On November 19, Assemblymember Dickinson, along with Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and U.S. Congresswoman Doris Matsui, is hosting a free Citizenship Fair at Pacific McGeorge School of Law Student Center in Sacramento to assist legal permanent residents in good standing with the citizenship application process. Currently, California has over 2.4 million eligible legal permanent residents. As immigration policies and procedures continue to change, it is increasingly important to apply for and to obtain citizenship. Benefits for legal permanent residents who obtain citizenship include the ability to vote, the opportunity to reunite with family members and the continuance of health care c

The City Management Academy's 3rd weekly Wednesday evening class brought the diverse group of 30 community association, organization and agency leaders together for the first of several off-site meetings this week. Who knew how vast the city's Corporation Yard (on 24th Street south of Fruitridge) actually is: 20+ buildings containing shops, offices, storage, and more are spread across acres abutting the neighboring Executive Airport. Some factoids we learned from city department heads this evening included: Our city owns 2000+ parcels of land, containing more than 400 properties to maintain. The city's amazing 311 Call Center receives 30,000 - 40,000 calls every month. They answer an

A Perspective: 2011 City Management Academy's Class #2: Mayor Johnson Presents with his Initiatives’ Pep Rally Squad The second session of the 2011 City Management Academy (CMA) 12-week classroom for neighborhood association and other community & business leaders began with a 4-minute, professionally-produced video presentation complete w/ pulsing background music and splashy visual edits which highlighted some of Mayor Johnson’s accomplishments while in office. As the video ended, Wednesday evening’s first speaker, the mayor (waiting in the wings -- poised in the doorway shadows of a 5th floor New City Hall conference room, standing very still & quiet, head bowed, anticipating the roo

After a few years of budget-induced hiatus, the city’s Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) revived a noteworthy community program Wednesday night. The City Management Academy (CMA) http://www.cityofsacramento.org/city-management-academy// is an annual 12-week series of classroom presentations designed to educate community organizers to better understand how our city government operates.  Wednesday evening's initial 3-hour session brought 30 eager, newly-appointed members of the "2011 CMA class" to their City Hall conference room home base, and the agenda and process for the next several months of presentations and city facility visits. With substantial support from a core group of ded

When Nancy Swift and husband Tom Chandler adopted 2-year-old Meskerem, Swift met Meskerem’s biological mother, who had one request: that her child be given every possible opportunity. On Tuesday morning, Swift, Chandler and Meskerem made the trip from their home in Mt. Shasta to Sacramento, where Meskerem joined 23 other children aged 12 and under in receiving their citizenship certificates. According to Swift, receiving the certificate is a big part of providing her adopted toddler with the opportunity her biological mother asked for. “She’s been such a blessing to us,” Swift said. “This is finalizing her status here in this country. It’s been a long journey to becoming a family.” Th

We seem to take our citizenship for granted and we expect all the liberties and rights of our constitution. Today a group of 10 children were presented with certificates of U.S. citizenship. The event took place at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum. The Children’s Oath Ceremony included one child each from the countries of China, Vietnam, Singapore and Poland. Pakistan, Mexico and the Philippines each had two new citizens. The small Schoolhouse Museum was packed with the new young citizens as well as family members and friends. The ceremony began at 10 a.m. and various members of the media were in attendance. The site of the event was chosen by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Ser

One Wednesday every month, if you drive down J Street, you will see hundreds of people lined up outside of Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. New Americans born all around the world are waiting to celebrate one of the proudest days of their lives. Once inside, these patriots will take their oaths and be sworn in as new citizens of our great country. If you look closely, you will also see a number of folks going through the line, carrying clipboards. These hardworking volunteers are helping the new citizens register to vote, so that they can fulfill one of their core civic responsibilities. Engaged citizens taking part in the process, helping to elect our leaders and making decisions on impor