours with in the last few weeks: Posting "25 Random Things About Me."

So, as a public service, we'll save you the surfing and post the link, as well as the text of the list right here. Brown is, after all, local.

25 Random Things About Me
Yesterday at 4:43pm
I’ve seen lists of “25 Random Things About Me” that people are sending around Facebook. I thought I would share my own list with you.

1. I got my first dog 13 years ago, a black Lab named Dharma.

2. At Yale, I took “Psychiatry and the Law” from Anna Freud, Sigmund’s daughter. I also studied Roman law.

3. In 1958, I took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Later, Pope John XXIII dispensed me from these obligations.

4. I took marriage vows for the first time 3 years ago.

5. I practiced Zen meditation under Yamada Roshi and Father Enomiya-Lassalle in Japan.

6. My official portrait as Governor was quite controversial and the legislature refused to hang it. My Father said if I didn’t get a new one, I could never run again. It is now hanging and I am still running.

7. I am not fond of Mediterranean fruit flies, or of Malathion. Both are bad.

8. I dislike shopping.

9. I started 2 charter schools in Oakland, the Oakland school for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute.

10. When governor, I decided not to have an Inaugural ball and my inaugural speech was 7 ½ minutes. For the inaugural dinner, we went to Man Fook Lo, a Chinese restaurant in the produce district of Los Angeles. It was once a favorite of Mae West.

11. I am a part owner of a ranch in Colusa County. It belonged to my Great-grandfather.

12. I worked with Mother Theresa in India at the Home for the Dying.

13. I’ve been duck hunting with Chief Justice Warren, but not with Vice President Cheney.

14. I sued Richard Nixon’s lawyer for helping the President cheat on his income tax.

15. I like arugula and broccoli.

16. On my honeymoon, my wife and I canoed down the Russian river.

17. I was a cheerleader at St. Ignatius High School.

18. I knocked my opponent to the canvas in a 3 round boxing match at Senior Fight Night.

19. My favorite cereal is Flax Plus Multibran.

20. My first car was a 1941 green Plymouth. My most famous car was a 1974 blue Plymouth.

21. I own a colt 38, given to me by my father.

22. I went to Bangladesh as a CARE ambassador.

23. I hiked to the top of half dome. My first trip to Yosemite was when I was 4.

24. The first time I became Governor, I followed an Actor (Ronald Reagan).

25. My maternal grandfather was a San Francisco Police Captain. My paternal grandfather ran a poker club in the Tenderloin.

Hot Italian hosts a benefit for Italian earthquake victims

2009-04-08T18:44:45Z

Hot Italian, barely in business a month, and just today profiled for its environmental construction in Sacramento Press, has already taken on a subject more serious than pizzas and motos, and more pressing than even the environment: humanitarian aid.

Today, the new restaurant's owners, Andrea Lepore and Nicola Rivieccio, announced that tomorrow evening, Thursday, April 9, the restaurant will be donating 100 percent of its net proceeds to a fund just established for victims of Monday's devastating 6.3 earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy, 56 miles from Rome.

The fund, the NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund, set up by the National Italian American Foundation in Washington, DC, will then send the money to Italian relief organizations. Some 260 people are reported dead, with another 15 or so still unaccounted for, in the earthquake, which struck early Monday morning. More than 10,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and 28,000 people are homeless. The damage has been estimated at $1.6 billion, a figure that is expected to rise.

Thursday's fundraiser will take place at Hot Italian, at the corner of 16th and Q Streets in midtown, from 5-9 p.m. The net proceeds from all purchases of wine, beer, pizza, or gelato will be given by the restaurant to the relief fund. Hot Italian is also taking checks, made out to NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund, which it will forward to the national organization. All donations are tax-deductable.

Lepore and Rivieccio are encouraging anyone who can't make it to Hot Italian Thursday night to send a check to the NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund, The National Italian American Foundation, 1860 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009.

"Grim" layoff news at The Sacramento Bee

2009-02-12T23:53:48Z

The bloodletting at the Sacramento Bee is about to get much worse.

According to an email sent out to Newspaper Guild members at the paper, a meeting this morning that was supposed to wrap up current bargaining got very ugly, very quickly.

After the meeting, Guild representative Wendy Mejia posted the following email (written by reporter Jim Wasserman) to Guild members, printed below in its entirety:

Sacramento Bee employees should expect a serious wave of layoffs in early March, as well as other cost-cutting measures now being considered, including wage cuts and mandatory furloughs as McClatchy Newspapers’ financial crisis worsens, company representatives told the Guild’s bargaining committee in a 90-minute session Thursday.

The company said all options are being considered, but that layoffs would occur in quantities to trigger a federal WARN Act notification by The Sacramento Bee – required when a company does mass layoffs. (More information on WARN: www.doleta.gov/programs/factsht/warn.htm)

“We need to reduce very quickly,” said The Bee’s Human Resources Director, Linda Brooks. “I don’t want to lead anyone astray. That number is going to be big.”

She provided no specific numbers, no financial target, no dollar figure. Brooks said in an on-the-record bargaining session that the company is still working on all manner of ways to cut costs, from fewer pages to fewer employees.

Mandatory furloughs are being considered possibly for the second quarter of 2009. And wage cuts being considered run from the publisher on down, the company said.

“The newspaper industry is in a depression and this company is part of it,” said company attorney Bob Ford. He said all of McClatchy’s newspapers are making similar plans to cut costs as the firm’s revenue picture deteriorates faster than projected even weeks ago. He said the layoffs would be on a scale exceeding anything before seen at the Sacramento operation.

The company said nothing is likely to happen before Friday, Feb. 27. The company and the Guild, which represents 268 of The Bee’s 1,126 full- and part-time staffers, have scheduled a session at which The Bee will formally propose cost-cutting measures. Our bargaining committee was told in no uncertain terms that our rejection of any or all of those measures – such as potential wage cuts or furloughs – would lead only to more layoffs.

Company representatives said layoffs under the WARN Act provisions will come with the following provisions:
- 60 days of continued employment following the layoff notification. Medical coverage continues.
- Accumulation of severance pay, two weeks per year of service to a maximum of 40 weeks.
- Accrued vacation continues during the 60-day period. Medical benefits would continue for three additional months after layoff under COBRA, and possibly longer, said Brooks.
- The company will also bring in EAP counselors and financial advisers to help laid-off staffers plan a strategy. It will also offer people use of company computers to apply to the Employment Development Department. Others will be brought in to help people through the process of applying for state jobs.

Brooks said criteria to determine layoffs consists of three things, and that preliminary planning has already been done. Criteria include skills, performance and tenure. In the case of a tie breaker, tenure wins.

Prized newsroom skills, said Brooks, include expertise in investigative reporting, databases, mapping tools and freedom of information requests.

McClatchy Newspapers had previously announced that it intends to trim $100 million to $110 million in costs soon. Former VP for News, Howard Weaver, said just weeks ago that all the chain’s newspapers are making money. But the company is carrying approximately $2 billion in debt from its 2006 acquisition of the Knight Ridder chain and earnings are falling.

Bee Guild President Ed Fletcher was told that the company will consider offering voluntary buyouts if it gets names very soon of volunteers. Bob Ford offered no guarantees on that front, but acknowledged that it could be helpful in reducing the numbers of layoffs.

“We don’t need a feel for it,” he said. “We need names.”

Brooks said that people who ask for buyouts will not be targeted for layoffs, having indicated their interest.

Fletcher, and bargaining committee members Cindy Taylor of advertising, and Walt Yost and Jim Wasserman of editorial, asked numerous questions to pin down more details. Guild representatives Linda Frediani and Wendy Mejia also participated. We were told that each 1 percent wage cut among bargaining unit members would save approximately $140,000 to $160,000 – approximately three jobs.

The paper is also exploring ways to use fewer print pages – each fewer page printed daily saving about $52,000 a year. We asked about voluntary furloughs and expressed the willingness of our members to take them. Those are in the mix, we were told. It takes approximately 52 people taking one week off per year to save one job.

In short, this session was grim. It has come to this after a long, gradually-building slump in the housing sector and larger economy.

This session was scheduled to discuss the continuing question of a pension freeze. That fell to the sidelines. We were once again told very bluntly that the company believes it has the legal power to freeze pensions and that any expenses it has to pay if the Guild challenges it on the question will result in more layoffs. That freeze is scheduled to take effect March 31, but remains on the bargaining table.

To summarize, it appears, unfortunately, that a business many of us love, a newspaper that many of us have spent years climbing toward, is caught up very badly in America's economic crisis. We are being told to prepare for an extraordinary and painful journey in coming weeks. The company has promised to send us details as they have them. We promise to do the same.

Wendy Mejia, Local Representative
California Media Workers Guild

The State of Downtown breakfast meeting

2009-01-22T20:23:01Z

Traveling under grey skies, through rain-soaked streets, about 600 members of Sacramento’s downtown movers and shakers gathered at the Memorial Auditorium for the annual State of Downtown breakfast Thursday morning.

Hosted by Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Partnership, the breakfast featured a keynote speech by consultant Brad Segal, president of Progressive Urban Management Associates (PUMA) in Denver, as well as a video greeting from Congresswoman Doris Matsui and a speech from new Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who flew in the night before from Washington, D.C.

Johnson was clearly pumped up by his trip to see the inauguration of President Barack Obama, and referenced it in his remarks.

“We need to be bold, we need action, and we need it now,” the new mayor said, echoing other sentiments that the current downturn, as difficult as it is, should be seen as the veritable “glass half-full.” He said that getting infrastructure projects lined up - “shovel-ready” was the Obama-inspired phrase used by speakers Thursday - would ensure that Sacramento would come out of the current recession not only in good shape, but fulfilling its destiny as “a true hub, the region’s downtown.”

The keynote speaker of the morning was Brad Segal of Denver’s PUMA, which has had a major role in that city’s redevelopment boom. Segal said he’s been coming to Sacramento for about 15 years now, and speaking after the meeting, said that having not been here for a few years, he was “amazed” to see how much the downtown has changed in that short time.

In his presentation, Segal placed Sacramento’s downtown development in terms of the global economy and the world-wide movement toward urbanization. He noted that 2007 was the first year in history that more people lived in cities than outside of them, and he said that that trend was expected to accelerate (not coincidentally, “Accelerate” was the title of the day’s event).

Segal was full of fascinating statistics, many of them, particularly concerning personal and national debt, distressing. But many more should encourage Sacramentans, he said, including the ongoing growth of tourism as the world’s top industry, an industry Sacramento is uniquely position to take advantage of.

More than that, though, he discussed the appealing aspects of the urban core, and how the future, with ever-escalating energy costs and growing transportation difficulties, living in a clean, safe downtown would be cost-effective as well as culturally desirable.

He also noted that young, multi-ethnic professional women would be the new demographic driving urban renewal, noting that women would become the majority of workers next year. He said that keeping the city center safe and clean, and vibrant with entertainment options and ample retail, would go a long way towards drawing and retaining such women.

On balance, though some statistics are daunting, Segal’s overall point was that Sacramento, despite its past missteps and current challenges, was poised to be - already is - a significant urban area on the cusp of major change.

Johnson echoed that sentiment, and added that “propaganda’s not enough.

“We need to create opportunities and not just let them come to us,” he said. He said that it was his goal to make Sacramento “a world-class destination.”

Honored during the opening remarks was David Taylor Interests, which was involved in three of the projects nominated for the VIBE (Visionary Icon in Building Awareness) Award that was given Thursday morning. The winner, among a number of high-profile projects nominated, was the Cosmopolitan at 1000 K Street, which has led the revitalization of 10th and K Street.

In accepting the VIBE Award, Taylor praised the city’s contribution of $25 million to launch several projects that drew more than $300 million in private development to the city, and encouraged the city to do more of the same in coming years. He singled out partner CIM Group for investing some $130 million in Sacramento’s downtown.

You can download Segal’s Top 10 Global Trends Affecting Downtowns and How to Respond at Home as a PDF here. Go to the bottom of the page and click it.

Alkali Flat/Mansion Flat community meeting

2009-02-09T20:33:55Z

The monthly meeting of the Alkali Flats-Mansion Flats Neighborhood Association will be held this Thursday, February 12, at the Boys & Girls Club. The Club is at 1117 G Street, and the meeting will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Sacramento police and POP (Problem-Oriented Policing) officers will attend, with a deputy City Attorney. Together, they will address a long-awaited strategy to reduce crime in the neighborhood, particularly homelessness and drug dealing.

The Downtown Partnership will also be making a presentation and will work with the association to help achieve some common goals to improve the neighborhoods, which are on the north side of the downtown Grid. Representatives of the Downtown Partnership will also be asking for help in the production of a book about Alkali Flat, which will be published as part of the "Images of America" series.

Plans will also be discussed regarding the spring cleanup of the neighborhood.

Road closures for Sunday's marathon

2009-12-04T22:33:55Z

The 26.2 mile course of Sunday's California International Marathon ends at the Capitol, which means that most of it takes place outside of the downtown/Midtown Grid. But if you're planning on being out and about on Sunday morning, be aware that a number of streets will be closed in the usually-quiet central city.

Particularly between about 8 a.m. and noon, Grid streets will be problematic. If you live in the Grid, walk or bike.

With approximately 14,000 runners expected to participate, the area around the Capitol is likely to be crawling with cars and pedestrians. Organizers just released the mile-by-mile lowdown on road closures, by intersection. Here are the closures that will effect the central city. These are the times the California Highway Patrol is expecting to close and reopen various streets to regular automotobile traffic:

Mile 24: 33rd & J St. (just before Alhambra). Close: 8:12 a.m. Reopen: 12:46 p.m.
Mile 25: 22nd & L St. (just before RR tracks). Close: 8:15 a.m. Reopen: 1:00 p.m.
Mile 26: 8th & L St. Close: 8:18 a.m. Open: 1:14 p.m.

The finish line area, between 8th and 10th Streets and Capitol Mall, will be closed from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

To see a course tour on the CIM website, go to www.runcim.org/data/coursetour.html

For more information about this year’s event, see www.runcim.org.

Who paid for which proposition?

2009-02-05T00:03:01Z

The court battle over access to the records of who gave how much money to the Prop. 8 campaign against gay rights is over, and the principle of open government won.

Today, the Secretary of State's office released a list of 56,000 names of people who gave as much as $1.2 million to either support or oppose the proposition, which would strip gay couples of the right to marry in California.

There are a number of surprises in the list, not least of which is that the top 5 donations came from people who opposed the proposition. Read the full list here.

But there were other propositions on the ballot, all of which were funded by private individuals. For a list of who gave money to the other propositions on the November ballot, click here.

Please visit every section in today's Sacramento Press

2010-02-10T15:24:30Z

For the first time in its barely-one-year history, The Sacramento Press is entirely laid out.

That's right: No matter which of the section headings you click on in the green navigation bar this morning, you will get a fully laid out page: Politics, Business, Sports and Culture now join our Front Page with stories, pictures and comments. This is the first time we will ever have had a Business page front. And the Politics and Culture pages are completely content not even carried on the Front Page.

Thus, click on the Culture page and you will get ideas about where to dine for two on Valentine's Day, or read about a new mosque rising in Sacramento. On the Sports page, you will see staffer Mike Urbani's musings on conflicts between runners and cars. On the politics page, you will see reporter Kathleen Haley's story about the police union's presentation at last night's city council meeting.

We can't promise this will happen every day, but with our increasing content - thanks to burgeoning content from both our editorial department and citizen contributors - it will happen more and more often. Thanks are also due to our tech department, who recently introduced our two-story page fronts, allowing this to happen.

Also, for your reading pleasure, please note that we now have a weekly "Best of the Week" section we're calling Sunday Best, where the most interesting stories of the previous week will be displayed beginning every Sunday, and will remain up until the next Sunday, giving readers more chances to see some of the great work we are doing on Sacramento Press.

We hope that the increased time it takes to do this is more than matched by the number of page hits we get, as people have more and more to look at on Sacramento Press. Please make a point of sending out links to the various "section" fronts, as there are stories on those pages that do NOT appear on the Front Page (Kathleen has unique stories on both the Front Page and the Politics page), giving Sacramento Press an increased depth of content.

Central plant work could stop

2009-01-29T01:48:12Z

Construction on the new central plant in downtown Sacramento, one of the biggest public works projects in the state, may halt next week if the budget crisis is not resolved.

The stoppage of construction could idle as many as 300 construction workers, and delay the completion of the plant, which is currently scheduled to begin operation in May of this year. When finished, the building would be one of the few LEED Gold certified buildings in the country.

J.B. Hall, foreman for contractor Skanska USA Building, Inc., acknowledged that his workers could be idled as soon as next week, but he couldn’t go into any detail. Several workers on the site were well aware that things could stop on a job they’ve been working since it broke ground in November 2006.

“We’re hearing all sorts of things,” confided one hardhat who declined to give his name. “We’ve been working on this a long time, it’s a good job, and this would be a big loss for us. We’ve got families.”

Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the Department of General Services, which oversees the project, said Wednesday that “millions of dollars of public works projects are on hold right now, from CalTrans to public school construction,” and that it was a “possibility” that the construction of the new central plant could halt. (The current central plant, built in 1968, continues to provide heat and cooling to state offices.)

He also confirmed that work had already been halted on the environmental retro-fitting of the twin towers known as Office Building 8 and Office Building 9, in the block bounded by 7th and 8th, and P and Q Streets. Adjacent to the central plant, which is one block west, the two towers are among the state’s oldest buildings. Retrofitting on Office Building 8 had already been completed late last year.

The new central plant was touted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger when the structure was “topped” (structurally completed) last October. The plant is a keystone of Schwarzenegger’s attempt to “green” as many state buildings as possible. When finally completed, it will likely be given a Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Like its predecessor, the plant will provide the steam and chilled water to heat and cool more than 5.5 million square feet of office space in the state Capitol and 22 other state-owned buildings downtown. It will do so using just 10 percent of the water used by the current plant, which is located in the same block but which was built in 1968.

When it goes online, some 22,000 state workers will enjoy the new plants’ heating and cooling effects.

But the plant’s short-term fate rests on a resolution to the state’s ongoing budget mess.

NYE fog delays at Sacramento International

2008-12-31T19:48:52Z

Fog has cancelled at least one flight this morning at Sacramento International Airport. Mine.
Well, my aunt’s. She was flying in from Portland to visit my mother, but after circling the airport for the better part of an hour Wednesday morning, she was off to Palm Springs. She should be back today, later. But keep in mind that it’s wise at this time of year - especially when it’s foggy - to check arrivals at the airport.
I tried to get more general information from the airport itself about flights and delays today, but I was surprised to find that the airport doesn’t have a central information line for weather information. Or if they do, it’s not for you and me.
This makes sense if you’re just calling about one flight, so I called my airline (Alaska/Horizon) and they routed me to an 800 number. After going through a couple of rounds of pick-a-number, I got alive human being. I told him I was wanting to find out about a canceled flight at SMF, he asked, “They’re having bad weather in Sacramento?”
Hmmm...When you’re the one giving information to the person you’ve called for information, well...better luck next year?
In any case, my aunt is now in Palm Springs, enjoying the weather and planning another flight to Sacramento this afternoon. We hope. I’m waiting on the line for her to give me information because she’s more likely to have it than anyone I can call.
And we’ll hope the sun burns off the fog. And I was enjoying the fog SO much last night, as it swirled around the federal building downtown, and crept through Land Park. LOVE the fog...
But take this as a friendly reminder: For the next few days, don’t forget to check with your airline to make sure that your departing - or arriving - flight will be able to do its thing. Fog is forecast for tomorrow as well...

Message to constituents of District 1

2009-02-05T00:49:07Z

The following was sent out by Councilman Ray Tretheway of District 1. His office also announced that he will be holding office hours this Saturday, Feb. 7, from 10:30 a.m. til 12:30 p.m. at the recently-opened Natomas Resource Center at the Town Center shopping center. For more information on the office hours, contact Tretheway's office at (916) 808-7001 or email him at rtretheway@cityofsacramento.org.

Dear Neighbor,

Judy & I are looking forward to a lively 2009 with our grandchildren, Peter Fisher & Jack Tretheway.

2008 was an incredible year. District 1 continues to be very robust and diverse. In Sacramento's oldest neighborhood, Alkali Flat, we are constructing a second community garden and a new urban park for the Boys and Girls Club. The four star Citizen Hotel and the entertaining Cosmopolitan complex are open and redefining night life in our downtown core. The Rail Yards and Township 9 are working around the clock on critical infrastructure in anticipation of going vertical.

In Natomas our second library is now vertical and the ground breaking ceremony for the regional headquarters for the Make-A-Wish Foundation was a very moving and special event. And yes, the community rallied once again with the help of the City and local businesses to capture the spirit of community and volunteerism in the rebuild of Fort Natomas at the South Natomas Community Center. Another spectacular long term volunteer effort culminated in the grand opening of the beautiful Rose Garden located just across from Fort Natomas.

On the Sacramento riverfront we are extending the river walk south of Embassy Suites. In Old Sacramento the rebuild of the historic Orleans offers new residential opportunities.

While the above is a sampling of my Districts accomplishments, I also want to include the incredible work of Regional Transit in beginning the first phase of the Downtown-Natomas-Airport light rail line - Sacramento Valley Depot to Richards Boulevard.

May 2009 be filled with continued adventures and blessings.

Sincerely,

Ray Tretheway
Councilmember, District 1

Watching Obama at R15

2009-01-21T00:25:43Z

The sun was barely peaking over the parking garage across 15th Street when several dozen people trickled in to R15, the restaurant bar adjacent to Cafe Bernardo in downtown Sacramento. They had come to see history being made, and perhaps have some red, white and blue pancakes.
Or a Bloody Mary.
But regardless of the form their breakfast took, the celebrants were clear on their focus: The inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
Watching the several flat screen TVs hanging around the high-ceilinged room, and in turn watched by a camera crew from Channel 31’s Good Morning, Sacramento, the celebrants were bright-eyed and attentive as the events from Washington, D.C. unfolded.
In the lead-up to the inaugural ceremony, the room was full of happy chatter, with occasional cheers for the appearances of members of the Obama family - and jeers for the occasional member of the Bush dynasty. But all fell silent as Obama stepped to the podium to address not just the crowds in Washington, or the few gathered in Sacramento, but hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The only sound while he spoke was made by the bartender, apparently oblivious to the weight of the moment, restocking the bar and clinking glassware.
As Obama spoke, applause and shouts of “Yes!” met him, along with tears from those who never thought they’d see this day.
Melanie Ramil almost jumped out of her seat at the appearance of Obama, her friends laughing with delight at her expressions of joy. Soon thereafter, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Obama’s short speech hit Mary Winkley the same way, and there was no hiding his effect. Throughout the room, there was a sense that this was a different kind of inaugural, one unlike any before.
Winkley later quoted a line she recalled from the speech: “This dream that we dare to dream, today became a reality,” she quoted. “That’s the quote of the day.”
Ramil said that she watched the election, and Obama’s acceptance speech, from El Salvador, where she was doing volunteer work. She said that that broadcast had left her “speechless,” and that she “finally felt proud of my country. Finally, there was someone who talks about the human side of things, not just about the money.”
Luis Sumpter noted how “inclusionary” Obama’s speech was, and he, too, recalled an earlier speech. “I think it’s the first time a presidential candidate included the word ‘gay’ in his acceptance speech.”
Andrea Johnson also praised the inaugural speech for its inclusiveness. “I’ve not seen anything like it,” she said. She added that the inaugural speech was different than speeches of a perhaps similarly-inclusive nature given by past presidents, especially Bill Clinton. The difference wasn’t so much in the message, but in the messenger himself.
“This is different than Clinton, there’s something so poignant about the fact that we actually crossed the line,” Johnson said of the nation’s vote for its first African American president. “It’s so concrete. This is the proof. We did it. We crossed the line.”
At the same time, Winkley expressed disappointment that Obama wasn’t as concrete in his calls for service as he had been in the campaign. “He didn’t ask us to contribute today,” she said. “There was no direct call to action.”
Down the street at a neighborhood Starbuck’s, Bill Curtis sat reading his morning paper, and said that he’d skipped the festivities.
“It’s hype,” he said dismissively. “People are going to be very disappointed by him. No one man is going to get us out of this hole we’re in, and his solution is going to involve raising our taxes. That’s just going to make it worse.”
But Curtis was in a decided minority among those out and about on Tuesday morning.
Brian McMartin, owner of a downtown realty company, was at R15 with several friends, and his take-away was very simple, and universally agreed: “He brings so much hope,” he said, grinning broadly. “Today is exactly what we needed.”

Garbeau's Dinner Theatre fighting to stay open

2009-02-05T21:26:27Z

Garbeau's Dinner Theatre, at 27 years the longest-running dinner theatre in the area, has announced that it will close its doors in March if it can't raise $100,000 to meet its rent in the historic Nimbus Winery building on Hazel Avenue at Highway 50.

The owners of the theatre, which is currently presenting a tribute to Frank Sinatra called "My Way," have said that they have been unable to renegotiate their lease with their landlord. Declining ticket sales in the current economy have made making the rent impossible, co-owner Mark Ferreira said in a press release.

The ownership has announced a last-ditch campaign to raise the money, asking supporters to buy season passes or gift cards. If the theatre fails, those who buy season passes will be able to use those tickets at the B Street Theatre and other local theatres.

For more information on purchasing passes or tickets for the current show, which closes this Sunday (Feb. 8), visit www.garbeaus.com or call (916) 985-6361.

The theatre's next, and possibly last, show is "I Love You Because," a new musical about dating in the new century. It opens Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine's Day. A special V-Day package, including four-course candlelit dinner and show, is available for $75 per person.

New layoffs at The Bee: Who?

2009-03-09T22:49:48Z

Just one work day after union members voted to accept wage cuts and layoffs to postpone even more cuts, The Sacramento Bee started laying off some 128 employees in editorial and other departments Monday morning.

Among the names of those getting pink slips today were pop music writer Rachel Leibrock and sports writer Martin McNeal, as well as general assignment reporters Ramon Coronado, Melissa Nix, Walt Yost, sports writer Scott Howard-Cooper, and photographers Brian Baer and Florence Low. And for virtually the first time since the paper started shedding positions nearly three years ago, there were editors among the casualties.

Also leaving are IT wunderkind and newsroom gadfly Marco Smolich, and longtime newsroom aide George Costenbader.

Coming after the departures of some 65 newsroom employees over the last year through buyouts and attrition, the layoffs further weaken The Bee's news-gathering operation, bringing the editorial staff down to 190.

A number of positions are also being eliminated in advertising and the classified call center, as well as a graphic artist, an ad assistant and three people in the IT department. Other jobs in the packaging center are also being eliminated.

Early waves of departures have come over the last three years, after buy-out packages were offered to a range of names such as Bob Sylva, R.E. Graswich, Janet Fullwood and other name writers. The cuts have accelerated in the past year: The Bee's Dale Kasler reported today that the paper has cut 301 jobs since last June, about a quarter of its staff. But unlike earlier rounds, this one featured little to soften the blow.

There could have been even more layoffs, if the Guild members hadn't voted to accept the company's latest conditions: 3 to 6 percent salary cuts, and a week's unpaid furlough, and freezes in pension contributions and 401k matching contributions. Accepting those conditions allowed management to keep 19 other employees on, at least for now.

According to today's Bee, the news department is losing 29 union and non-union workers, or nearly 13 percent. That brings the total of newsroom jobs shed over the last year to about a quarter of the original 250 employees. Parent company McClatchy is laying off 1600 employees, or 15 percent of its work force.

There's no guarantee that this will be the end. With McClatchy's stock under fifty cents a share today (down from a high of $77), the future of the company looks bleak.

It could have been worse. The Rocky Mountain News recently stopped publishing entirely, and both the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the San Francisco Chronicle are apparently weeks or even days away from doing the same.

Ed Fletcher, a Bee reporter and shop steward for the Newspaper Guild's unit at the paper, said in an email that he didn't want to release the names of those being laid off yet, out of respect for their feelings.

But because they are, many of them, public figures whose departure is a loss to Sacramento, their names should be mentioned. So here, pieced together from different sources, is a list of the names of people said to be laid off today at The Sacramento Bee. If you heard other, or different, names, please comment below. Note that these are only half of the people being let go today.

Melissa Nix

Martin McNeal

Quwan Spears

Brian Baer

Florence Low

Rachel Leibrock

Terry Dvorak

Walt Yost

George Costenbader

Yvonne McKinney

Robert Faturechi

Scott Howard-Cooper

Rachael Bogert

Marco Smolich

Debbie Meredith

Chad Jones

Jennifer Morita

Ramon Coronado

Marathon road closures on Sunday

2009-12-01T08:43:53Z

The 26.2 mile course of Sunday's California International Marathon ends at the Capitol, which means that most of it takes place outside of the downtown/Midtown Grid. But if you're planning on being out and about on Sunday morning, beware that a number of streets will be closed in the usually-quiet central city.

Particularly between about 8 a.m. and noon, Grid streets will be problematic. If you live in the Grid, walk or bike.

The finish line area, between 8th and 10th Streets and Capitol Mall, will be closed from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information about this year’s event, see www.runcim.org.