Instead of pursuing an ordinance to allow special permits for medical marijuana dispensary operations in the county, local business owners learned Thursday that county officials are taking steps to reinforce the current ban. “The Board of Supervisors is headed in a direction to reinforce a stance that the county does not permit medical marijuana dispensaries,” Leighann Moffitt, principal planner with the Sacramento County Planning Department said Thursday. A new section of the county zoning code is being proposed that specifically prohibits activity that violates federal or state law in any way. Moffitt spoke to local business owners as a featured guest at the Arden Arcade Business Coun

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

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

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 Sacramento County Probation Department held an open house event at their juvenile hall Saturday afternoon. The facility, originally built in 1964, recently underwent an impressive renovation and 210-bed expansion to bring it up to current standards. The new state-of-the-art design allows officials to use an “Evidence-Based Curriculum,” which focuses on improving the quality of life not only for the inmates but hopefully for the surrounding communities as well. On an average day the probation department says there are over 200 inmates in the facility, with an average length of stay of 24 days. Of that population, about three quarters are boys and the rest are girls. The typical juvenil

Effective November 1, the County Animal Shelter is launching the “Support Our Shelter” fundraising effort to continue to raise donations that will enable sustained operations. The focus of this ongoing campaign will be to continue to look to the community to help support the 15,000 animals that come through our shelter every year by donating to the shelter, licensing their pet, or adopting an animal. “The S.O.S Save Our Shelter campaign has made a tremendous difference in the lives of animals in our communities, and I want to personally thank everyone who has donated their time, effort and funds to help make sure we find permanent homes for our resident animals and continue to investigate

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

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