The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities reminds its residential water customers that customers who have a water meter and who have received a comparative bill for at least one year will be converting to a metered rate in January 2010. Residents who have a meter, but who have not had a year of comparative billing will remain on a flat rate until they have received a year of comparative billing. Customers who do not currently have a water meter will receive a year of comparative billing once a water meter is installed before being switched to a metered rate. The City is installing water meters on more than 110,000 homes by 2025 and converting customers with a water meter to metered b

This Tuesday the Sacramento City Council will approve authorization for a $20 Million grant/loan funding the first phase of the Water Meter Retrofit Project. The Project will retrofit approximately 11,000 to 13,000 residential and commercial properties within the City of Sacramento with the first phase of the project retrofitting approximately 1,735 services with meters. Back in 2005, Assembly Bill 2572 (AB 2572) requires the installation and use of water meters by 2025 across the state, including in the City of Sacramento. This law supersedes the City charter. Signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 29, 2004, the water meter retrofit program affects about 120,000 C

  We've all seen the street cleaning signs Downtown. No Parking on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, take your pick, from 8 a.m. to noon, usually. We've struggled trying to remember which side is which when we've come home late at night, and then tried to find a spot on the correct side. Is it all really necessary? I've had occasion to be home on a number of street cleaning days for my street. The funny thing is, I haven't seen street cleaners--ever! I don't see the evidence that they've even been there. What I do see are tickets. Evidence that the meter maid has come by to ticket you for parking someplace. Someplace where they need to clean, but won't. For transparency's sake, during a recen

On Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Harmony on the River, a free summer concert series from the City of West Sacramento, will present the final concert of the season.  Enjoy an evening with Hurricane Sam & the Hotshots, featuring boogie, blues, and jazz. Harmony on the River is a family-friendly event, so please bring the kids, a picnic, and soak up the sounds. Pets on leash are allowed, but the City asks that you refrain from any glass bottles. Parking is free also, so just see a parking attendant on site for a pass. For more information, contact Scott Stanley of the City of West Sacramento Parks & Recreation, scottst@cityofwestsacramento.org.  

The City of West Sacramento announces a modification underway in the traffic flow parallel to City Hall, 1110 West Capitol Avenue as part of the West Capitol Avenue Streetscape construction project. All eastbound vehicle and bicycle traffic is shifted to a single south lane on West Capitol Avenue. Westbound vehicles and bicycles will continue using the north side of West Capitol. All pedestrian access continues on the north side of the street, as West Capitol's south sidewalk remains closed, and the closure of Merkley Avenue from West Capitol Avenue to approximately 600 feet south stays in effect. The two Yolobus eastbound transfer stations at Merkley Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard have

The City of West Sacramento has announced their Mimi-Grant Program for community service organizations with a great program idea needing additional funding. The City's "Community Mini-Grant Program" provides funds annually to help qualifying West Sacramento non-profit organizations with special funding needs. This year, thirty thousand dollars is available to non-profit organization applicants that can demonstrate a viable need that benefits West Sacramento and its residents. Applications for the mini-grant program must be submitted by Sept. 25, 2009, to the Parks & Recreation Department, 1110 West Capitol Ave., West Sacramento, CA 95691. Once all of the applications are in, they will

City Distributes 168 Pink Slips Many city employees learned last week that their last day of work may be June 19. The city distributed 168 pink slips Monday, June 2. The 168 figure is not set in stone. City officials said fewer people may be laid off if unions make concessions. The city is dealing with a budget deficit in excess of $43 million. Firefighters Nix Labor Agreement with City City managers and the local firefighters’ union both said Friday they are willing to head back to the bargaining table after firefighters voted down a labor deal last week. The city’s decision to distribute layoff notices to firefighters is a key dispute between city management and Sacramento Area Fire

Sacramento's firefighters’ union and city management have made a preliminary deal to maintain jobs that city officials hope will be approved by union members later this week. A union spokeswoman, meanwhile, is saying that no one is “thrilled” about the proposed agreement. The deal, which was arranged Friday and made public Monday, would maintain 50 positions in the city’s fire department and take $5 million off the city's deficit, said Gus Vina, an assistant city manager who is negotiating with the city’s unions. A key part of the agreement is that the firefighters would give up their 5 percent cost-of-living pay increases that had been scheduled for July, Vina said. Instead of the 5 per

Got questions about what's going on in your 'hood? Got a problem that needs fixing? A city neighborhood resources coordinator just might be able to help. Central city residents will get a chance to discuss concerns and get information close to home next month when the city's Neighborhood Services Department sets up new "community hours" in Midtown. Neighborhood coordinator Janine Martindale will be available at Midtown's Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St. (I and 27th streets), from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2. The department has scheduled drop-in hours throughout the city. East Sacramento residents can visit Clunie Community Center, 601 Alhambra Blvd., from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 14. T

A group of Sacramento residents is fighting the city’s proposed cuts to its parks system and providing suggestions for maintaining park services. The city’s proposal to cut parks services is one of many possible reductions council members are considering as they deal with a $50 million budget gap.   About 15 members of the group, which is calling itself Rescue Sacramento Parks, attended Tuesday’s City Council meeting to voice their concerns about cuts to parks. Members of the group are involved in neighborhood associations.   Craig Powell, the group’s chairman, told the City Council that the proposed budget cuts to parks have “deeply alarmed Sacramento’s neighbors, neighborhoods and cit

Until recently, R Street languished with an isolated, post-industrial vibe. Warehouses, loading docks and abandoned railroad tracks formed the areaʼs spine. Many locals would wander into the area to catch performances at Studio Theatre, music at Fox & Goose or a Second Saturday show at the Art Foundry. Five years ago, R Street began to throb with new life. R Street Marketplace, anchored by Safeway and Peet’s Coffee, was built at 19th and R streets. The Empire nightclub opened, and recently, the block saw the opening of Magpie Catering, The Shady Lady and 12 new lofts upstairs. On the street’s other end, CalPERS amped its image by erecting its impressive headquarters. Wednesday night, bu

The Sacramento City Council will keep working on its plan to set up a streetcar that will, when completed, travel between downtown West Sacramento and downtown Sacramento. However, most details about how the three-year-old plan would work are not settled. Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to keep working on the plan, which is known as the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar Project. “By doing this, we’re recommitting not just to a streetcar, but to do a starter line between Central City and West Sacramento,” said Councilman Steve Cohn. “I think it’s been something that’s a regional priority, and one that the city certainly wants to be a part of.” The exact route and alignment for the

The city’s Development Services Department has a new name. It’s now known as the Community Development Department (CDD). City records manager and acting spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson explained that the new department brings together long-range planning staff and development services staff. The administrative change is an efficiency, she said. The city’s 2009/2010 proposed budget includes a plan to move Planning Department employees. Under the plan, the Planning Department would move 26 full-time positions and $2.4 million to the new CDD “as part of the consolidation of planning services,” the budget states. Of the 26 positions, one is not funded and the remaining 25 are funded. The ne

Sacramento’s vice mayor questioned the Development Oversight Commission (DOC) Thursday over its plan to combine the city’s design and planning commissions. The plan has drawn criticism from residents who say that joining the design and planning commissions would put a damper on public involvement. The DOC is an advisory group to the city’s Development Services Department. At Thursday’s City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Lauren Hammond asked DOC members pointed questions about their plan. She criticized the way the DOC had presented its proposal. “I don’t know if you’ve changed your recommendation completely, but do you feel better knowing that you’ve talked to some of the neighbors? Inste

The city of Sacramento is starting work on a climate change program that will aim to lower its greenhouse gas emissions. If the climate program receives adequate funding, it will be launched in July and created over a two-year span, said Tom Pace, long-range planning manager for the city. The program will be known as the city’s climate action plan. “There might be new policies that come out of this work that we’re doing” for the climate action plan, Pace said. He noted that new climate change policies may need to be incorporated into Sacramento’s 2030 general plan, which is a long-term road map for city planning. Pace explained that the climate program is being created as a follow-up a

A city official said Tuesday he was optimistic about current efforts to save Sacramento $5 million and 50 jobs through negotiations with the local firefighters’ union. Gus Vina, a Sacramento assistant city manager, said the city is currently in talks with the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. The city government is trying to convince the firefighters’ union to give up pay increases scheduled for July. Vina said the city and the firefighters’ union are engaged in “very productive” discussions. If the firefighters’ union does not give up its pay increases, Vina said the city will need to lay off 50 department employees. The positions could come from any of the following types of fi

Sacramento residents who receive Social Security funds will soon get an extra $250 check in the mail. In Sacramento, 111,840 residents who participate in the Social Security benefits program will receive the additional $250 check in the next few weeks. About 52 million Americans across the country will receive the $250 checks. The one-time money is part of the federal stimulus package, known formally as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Sacramento residents will receive about $27.96 million total in the form of these checks, according to the office of Representative Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento). “Every dollar helps during this time when people hurt by the economic downturn are

The $615,000 the Sacramento Police Department will spend to purchase security cameras and related surveillance equipment comes from a pot of federal Homeland Security funds. Mayor Kevin Johnson said earlier this week the surveillance equipment may be used at K Street and at Regional Transit stations. But what is the connection between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Sacramento sites such as K Street and the local light rail stations? Sgt. Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police Department said terrorism is a Homeland Security concern, but other threats fall under the definition of “Homeland Security,” as well. “Transit hubs are naturally potential targets for terrorism,” Leong

Gerald Celestine knows Sacramento residents have a stake in how the city and county will spend federal stimulus dollars that are intended to counter homelessness. Celestine, an active member of Sacramento’s Area 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG), planned a discussion for the April 20 NAG meeting so residents can brainstorm how they want their local governments to use about $4.8 million in federal monies for homelessness. The pot of money will be distributed almost evenly between the county and city: The city is expected to receive $2.375 million, and the county expects $2.397 million. Sacramento neighbors would like to express “some of our hopes and desires for this money,” Celestine

City staff and a Sacramento commission that addresses development issues have slowed the advancement of a contentious plan to combine the planning and design commissions. Following public controversy over the proposal, a city staffer’s Friday update on the proposal indicates that it is now more open-ended and less detailed than the version outlined earlier this week by a member of the Development Oversight Commission (DOC), which suggests possible actions on development issues to the City Council. Emilie Schell, a program analyst for the city’s Development Services Department, said Friday that the proposal is “still very much in the planning stages at this time.” A public outreach effor