Signature gathering began this month for a new ballot initiative aimed at allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in Sacramento despite a recent ban on cannabis-related operations in the county. The “Patient Access to Regulated Medical Cannabis Act of 2012” is the product of the newly established Committee for Safe Patient Access to Regulated Cannabis (CSPARC), organized by local medical marijuana industry advocate Mickey Martin. “In December when the Board of Supervisors passed the back-door ban on medical marijuana, there were a lot of people (who felt that) what they were passing was just bad policy,” Martin said Monday. “(The policy) just doesn’t address the issue,” Marti

In 2011, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento city and county went from being barely legal to riding a wave of potential for acceptance – but in the end, saw the future of their operations heavily scrutinized or banned outright. Here’s what happened on the medical marijuana scene this year: In February, medical marijuana dispensaries in the city were lining up to complete a permit application process that would allow a limited number of facilities to operate within city limits. Pot shops that didn’t apply for the proper permits – or had applications denied through the process – were shut down by city code enforcement. Once the application deadline passed for the first part of a

The Save the American River Parkway Association celebrated its 50th anniversary this month and received a resolution from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors honoring its accomplishments over the past five decades. “We commend the work that a whole host of folks (at the association) have done in providing a strong voice for a precious resource,” Supervisor Don Nottoli said Tuesday as he presented the resolution. The Save the American River Association is a volunteer, nonprofit group of more than 600 members and a Board of Directors that started in 1961 to develop the American River Parkway and to create a plan to maintain it. The 23-mile American River Parkway hosts more than 5 m

Instead of pursuing an ordinance to allow special permits for medical marijuana dispensary operations in the county, local business owners learned Thursday that county officials are taking steps to reinforce the current ban. “The Board of Supervisors is headed in a direction to reinforce a stance that the county does not permit medical marijuana dispensaries,” Leighann Moffitt, principal planner with the Sacramento County Planning Department said Thursday. A new section of the county zoning code is being proposed that specifically prohibits activity that violates federal or state law in any way. Moffitt spoke to local business owners as a featured guest at the Arden Arcade Business Coun

The future of development and affordable housing projects in Sacramento is starting to look pretty grim. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the state budget into law June 29, putting two new bills into effect that significantly impact redevelopment agencies: ABx26 and ABx27. “There is no good news in any of this,” said La Shelle Dozier, executive director for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA). “It’s very detrimental, given the fact that we have an economy that’s struggling.” The two bills go hand-in-hand. ABx26 says redevelopment agencies can opt to discontinue redevelopment activities and be dissolved. ABx27 says that if redevelopment agencies pay a first-year lump sum paymen

A proposed urgency ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries within the county was voted down by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors June 22, but the issue is far from dead in the water. Representatives of dispensary owners are speaking out in support of regulation that recognizes medical cannabis as a legitimate industry that is here to stay. Max Del Real, a lobbyist for the Sacramento Alliance of County Collectives (SACC), a medical cannabis trade association, spoke at the board meeting in June in opposition to the failed ordinance. “The county had proposed an ordinance that would essentially close down all of the dispensaries in the county,” Del Real said. “They had

As Steve Szalay prepared to hand over the reins to the top spot in county government, he talked about his experiences as interim county executive and sent a message to his successor: “Don’t screw it up.” Szalay came on board with the county in December of 2009 when County Executive Terry Schutten retired. It was a temporary assignment that would bring Szalay out of retirement just long enough to put the county back on track while the Board of Supervisors recruited a permanent county executive. With more than 40 years’ experience in California government, including work in the administration of four counties and as executive director for the California State Association of Counties, Szala

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors announced Wednesday that Brad Hudson has been selected to serve as the new county executive. Hudson will be leaving his position as city manager for Riverside to accept a five-year contract in Sacramento County. “We’re very pleased to have a candidate with such extensive experience and a hands-on attitude like Brad’s,” said County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan in a press release on Wednesday. According to the county board staff, Hudson was one of five candidates under consideration for the position in a process that began in early February. “We wanted someone who was a leader and had a track record of stimulating economic growth, successfully

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones told county leaders Monday that he has reduced his department’s budget gap but a $9.5 million shortfall remains that could result in department cuts. The sheriff’s department was among other county departments that addressed the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors during its first day of budget hearings for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The county is facing a $90 million shortfall for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The supervisors are expected to meet for additional hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday. The county has a two-budget process – the supervisors approve a first version of its budget in June and a final budget in the fall. Sacramento County Exec

The lack of adequate shelter for the homeless has been declared a state of emergency by Safe Ground. Safe Ground, an organization that is devoted to finding proper housing for the homeless, gathered for a vigil on Monday on the corner of 10th and I streets to bring awareness and have people sign petitions. Executive Director of Safe Ground Sacramento Steve Watters said he has been involved with the organization since its inception. “Safe Ground’s main mission/objective is to acquire a piece of land and build transitional housing for the homeless,” Watters said. “It is surprising how many people are homeless in Sacramento. We have between 1,200 and 1,400 in Sacramento at night time that

We keep hearing about our greenness. Here in Sacramento we have a tree program, various recycling programs, and other earth friendly initiatives. But can one policy trump all this? Can a city be truly green when it knowingly adds toxic chemicals imported from China to its drinking water? And to top it all, 99.99% of it is wasted. Lets look at the facts as the Sacramento Department of Utilities has presented them. Questions came up at a June 22, 2010 Sacramento City Council budget hearing. This resulted in a request for additional information regarding the city's water fluoridation program. On July 1st Marty Hanneman, Director of Utilities sent the Mayor & City Council members a memorandum

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the Sacramento City Council are moving forward with their plan to implement a new two-tier organization to continue the fight against homelessness. Current funding at The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance will run out June 30, 2011. The new organization will be a two-tiered public-private collaboration to fight homelessness in the city and county. Mayor Kevin Johnson introduced his homeless liaison, Ann Moore, at his weekly press conference Tuesday. Moore is the former executive director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. “Our intent is to set up a new joint nonprofit/JPA (Joint Powers Agency) with a goal of

The message from officials at Wednesday’s third annual State of Sacramento County forum was that things might be tough now, but hard work today is laying the groundwork for prosperity in the future. “We should always question our assumptions that things tomorrow will be as they are today,” said Roger Dickinson, chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and State Assemblyman-elect. The Metro Chamber event was held at Sacramento International Airport, and 260 people attended, according to Communications Director Hal Silliman. Dickinson said the $1.08 billion airport expansion – also known as “The Big Build” – is iconic of what is in store for the county and will “inspire us to f

The Old Soul Co. coffeehouse chain isn’t on the list of recommended vendors for the Sacramento International Airport’s new Terminal B, but company owners are hurriedly gathering signatures on a petition to put before the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors at their meeting Tuesday. At that meeting, the board will make its final decision on which companies will provide food and beverage concessions at the terminal, and Old Soul Co. co-owner Tim Jordan said he hopes to be included. “This is a decade-long contract,” Jordan said. “We feel like our bid was very strong, and we’re the locally owned choice at that.” In the terminal plans, three spaces are going to be used for coffeehouses, J

At least 725 county employees will be laid off as a result of the county budget approved by the Board of Supervisors Thursday in a 3-2 vote.  The board has now balanced its the county's budget, which had a $181 million gap. The total budget for the 2010/2011 fiscal year is $3.5 billion. Of that amount, $1.9 billion makes up the county’s general fund. Supervisors held lengthy meetings on the budget over the course of four days this week. Supervisors Roberta MacGlashan and Roger Dickinson voted against the budget’s general fund allocations, offering different reasons for why they disagreed with the budget. Supervisors Don Nottoli, Susan Peters and Jimmie Yee voted in support of passing th

While Sacramento County’s budget problems are likely to result in harsh cuts to public safety and social services departments, some of the smaller budget cuts are raising concerns among certain organizations. Sacramento County’s elected leaders are expected to decide this week whether to cut funding from several groups, including the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Board of Supervisors plans to approve the county’s budget Thursday or Friday. Hundreds of employees could lose their jobs as the supervisors address a $181 million budget gap. The Sacramento Tree Foundation, which promotes and administers tree plantings, may receive no funding

Cloned cannabis plants at Canna Care Munching on a herbal brownie at El Camino Wellness Center, AAMC state director Ryan Landers explained how tricky and self-conflicting medicinal cannabis laws are. "In Sacramento County, publicly smoking medicinal cannabis is considered ten 10 times worse than just smoking weed," he said. Landers has been a medicinal cannabis activist for over 15 years and has worked extensively in drafting legislation and law enforcement plans for the new dimension of legal medicine. He works with patients and patients' rights groups, lobbies and national advocacy groups. If weed was legal expertise, he'd be "the guy on the corner." Regarding the legal gap between