In a win for Mayor Kevin Johnson and his arena task force, the City Council agreed to start talks with Sacramento developer Gerry Kamilos on a plan to build a new sports and entertainment center in the downtown railyards and develop two other sites. The City Council’s approval to begin talks with the Kamilos Group was unanimous. While an agreement between the city and Kamilos was not completed Tuesday, the council moved closer to a decision to work with Kamilos. In Kamilos’ multi-layered plan, the downtown railyards would be the location of a new sports and entertainment center. The plan also calls for the creation of a new state fairgrounds at Arco Arena and nearby property. Kamilos’ t

Dust off your walking shoes, collect donations and prepare to Race for the Cure. The annual 5K run/walk and one-mile fun run takes place Saturday, May 8, at Cal Expo. Breast cancer is a major killer in the United States, and 5 percent of all disease diagnoses are men. The Susan G. Komen foundation is a leader in breast cancer research and awareness. The foundation holds different fundraising events throughout the year, but the Race for the Cure is the main one. This year, the Sacramento Komen Foundation's goal is to raise more than $1.8 million. Seventy-five percent of all donations collected stay in the Sacramento region with the money going toward public education and awareness. The o

Cloudy weather did not keep more than 80 sponsors, 600 beautiful cars and 35,000 guests from this weekend's Kragen O'Reilly Sacramento Autorama at Cal Expo. This year marks 60 years of appreciation for customized, classic American muscle cars. The rods, which rolled in Wednesday for registration and early judging, still can be viewed Sunday, the last chance to catch the three-day show. This year's theme, Mardi Gras, lends a special flavor to the event with decoration and awards for cars that best depict the theme. The anniversary makes this a special year for event producer John Buck. Pictures of show winners all the way back to the first Autorama in 1950 are on display. The Capital Aut

Under a slew of military flags, banners and pictures of troops, volunteers at Cal Expo collected care package donations Friday. They were members of the Defenders of Freedom a local nonprofit organization that assists servicemembers and their families. Toiletries, games and DVD's were among the most requested items by troops serving around the country and overseas. The items were being assembled into care packages for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Both my sons serve in the Army," said Maria Elena Szlachciuk, founder of Defenders of Freedom. "These items, combined with letters and cards, can lift a soldier's morale." The California chapter was founded in 2007 after a similar chapter s

Outdoors enthusiasts rejoice: The 23rd Annual International Sportsmen's Expo is happening at Cal Expo this weekend. A highlight of the Expo, is the Adventure Base 100, a celebration of the 100-year anniversary of Scouting. The base spans 9,000 square feet and contains a 360-degree movie dome, rope course, interactive museum and a store for everything Scout related. Local Scouts and adult leaders are there, ready to answer questions. This is the only Northern California stop for the Adventure Base. Friday night, the base was bustling with people watching the charity Pinewood Derby. Assemblymen Roger Niello and Ted Gaines joined "The Capitol Hour" host Eric Hogue and local Boy Scout leader

Fishing, hunting, camping, hiking or hang-gliding, the International Sportsmen's Exposition will have it all this weekend at Cal Expo. Exhibits and demonstrations will stretch four buildings, as hands-on activities cover outside. Casting competitions and fishing tournaments will be available. Casting tarps stretched 100 feet across the floor of building C, will provide the forum for fellow anglers. A large fish-filledaquarium will be featured for live demonstrations. Prizes include new fishing equipment. Clinics with professional anglers and hunters will be held for the home amateur to learn tricks of the trade. Classes include camouflage, duck calls and hunting laws. DockDogs will perfo

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s “Sacramento First” task force announced Tuesday it received seven new proposals from the private sector for a new sports and entertainment center. Prospective developers were required to turn in their proposals to the 12-member task force by Dec. 24. Johnson announced Nov. 10 that the task force would consider proposals. Members of the task force are not paid. The proposed locations for the sports complex from the private sector include the Railyards, Westfield Downtown Plaza, the Docks area, Cal Expo and the site of Arco Arena in Natomas. Descriptions of the proposals are posted at the end of this article. The seven private sector proposals will be analyzed along

This weekend, more than 250 artisans from throughout the country will display more than 24,000 arts and crafts at Cal Expo. From Nov. 20 - 22, the Sacramento Harvest Festival will offer the community shopping and entertainment. "We have people that come specifically for a vendor," said Liz Stigge, festival communications officer. "It's great to have that community interaction." The Sacramento Harvest Festival began 37 years ago in San Francisco. According to Stigge, individual artists, who were part of a national crafting movement in the 1970s, created the festival as forum to collectively display their work and interact with the community. Since then, the festival has expanded to e

"Wildly Successful!" said Stacey Castle, president of Castle Communications and producer for the international show, when I spoke with her moments after the gates closed, in response to what may have been the most successful auto shows in Sacramento history. The weekend-long Sacramento International Automotive Show had something to offer for every level of car enthusiast. With the auto market climate as it is, the changing economy and a need for good family entertainment, the event's coordinator, Castle Communications set out to make great strides with this year's Sacramento International Automotive Show in spite of odds that seemed to be stacked against them. Though numbers are not yet a

At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Kevin Johnson introduced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. It was held on the 25th floor of the US Bank building downtown, featuring panoramic views of the skyline with Cal Expo and the Sacramento Railyards in the background. Johnson's "rules" include coming up with a plan that doesn't depend on taxes, making sure the city is not a "stalking horse" for a deal elsewhere and utilizing experienced community members. He also announced that a task force will be established and that there will be an open call for proposals, with guidelines coming in the next few days. "I think it's time to reinvigorate a

Mayor Kevin Johnson brought up the possibility of a new sports arena in Sacramento at a press conference Tuesday. Johnson announced his top-three priorities are public safety, education and economic development, the latter of which a new sports arena could positively impact. Johnson reiterated that a new arena would be crucial not only in keeping the Kings in Sacramento, but also in terms of creating a "world-class" downtown. Currently, Arco Arena holds more than 200 spectator events each year. "We got a wake up call with the NCAA when they said we are no longer going to hold big-time college basketball in Sacramento because [we] have an outdated arena," Johnson said. Last week, after

To call them simply “firefighters” is an understatement. The men of Station 6 of the Sacramento Fire Department in Oak Park do more than put out fires. Out of more than 20 stations within the Sacramento Fire Department, the station is the busiest. Year after year, the station has also been ranked as one of the busiest in the nation. During their time at the house, firefighters are on-call to respond to a wide range of calls. Many are legitimate life-threatening emergencies, but a number of them don’t necessarily warrant a 9-1-1 response. A faked seizure, a man unconscious in the bushes covered with ants and foaming at the mouth, a woman who claimed she had been assaulted by six men and a

Smoke, flying debris and a rolled over vehicle is what Jerry Cook saw in front of him as he traveled south on Business 80. Four occupants are very fortunate to be alive today. At approximately 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, their Buick Lacrosse slammed into the barriers at the interchange of West Business 80 and Highway 160. The vehicle smashed through all the sand filled barriers then flip over coming to rest on it's roof. Jerry Cook was driving down 80 when all he saw in front of him was a cloud of smoke, flying debris and other cars dodging around the debris as the Buick came to rest. "No one was doing anything to help when myself and a lady officer helped two people get out of the car an

The city continues to view Cal Expo as an option for a new arena for the Sacramento Kings even though the governor said last week that the state may sell the property. Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday that the city wants to ensure "that we are in a position to make sure we're continuing to go forward with the arena." Cal Expo is "one option" for the city, he said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said last week the state could address its deficit by selling Cal Expo and other state-owned properties. Johnson said it was likely that he and other city staffers will meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the next couple of weeks. The city faces a $50 million deficit. The state is grappling wit

Today plans were submitted by the NBA to totally redo CalExpo and turn it into a mixed use, pedestrian-friendly, and transit oriented regional destination. The plan is to raze all 350 acres and over the next 27 years transform the CalExpo facilities into successful mixed –use development. No source of funding has been found to construct the new CalExpo and make infrastructure improvements for the entire site. There was also no cost given by the NBA as to how much the proposal will cost if the plans are well received and funding can found. Proposed changes to the Cal Expo programs would be ending live horse racing in 2012 and the water park would close in 2016. http://www.calexpo.com/PDFs/

In no particular order here are ten green benchmarks in Sacramento during 2008: The City Council voted in August to allocate $650,000 to count trees in the city as well as to gauge the health of our conifers. TV's CBS 13 assigned an "outrage alert" to the move inferring it was misuse of precious funds. Mayoral candidate (now Mayor) Kevin Johnson echoed similar sentiment. BTW a tree limb did fall on a campaign party in June for then-incumbent mayor Heather Fargo causing some injuries. Sacramento lost its only progressive talk commercial radio station in June as Talk City 1240 became Rejoice 1240 KRJY with a format known as hip-hop gospel. This reporter read some of the newscasts for a tim