When it comes to talking about how to run a city, local developer and City Council District 6 candidate Jon Bagatelos is all business. Bagatelos, co-owner of Bagatelos Architectural Glass Systems and Bagatelos Development, LLC, was recruited to join the City Council race by business, community and public safety groups who are “tired of the way things are going with the city,” Bagatelos, 44, said Wednesday. Bagatelos has not officially filed notice of his candidacy, but said he expects to select a campaign manager within the next couple of weeks. He will be running against incumbent Kevin McCarty for the City Council District 6 seat. One of the main reasons he decided to consider the cou

The ever-widening field of candidates for District 4 opened up once again as Land Park resident Terry Schanz joined the 2012 City Council race. Schanz (pronounced “Shawnz”), 33, said Friday that his background in public policy – extending from a degree in political science from UC San Diego, to community-building work in Cape Town, South Africa, to eight years with the State Legislature – is one reason he is the best candidate for the job. “My experience is in public service,” Schanz said. “I live it every day. I understand it, and I understand what it takes to make good policy. City Council is, first and foremost, a policymaking body.” For a self-described “hometown boy” who spent his

The first of a series of informational workshops about proposed utilities rate hikes took place in the lobby of City Hall Wednesday where attendees walked away with a personalized report on what the new rates will look like on their own utility bills. “It’s an opportunity for people to come in, ask all the questions they want and really become informed about the proposal,” Jessica Hess, communications specialist with the city Utilities Department, said Tuesday. The workshops are set up in an open house forum with information booths staffed by Utilities Department engineers, regulatory compliance specialists and field crews that respond to customers. The Utilities Department’s proposed t

Sacramento City Council members had their hands full this year – from balancing the budget to redrawing district lines to a citizen uprising that found its way to the doors of City Hall. Here’s the city government year in review. CITY MANAGER DRAMA The year started off with interim city manager Gus Vina not being promoted to the open city manager spot. Vina replaced previous city manager Ray Kerrige when Kerrige resigned in February 2010. Vina resigned two months later – just a few weeks before the budget was due to the City Council. He later became the city manager of Encinitas. The City Council was criticized for making decisions about the city manager position in closed sessions bef

Flavorful barbecue and hearty sandwiches will be at the top of the menu at Big Joe’s BBQ when it opens its doors in January at the former Fog Mountain Café space at the City Hall Garage. The City Council is set to grant a five-year lease Tuesday for Big Joe’s BBQ to open at 1000 I St. According to the city staff report on the new lease, Big Joe’s currently has a successful catering business and plans to offer a variety of BBQ sandwiches – including pork, grilled chicken and tri-tip – with side dishes, and the restaurant will have an outdoor grill. For five years, Joe “Big Joe” Dunlap operated Big Joe’s BBQ in Citrus Heights, and Dunlap’s partner, Angelo Negrete, has owned Fuddruckers, a

In the wake of a rejected special permit to occupy Cesar Chavez Plaza 24 hours a day, Occupy Sacramento protesters expanded their occupation to the front door of City Hall, 915 I St., on Tuesday. “We want to fully exercise our First Amendment right to assemble,” Kevin Carter, 55, a youth volunteer and an Occupy Sacramento outreach coordinator said. “If our grievances are going to be addressed, they need to be addressed right here.” Protesters packed up some of their canopies, tents and information tables Tuesday and gathered at the front of Old City Hall as well as on the lawns in front of the new City Hall building, immediately behind the older building. “Our statement is simply this,”

Occupy Sacramento protesters told City Council members Tuesday in no uncertain terms – “Tyranny.” “Unconstitutional.” “Treason.” – that their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly are being violated by an ordinance that prohibits overnight camping in city parks.) “We should not be here to teach you about the Constitution,” said Sacramento resident David Witkin, 28. “We are here to tell you what your constituents want.” Protesters who have taken over Cesar Chavez Plaza for nearly two weeks showed up in force at City Hall Tuesday to ask council members – again – to consider an exception to the law allowing them 24-hour access to the park. “The Constitution wasn’t drafte

It would be fair to say that Sacramento’s new city manager, John Shirey, has hit the ground running. That’s a good thing, too, because he has a lot of ground to cover if he’s going to meet his goal of making Sacramento “the best managed city in California.” His first official day with the city was Sept. 1, and he’s spent the first week on the job jumping right in to the work ahead, Shirey said in an interview Friday. “I’m in a 90-day period of goal-setting,” Shirey said, “and understanding what this organization needs and what the City Council is willing to do as a group.” Shirey said that means putting together a specific plan and sharing with city staff and council exactly how he want

City staff members want to fix Sacramento’s budget problems by revamping the city’s current organizational structure – and they want to do it by February. Northern California still struggles to recover from one of the worst recessions in more than 75 years, and the city of Sacramento has been hit especially hard. Interim City Manager Bill Edgar reminded council members Tuesday of the reality of the city’s fiscal situation: A budget that is $39 million less than it was the prior year; 141 city employee layoffs, including 41 sworn police officers, and a $26 million structural imbalance expected to extend into 2016. “The impacts (of the current budget structure) have been noticeable and si

No new taxis will be allowed in Sacramento for the next two years, after the City Council passed a moratorium on new cab permits in a 7-2 vote Thursday. The moratorium was the first, and less-contentious, of two proposed ordinances related to the 450-500 taxis operating in the city. The other ordinance, which has yet to come to council, would require taxi companies to have a central dispatching station, which has come under fire from some taxi drivers. To read more, click here. Dafna Gauthier, business permit manager for the city, told the council that staff recommended the two-year moratorium to give them time to study the taxi market, and that there is a “general consensus” that there

Sacramento has gotten no word from the National Basketball Association that the Kings are staying in town – but the league doesn't have plans yet to visit Anaheim, an NBA official said Friday. League staff members will be in Sacramento Monday to collect more detailed information about financial support for the Kings and a new arena following a two-day visit Thursday and Friday by an NBA attorney and NBA Relocation Committee Chair Clay Bennett, who owns the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bennett will report back to his committee next week, said Tim Frank, the NBA's senior vice president of Basketball Communications. However, NBA officials have not scheduled a similar fact-finding mission to Sout

Sacramento, CA | An alleged drunk driver crashed into an occupied taxi cab early Saturday morning in Downtown Sacramento, next to City Hall. Early Saturday morning, at the intersection of I St. and 10th St., a drunk driver crashed into an occupied taxi cab. Two people were transported to the hospital in critical condition, a third was transported with minor injures. Being struck by the alleged DUI driver, the taxi cab careened across the front lawn of City Hall and came to rest on against a light pole and across the sidewalk next to the steps of City Hall. After being given a field sobriety test and refusing to take an in field breathalyzer test, the driver was arrested for DUI. See m

Much has been written about Gus Vina in the press over the past 14 months. After becoming Sacramento’s interim city manager, Vina faced a multitude challenges on various fronts. Budgets shortfalls, permit controversies, and varying levels of support from the City Council were just some of the hurdles Vina had to bear. In the end, Vina tendered his resignation, effective today. I met with him late Wednesday afternoon as he finished cleaning out his office to talk about his time as interim city manager, his plans going forward and the possible future of Sacramento. Here’s what we spoke about: Isaac Gonzalez: You took the position of interim city manager after Ray Kerridge resigned in Febru

Four City Council members discussed ways of increasing community gardens in Sacramento on private and public property during the Law and Legislation Committee meeting Tuesday. According to Joy Patterson, the principle planner for the city, the proposed ordinance will lay out how community members can use vacant properties for the development of community gardens where people can come together for the purpose of growing food and personal use. “Several city departments have looked at the issues surrounding community gardens on public property and private property and have prepared a draft ordinance for community gardens on private property for the review and discussion by the Law and Legis

It was raining black and purple outside of Sacramento City Hall Tuesday. A crowd of nearly 30 Kings fans gathered in the rain at 9th and I streets to support the “Here We Stay” campaign to save the Sacramento Kings. Fans decked out in T-shirts and jerseys carrying posters reading “Our Town, Our Team” held their signs and their heads high as they circled City Hall chanting “here we stay” and “Sacramento.” “Here We Stay” founder, Blake Ellington, 28, believes that sports are a way for the community to come together. Ellington said he expected about five to ten people, and was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. Fans expressed that this isn’t just about the losing the Kings, it’s about los

With the Sacramento Kings on the verge of possibly ending their almost 30-year tenure in the Capitol, fans aren’t going down without a fight. “The chances that the Kings are staying are really slim,” said Eddie Montes, part of the Here We Stay campaign to keep the Kings in Sacramento. “It’ll be better to go out swinging, throw a couple punches and maybe land something, and have a miracle.” Here We Stay is organizing a small demonstration at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday before the scheduled City Council meeting. Montes said he estimates anywhere from 15 to 35 people will show up. “We honestly don’t know how many people will come,” he said. “We just want to make sure the council member

Through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program, the Sacramento Fire Department was awarded $5,606,864 to hire 27 firefighters and restore two fire companies. The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District was awarded $5,470,824 to hire 24 firefighters. The SAFER grant is awarded annually through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase their cadre of frontline firefighters. The goal is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities so they may respond to emergencies whenever they occur, assuring their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-rel

The City Council revises Council district boundaries every ten years following the U.S. Census. Districts must be as equal in population as is practicable. The 2010 Census data will be released on or about April 1, 2011, Council must complete the redistricting process within six months of the release of the Census “block data” figures for the June 2012 election. It is estimated that the 2010 census will show that the City’s population has grown from 407,000 to 470,000. District 1 in particular is expected to be 40,000 people over its pro-rata share. Given the anticipated significance of change to existing districts, the City needs to insure clear communication, encourage widespread partic

As anyone knows who either lives in Sacramento or follows our media, the Kings have asked the NBA for a six-week time extension of the March 1 deadline to file a request to move the Kings to Anaheim. As Mayor Johnson said, “this means one thing: They are trying to cut a deal to leave. They don't have a deal yet, but they hope to in the next few weeks.” Time will tell whether this is the end of Sacramento’s partnership with the Kings. If so, it’s been quite a ride. Since opening night on October 25, 1985, at the original, temporary Arco Arena, through the 1988 opening of the current arena, until February 28, 2011 when the last game was played in “Arco Arena” (now “Power Balance Pavilion”),

March 8th Meeting to allow public input for the Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings Audit of the Department of Utilities The City of Sacramento Audit Committee invites residents and business owners in Sacramento to share their views and opinions of the audit being conducted for the Department of Utilities at its March 8, 2011 meeting. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers, New City Hall, 915 “I” Street at 12:15 p.m. "Public input is vital to this audit and to helping to rebuild trust in our Utility Department,” said Council Member Steve Cohn, chairman of the City of Sacramento Audit Committee. On February 22, 2011, the City Council authorized the City Auditor to execute a