Tuesday on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program, I talked to host Beth Ruyak about the arena deal, a local business’ history, a new bicycle event and the upcoming SactoMoFo 4. With Friday’s dissolution of the arena deal as it was planned, all parties involved are trying to figure out what to do next. While the Maloofs discussed the possibility of renovating Power Balance Pavilion, city leaders and Think Big Sacramento said Monday that they are still looking into placing an arena in the downtown railyards. A local grassroots group, Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP), is trying to gather the approximately 21,000 signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot that wou

In a world where nearly everyone has a smartphone or an iPod and news flashes are delivered in 140 characters or less, the landscape of news media is rapidly changing. Here is a quick roundup of recent changes in the local news outlets: Sacramento News & Review: Looking for a new editor The Sacramento News & Review has been a print publication since 1989, and Melinda Welsh has been the editor for most of that time. About a week ago, she decided to step down, and now the News & Review is conducting a nationwide search for her replacement. “I love the job, it’s the coolest job,” Welsh said Friday. “But it’s been long enough. Eighteen years as an editor? It’s time to do something different

During The Sacramento Press’ spot on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” Tuesday morning, host Jeffrey Callison and I discussed the Occupy Sacramento movement, early turns in the upcoming City Council elections, a design competition for Capitol Mall and the arrival of a sailing vessel in Old Sacramento. With the Occupy Sacramento demonstration well into its second week, protesters are upset that Cesar Chavez Plaza is closed from 11 p.m. - 5 a.m. due to a city ordinance. Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman Laura Peck said Monday that 58 arrests have been made, and the City Council plans to decide whether to allow the protesters to stay in the park after hours, after they went to City Hal

I filled in for David Watts Barton Tuesday morning for the weekly segment of The Sacramento Press on Capital Public Radio's “Insight,” and Jeffrey Callison and I talked about chicken keeping, a record-setting City Council meeting on redistricting and a few fun additions to the central city – including a restaurant that serves drinks in fish bowls. The Sacramento City Council may pass an ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night that will allow residents to keep up to three egg-laying chickens in their backyards – as long as the chickens are enclosed and the enclosure is 20 feet away from the neighbors’ homes. Residents would need to apply for a permit and pay to renew it each year. There is

If a man is interviewed for climbing Mount Everest and the reporter fails to ask how and why he set out to climb the mountain, then that reporter has missed the most important part of the interview, said Capital Public Radio personality Jeffrey Callison during a workshop at The Sacramento Press. Callison taught The Art and Craft of Interviewing to 41 community members Tuesday. It was a workshop intended for journalists, aspiring journalists and people who are interested in learning how to conduct effective interviews. “You’ll get the meat of the story from ‘the why’ and ‘the how,’” Callison said. “That’s where the story starts to come out. That’s the most important stuff in an interview

Final approval of the 700 block of K Street, a new executive for Sacramento County, local entertainment and building fees going up and a new park proposed for Midtown are among the topics discussed Tuesday by David Watts Barton and Jeffrey Callison on Capital Public Radio's Insight. Tonight's City Council meeting will include a vote on the final approval on the 700 block of K Street. It's gone through every level of approval and this means that they will be able, as Bay Miry told me, to do what we know how to do, which is build stuff. They're talking about 14 businesses on that block, including a tapas bar, a nightclub, restaurants and bars. This has the potential to transform K Street an

An audit report stating that the city’s development department failed to collect more than $2.3 million in fees from developers raises a host of questions. The audit’s finding that city employees broke state and city laws makes the situation even more complex. The audit, prepared by Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc., investigated the department’s work from fiscal years 2007 through 2010. “In summary, the weak system of internal controls allowed employees to disregard state and city building laws, codes, and regulations aimed at protecting the public’s health, safety, and general welfare,” the audit states. Read the full audit report here. The City Council is expected to

Anyone looking for a clean kill in tonight’s gubernatorial debate between Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman probably walked away a little disappointed. If you were hoping for another Jan Brewer moment in which a candidate seems to simply and completely lose it on camera, again, disappointment reigns. But if you were looking for a reasonably thoughtful discussion of many of the real issues facing California, there was much to appreciate in the debate staged at the Mondavi Center at University of California, Davis. Three local journalists – Amy Chance of the Sacramento Bee, Marianne Russ of Capital Public Radio and Kevin Riggs of KCRA Channel 3 – led the candidates through ten questions ranging f

  Capital Public Radio and Swell-Productions presents Blues on the Green 2 on September 26, 2010. Featured performers will be The Blues Broads and The Nick Gravenites Band with emcee Mick Martin. Tickets for the much anticipated event can be purchased at The Beat and Dimple Records locations and if the event is not sold out you can also purchase tickets at the gates. One of the Blues Broads, Angela Strehli, sometimes known as the “First Lady of Texas Blues” took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions. After a couple of rehearsals, on the morning of the interview, she indicated her voice might be going out. As luck would have it her voice held up and she answered all quest

A double shot of the deepest Chicago and Texas blues--from the some of the biggest living legends of the genre are arriving in town this Sunday to play an afternoon all ages concert in Sacramento.“BLUES ON THE GREEN 2” stars The Blues Broads and the Nick Gravenites Band. Honored emcee is blues radio legend and harp man, Mick Martin. Sunday, Sept. 26 The Green @ Capital Public Radio/ southernmost corner of Sac State University 7055 Folsom Ave./Sacramento    Doors: 1 PM      Showtime: 2 PM  With a wall of soul sound that could tumble Jericho, four powerful women singers stand at the front of the stage and make believers of every audience member. Rocking, scolding, testifying and torching,

Capital Public Radio’s Annual Used Record & CD Sale will be held Saturday and Sunday June 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year’s sale will once again take place at the Howe ‘Bout Arden shopping center, 2100 Arden Way, Suite 172 in Sacramento. The Annual Used Record & CD Sale offers music and movies for hugely discounted prices. Last year, approximately 1,000 people took advantage of the great deals on vinyl records, DVDs, audio books, videogames, and more. There are diverse formats of audio and other entertainment to choose from in a variety of genres. From LPs to CDs, video games, and VHS to Blue Ray DVDs, all types of media have been collected over the past months All musical gen

With a focus on strengthening and expanding its news, information and public affairs content, Capital Public Radio has named Joe Barr Director of News and Information Programming.   In this new position, Barr, who previously served as Capital Public Radio News Director, will oversee the station’s news and information format, including local news, the daily talk show Insight, the California Capitol Network statewide news service and the Second Opinions health care forums as well as national news programming on CPR.   Capital Public Radio will soon be creating two more News and Information positions: a senior editor and business reporter. The station will be opening a bureau in Stockton

April 13, 2010 Contact: Constance Crawford Capital Public Radio (916) 278-8955 constance.crawford@csus.edu Capital Public Radio Reporters Win Distinguished Journalism Awards Capital Public Radio’s Marianne Russ has won the well-respected California Journalism Award. The annual award recognizes excellence in state government reporting in print, radio and television. It’s sponsored by the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State and the Sacramento Press Club. Russ, who is CPR’s Capitol Bureau Chief, won for a compilation of stories. They included an in-depth piece on legislation to stabilize the state’s water supply, as well as three stories about California’s ongoing budget woes

Capital Public Radio’s quarterly Second Saturday artist reception will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 6 to 9 pm. Presented in partnership with Solomon Dubnick Gallery, “Tarmo Returns,” includes oils by artist Tarmo Pasto, Professor Emeritus, CSUS. “Man walks about in two space dimensions, the vertical and the horizontal, interpenetrating volumes of which he is the dynamic and controlling center………. In my paintings I have attempted to create sensory space so that the beholder could feel at one with the painting,” Tarmo Pasto. The Capital Public Radio Community Room at 7055 Folsom Boulevard will display the show from March 30 through June 30, and is available for public viewing duri

Capital Public Radio Introduces JazzStream 24-Hour Online Jazz Music Capital Public Radio today introduced JazzStream. This new resource explores the vibrant artistry of jazz online, 24 hours a day at www.capradio.org/jazzstream. In addition to the new JazzStream, Jazz fans can find expanded online radio options in the “On Demand” section at Capital Public Radio’s website, capradio.org. Signature programs like Acid Jazz, Classic Jazz and Swing or Mick Martin’s Blues Party are frequently updated. Listeners tuning to Capital Public Radio’s news/jazz stations enjoy public radio’s non-commercial format, and that extends to online and on-demand content. “At a time when commercial radio stati

Sustainable development was defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The panel consisted of Joe Barr, News Director of Capital Public Radio, Michael Sanford, VP of Content Creation at KVIE Public Television, Ron Trujillo, Editor of The Sacramento Business Journal, Ben Ilfeld, Co-founder and Operations Manager of The Sacramento Press, Mary Lynne Vellinga, Business Editor of The Sacramento Bee and Jeff von Kaenel, CEO of The Sacramento News & Review The panel discussed their coverage of green issues. Barr said that the Capital Public Radio coverage of green issues has grown in last 3-4 year

As the influential “Fourth Branch of Government” the Press impacts our understanding of all topics. So how is the media here in Sacramento addressing the topic of sustainability? Attendees of the next Sacramento Sustainability Forum (SSF) will have the opportunity to ask that question, find out what key members of our local media are doing themselves to be more sustainable, and learn about how these news leaders view the sustainability of their industry. The Sacramento Sustainability Forum has assembled a panel of local media leaders that includes: Joe Barr, News Director – Capital Public Radio, Ben Ilfeld, Co-Founder and Operations Manager – The Sacramento Press, Michael Sanford, VP of C

A Sacramento smooth jazz radio station is recasting itself as a rock station, but don’t expect the jazz-heads at Capital Public Radio to shed any tears. Gary Vercelli, CPR’s jazz music director, said the format switch at KSSJ 94.7 FM could be a boon for CPR’s three jazz shows. CPR, at 90.9 FM, wants to pick up KSSJ’s listeners.
 “We’re just hoping that people will find us” on the radio dial, Vercelli said. CPR and KSSJ shared the same pool of jazz listeners, he added. Vercelli said he was surprised to learn that KSSJ was overhauling its format. John Nelson, who is listed as a media contact for 94.7, was not immediately available Thursday afternoon and did not return two phone messages

Delve into the romance of the Viennese operetta with tenor Hannes Busch, soprano Rufina Anatolevan-James and pianist Schinnerer Deffner. This Sunday, September 27 at 3 p.m., enjoy a luxurious hour of 13 operettas by timeless composers Emmerich Kálmán, Franz Lehár, Johann Strauss Jr. and Carl Zeller. The Classical Concert is presented by the Crocker Art Museum. Due to construction for the Museum’s expansion, the concerts now take place on the Sacramento State campus in Capistrano Hall. A renowned opera and concert singer, Busch was educated at the Opera Studio of Hannover, Germany, where he was later engaged as a soloist for operettas. He has also been a recipient of the prestigious Puccin

Getting cutting edge rock music onto the airwaves has been a struggle since the days of “free form” FM radio’s birth in 1968. Hearing David Bowie on rock radio in 1972 was as rare as hearing U2 in 1982 or Radiohead in 1995. And Flaming Lips? Forget about it. Being young and into what has been called “alternative” rock (before it became a marketing term), Nick Brunner understands this. And like many before him, he is a tireless crusader for bands like New Pornographers and Shins and Pavement, bands who don’t get on the radio. Fortunately for Brunner, and for Sacramento music fans, Brunner works at Capital Public Radio’s KXJZ (90.9 FM), the local affiliate of National Public Radio. Though pr