Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Steps Forward will expand its emergency shelter program to meet additional demand. An additional 57 beds will be made available through expanded Winter Sanctuary and Motel Voucher programs. Councilmember Steve Cohn and Jay Schenirer met last week with Sacramento Steps Forward, Sacramento Housing Alliance, as well as homeless advocates, the faith community, and business leaders to discuss the critical need for additional winter shelter options. The added beds will double the existing capacity of the Motel Voucher program from 40 to 80 beds and increase the Winter Sanctuary program from 100 to 117 spaces per night. The additional beds are not fully funded for th

Additional efforts will be made by the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Sheriff's Department to prevent youth involvement in gangs by promoting interactions between police officers and the youth. The mayor is calling this approach a paradigm shift, and it will be part of Sacramento's first comprehensive plan for gang prevention, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Club on Lemon Hill Avenue. The emphasis of the program will be heavy on prevention and intervention instead of just enforcement and incarceration, according to the mayor. Johnson said the program will focus on school literacy enrichment, strengthening the relationship between the Sacramento com

Flood protection – particularly in the Natomas area – is a top priority for the city going into the new year as the City Council Law and Legislation Committee approved the city’s legislative priorities at last week’s meeting. “I wonder what New Orleans’ priorities were a year before Hurricane Katrina hit?” asked City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby Tuesday. “Was it working on that levee? Probably not.” Ashby’s District 1 includes the Natomas Basin – an area surrounded by 42 miles of levees and vulnerable to floodwaters. There has not been a significant flood in the Natomas Basin since the levees were constructed in the late 1800s, Rick Johnson, executive director of the Sacramento Area Flo

The National Basketball Association might still be in a lockout, but the Sacramento region is set to have a celebrity basketball tournament Nov 14. where eight teams representing Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Elk Grove, Roseville, West Sacramento, Rocklin, Citrus Heights and Sacramento are participating for a fundraising event. The Jumpstart 21 Hoops and Alley Oops Regional Celebrity Basketball Tournament is a three-on-three half-court basketball tournament fundraising event held by the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce (SACC). The proceeds will benefit Jumpstart 21, a workforce development and internship placement program by the SACC for young adults recently out of the foster care

Sacramento County and City are working together with generous donors to coordinate winter shelter services for the homeless. “It’s imperative that the County, City and private interests work together to maximize available resources in preparation for winter shelter needs,” said County Supervisor Phil Serna. “We hope that individuals, businesses, labor organizations and others will continue to donate, volunteer and otherwise support the efforts of our shelter providers and our local faith community.” At last night’s Sacramento City Council meeting, the City Council approved $100,000 for the homeless motel voucher program. In addition, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which

On September 6, 2011 City Council approved new Council district boundaries for the City of Sacramento. The new Council district boundaries will be effective October 6, 2011. The City has developed a tool available to the community that allows individuals to enter any address within the City limits and get the current district and the new district for that address. The tool is available on the City’s main website at http://www.cityofsacramento.org/. A map of the new districts and the staff report with the adopted ordinance are also available on the City’s redistricting website at www.cityofsacramento.org/redistricting.  

The City and County of Sacramento remind Sacramento residents to take time this month to prepare for emergency situations including extreme winter and summer weather and flooding. Residents and businesses should have emergency plans and kits ready. Everyone should build a kit including all items necessary to sustain them through a disaster. All Sacramento area residents and businesses are encouraged to purchase a flood insurance policy, even if it is not required. Homes and businesses are often the largest investments that you have and homeowner’s policies will not cover flooding damages caused by heavy winter rains or levee failures. Flood insurance policies can be as little as $350 per

Sacramento City Councilmember Rob Fong, community, local skateboarders and the City’s Parks and Recreation Department to celebrate grand opening of Reichmuth Skate Park. Wednesday, August 31, 2011 11 A.M. Reichmuth Park (6135 Gloria Drive) Reichmuth park improvements include a skate park, concrete walkways, a seating area, bike racks, a security camera and signage. The total construction cost was approximately $227,600. Funding for this project came from Park Impact Fees which come from development projects in this planning area.  This funding cannot be used for park maintenance, operations or other City Departments.  Construction began in November 2010 and was completed in August 2011.

On Tuesday, August 2, 2011, City of Sacramento Councilmember Ashby will join residents of District One in celebrating the 28th annual “National Night Out” against crime. Over 20 neighborhoods throughout the district have events planned such as block parties, ceremonies, BBQs, ice cream socials and other neighborhood social activities. These events allow neighbors to get to know one another, so that together they can fight to keep crime out of their communities. Public Safety is a community and team effort. Councilmember Ashby encourages neighbors to get to know each other and work together toward safer communities. Let’s send a message to criminals that crime and illegal activity in our n

There is a lot of talk about changes to redevelopment agencies in the state and the impact those changes will have on development projects in Sacramento. To get a better idea of how redevelopment agencies work from a fiscal point of view, Sacramento Press has put together a “redevelopment primer” to make it easier to understand where the money comes from, where it goes and how the city benefits from redevelopment funding – and how it doesn’t. “It all starts with property taxes, guaranteed school funding from Proposition 98, and state redevelopment law,” said Peter Detwiler, a consultant with the state Senate Governance & Finance Committee. FIRST, WHAT IS A REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY? Cities a

The City of Sacramento reminds residents and visitors to be safe this July 4th Holiday weekend. Below are a few friendly reminders: • The City and County of Sacramento require that anybody under the age of 13 must wear a life jacket while in the regions’ waterways. • Children should be supervised at all times when fireworks are in use; even Safe and Sane fireworks can cause injury. Do not let your children run with sparklers and ensure that they maintain a safe distance from others while handling them to avoid accidental burns. Always have a functioning hose ready to fully extinguish used fireworks. • And, please do not drink and drive. Given the historically high volume of calls over

The R Street improvements currently under construction from 10th to 13th streets are getting a few more amenities, as construction left extra funds in an approximately $1 million $1.5 million federal grant allocated to the project. The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve 13 more pedestrian benches, 13 banners affixed to streetlights and a decorative arch that spans R Street at 10th Street and a pedestrian arch over the sidewalk on 12th Street and R Street, to be constructed by Teichert Construction, the main contractor for the project. “This will be the icing on the cake to R street and will make the area more pedestrian-friendly,” Sacramento Department of Transportation sp

Nothing lives forever, but according to Clark Kayler, trees can. He extends the life of trees by turning them into furniture. The trees go from decorating the streets to decorating various rooms. Kayler, 41, is the owner and founder of New Helvetia Hardwoods. They rescue trees that have been knocked down by storms, trees that are being chopped down for development purposes or dying trees that are all headed for the landfills. “(I am) giving our city’s trees a second chance,” Kayler said. In early 2005, Kayler noticed a tree being removed from his neighbor’s yard. It bothered him. He asked the neighbor for the redwood tree, and he created his first piece of furniture: a table. As a pr

What’s a sign that it’s officially summer in Sacramento? Summer is around the corner, and signs of the season are showing up everywhere in the city, the days are warmer and outside recreational activities begin to increase. The Sacramento Press stopped locals in the central city during the Second Saturday Art Walk, and asked, “What’s a sign that it’s officially summer in Sacramento?” Musician/singer Elijah Bell, 19, lives downtown and said he knows it’s summer when girls are walking around wearing less clothing. He added, “The days seem longer, and more songs come out on the radio.” Live music and local street performers are also more prevalent during summer on Second Saturdays. Stre

If you didn't get your ticket early, you missed out. Raley Field was the setting for Infuze Marketing's Wine in the Park wine tasting, featuring a selection of wines from surrounding area wineries, appetizers and a seat to watch the ballgame. The sold-out event took place in the VIP tented section off the third base line before the Sacramento River Cats and the Tucson Padres started the first of a four-game series at home. Participating wineries included Sierra Knolls Vineyard & Winery, Abundance Vineyards, Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery, Watts Winery and Mount Aukum Winery. The event was sponsored by Top Speed Data Communications, Porter | Scott Attorneys and the UC Davis Health

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

With his security detail watching the surroundings, Mayor Kevin Johnson answers a question about an earlier incident that involved a reported threat to his safety. To accommodate the media, the Mayor took a momentary break in a day-long series of meetings with the mayors of eight other California cities and several State officials, including Governor Jerry Brown. The "Big 10 Mayors" were in Sacramento in an attempt to keep redevelopment funds from being completely absorbed back into the State budget.

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

Nine mayors representing California’s largest cities met with Gov. Jerry Brown in a closed session Wednesday to urge him not to eliminate redevelopment agency funding. Speaking to reporters after the meeting on the West Steps of the Capitol, mayors from Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Anaheim, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Ana, Fresno and San Diego explained their reasons for wanting to keep redevelopment agency dollars in the city budgets. “Every one of us understand the magnitude of the budget challenges we face in the state,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He added that all mayors understand the need to shoulder their share of the budget cuts necessitated by the rece