On the same day that activists and supporters rallied together for homeless rights at the Safe Ground Jubilee, attorneys for the city of Sacramento were busy filing a motion to appeal a Federal Court decision in a contentious homeless class action lawsuit. “Our rationale for appeal is based primarily on procedural and evidentiary rulings that came up in the trial,” Brett Witter, supervising deputy city attorney for Sacramento said Thursday. The motion for appeal was filed Sept. 14 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by attorney Chance Trimm, on behalf of the city. According to court documents, the city is appealing a May 24 Federal Court decision that found the city liable on two of s

The other day I was at a local grocery chain in West Sacramento when a young woman park her Escalade in a handicapped spot and hung the familiar blue plastic card on her rear view mirror. But, when she exited the car, she was not what I expected. She was as agile as she was young. She didn’t exhibit any of the familiar symptoms that a person who would need a handicapped placard would. She didn’t need a cane, or a wheelchair, or a medical assistant, as she was nimble and very capable.  As a matter of fact, she walked better to the store entrance and then around the store to shop than I did, and I don’t have any need whatsoever for a handicapped placard. My curiosity got the better of me a

It's about time. On Tuesday night, the Sacramento City Council voted 6-3 to make it a crime to dig thru recycling and waste bins. (City Council members Fong, McCarty and Pannell were the votes against it).  Anyone who lives in Midtown, downtown, East Sac, Land Park, and other areas will appreciate the new ordinance. That's because stealing recyclable materials has become a full-time activity for plenty of folks -- and a headache for those of us who live in the city. During the past few years, the problem of bin raiding has gone from bad to worse.  A few months ago, a friend in Midtown told me how the scavengers had taken to jumping his fence and coming into his backyard to go after the