An arena task force will use flexibility to analyze a second round of project proposals because there is such a wide range of plans now before them, a task force co-chair said Thursday. Co-chair Chris Lehane called the proposals to build Sacramento a new sports and entertainment facility "apples and oranges.” Each plan from the four teams has different levels of detail and preparation, ranging from three weeks to more than a year, he said after a public hearing at historic City Hall. Lehane and member Matt Kelly, executive secretary of the Sacramento-Sierra’s Building & Construction Trades Council, said they appreciated the work Sacramento developer Gerry Kamilos and the Convergence Team

Crime continues to rock the Sacramento community.  The shooting of Monique Nelson on December 14th, 2010 was another heartbreaking act in a long line of violence. Just nine weeks ago, I wrote an article in this paper titled "The Challenge of Crime."  Unfortunately, several more people have lost their lives since that publication date. Following is a letter I submitted to the Sacramento City Council on January 4th, 2011 requesting creation of a Crime Task Force.    ► Honorable Council Members: After the December 21, 2010 press conference regarding homicides at the Fly Cuts barber shop, leaders and activists expressed concern the event would fade into just another “photo-opportunity.” W

A team handpicked by Mayor Kevin Johnson and led by Sacramento developer David Taylor and national sports facility builders has emerged as one of the frontrunners to develop a new arena. Taylor quietly ended his partnership with developer Gerry Kamilos after their first proposal, a complicated land swap, didn't produce a viable proposal by its October deadline. Taylor is now partnering with the historic railyards' new owner, Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, and others. On Thursday, his group submitted a letter of interest to Johnson's arena task force briefly outlining a proposed process for developing a sports and entertainment center. Another three teams submitted new or modified

Thursday in a special session at City Hall, task force member Chris Lehane told City Council members that the task force thinks that the project that represents the best success right now is the Kamilos project. In Kamilos’ plan, the Downtown railyards will be the site of a 19,000-seat sports and entertainment arena. In a second part of the plan, a new fairgrounds would be built at Arco Arena and on nearby land. John Moag, a consultant for the NBA working with Kamilos, in January explained a third part of the proposal. For that part, Kamilos' development team intends to purchase the California Exposition & State Fair from the state. A mixed-use residential development would be built at t

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force will focus on giving all proposals a fair hearing over the next four weeks, an arena team leader said Thursday. Four task force subcommittees on finance, transportation, site evaluation, and business and community impact will collect more detailed information from the development teams that have pitched seven arena options. The subcommittees will also consider renovating Arco Arena, the current home of the Kings, and a previous proposal to build at Cal Expo, said Chris Lehane, co-chair of the Sacramento First Task Force. Subcommittee work will not be public. The information gathered will be used to create a scoring matrix to weigh the pro

Sacramento City Council members and the National Basketball Association are angry or unhappy with comments made Tuesday by the mayor's arena team leader. Several council members are upset after Sacramento First Task Force co-chair Chris Lehane seemed to be speaking on behalf of the city when he called the NBA's previous attempts to get an arena built here "air balls" and made other comments on the organization's website blog Tuesday morning. Council members Ray Tretheway and Rob Fong responded to Lehane's comments at the end of Tuesday night's City Council meeting. "I was terribly embarrassed by the disrespectful message that publicly humiliated the commissioner of basketball that came