The Brown Act is not currently enforceable, according to an attorney and lobbyist for the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Thomas Newton discussed the status of the state’s law on transparency for local government meetings at a forum on open government held at Pacific McGeorge School of Law Wednesday. About 30 people attended the talk, which was a Sunshine Week event. Local library associations and the Sacramento County League of Women Voters sponsored the event. Sunshine Week, which technically ended March 19, is an annual effort to promote transparency in government. Newton said the state is not currently reimbursing local governments for the costs of creating and posting m

Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to slash redevelopment agencies spurred a protest and press conference at the Convention Center Friday, bringing together Sacramento leaders and about 100 officials from cities throughout the state. Chris McKenzie, executive director of the League of California Cities, said that cities may consider suing the state if it disbands redevelopment agencies. Brown’s office contends that local services, such as schools and public safety, could receive the funding currently used by redevelopment agencies if the agencies shut down. But city leaders in Sacramento and throughout the state argue that ending redevelopment agencies would seriously harm jobs and local develo

Andy Pugno drafted the California law that prohibits gay marriage, but his Assembly campaign website does not mention Proposition 8. Pugno, a Republican and the attorney for Prop. 8 supporters, is competing in a tense race with Democrat Richard Pan for the District 5 Assembly seat. Read a profile of Pan here.  In an interview on Friday, Pugno said he’s not running on the issue of same-sex marriage. Rather, the Folsom resident said he is focusing on the issues of state spending, job creation and local governments’ relationship with the state. The Sacramento Press asked Pugno if he’s trying to distance himself from Prop. 8 by not mentioning it on his campaign website. “I’m not trying to

Physician Richard Pan supports gay marriage. Attorney Andy Pugno is the author of Proposition 8, which prohibits gay marriage in the state. Democrat Pan and Republican Pugno, the top two California Assembly candidates seeking to represent Sacramento and its surrounding areas, don’t have much in common. Voters will go to the polls Nov. 2 to choose a winner for the District 5 seat. Roger Niello, who formerly held the District 5 seat, is now a candidate for state Senate. Pan, a North Natomas resident and pediatrician at the University of California, Davis, Children’s Hospital, sat down with The Sacramento Press last week to explain his ideas and priorities. The Sacramento Press will featu

Mayor Kevin Johnson and representatives from public agencies and small businesses said Thursday that ballot measure Proposition 23 would harm the environment, green businesses and air quality. The November ballot measure would overturn the state’s climate change law, AB 32, until the state reaches an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent or lower for four consecutive quarters. AB 32, which the California Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger passed in 2006, aims to cut California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Backers of Prop. 23, officially called the “California Jobs Initiative,” argue that AB 32 hurts businesses that must pay the expense of making mandatory changes to comply. The Sacrame

Sacramento County’s public safety and social service programs will be harmed if the state advances a proposal to borrow $2 billion from local governments, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst. The county is planning cuts to close its own $180 million budget gap. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed borrowing property tax revenues from local governments as one of many ways to address the state’s $24.3 billion deficit. Holst noted that Sacramento County’s portion of the $2 billion would be $32 million. Lending $32 million in county revenues to the state “would directly impact public safety and social programs,” Holst said. “We are watching the state very closely to see what they ar