As the City and County of Sacramento continue to struggle to balance their budgets, and at the same time look for creative solutions to continue providing essential services, the Sacramento Metro Chamber remains supportive of the concept of functional consolidation of many services currently provided by both entities. In 2007, on the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Study Mission to Charlotte, N.C., attendees saw firsthand how the City of Charlotte and the County of Mecklenburg successfully consolidated services 20 years ago. They were able to effectively do this without eliminating either city council or county commissioners. Their services were divided between the two sets of political leade

Sacramento CA- A Rancho Cordova man dies in a motorcycle vs construction equipment accident in Citrus Heights. Just before 3 a.m. Friday morning, CHP and Sacramento Metro Fire Department responded to a motorcycle accident on Sunrise Blvd just before Sunset Ave in Citrus Heights .Per CHP, a Sacramento County construction crew was doing sweage work and witnessed a Rancho Cordova man, possibly traveling at a high rate of speed on a full dressed Yamaha, hit a cone in the contruction zone. He lost control sliding under a utility trailer. The motorcycle continued moving down the road and slammed into another truck in the construction zone. The man suffered fatal injuries, and it is unknown, at

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission banded together Wednesday afternoon, bringing nearly a dozen arts supporters to a public County Board of Supervisors budget meeting that discussed funding cuts from the county's Transit Occupancy Tax, a hotel tax. It was the last day of public hearings on the county budget before deliberations. Rob Leonard, the director of the county's Department of Economic Development gave a report on the cuts. Among organizations facing cuts from the TOT budget were the Sacramento Tree Foundation, the Sacramento Sports Commission and Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Despite their efforts to oppose the cuts, which included public service announcements

 The Sacramento County Animal Shelter needs your help! Some of you may have been familiar with the old county shelter... built in the 1960's. You may have adopted an animal there or had to take an animal there, either way, you probably remember it as an old, dirty shelter. I myself, having volunteered there, remember it, and all animals who crossed my path there fondly. This year, the new and vastly improved county shelter opened up right near Safetyville off of Bradshaw Road. The new shelter is quite innovative and green! If you have not been there, it is definitely worth the visit. Due to County budgets though, it might be facing problems. The county has come up with a licensing amnesty

Welcome to Juvenile Hall. Cell phones, purses and keys are never allowed. There is a strict dress attire and code of conduct. Violators of these rules are subject to removal and arrest. Saturday was the first Juvenile Hall open house. Construction of the building, which is located at 4136 Branch Center Road, started in early 2001 and is nearing completion. Different areas of the building opened in 2007, revealing a complete remodeling and different layout. The new podular layout means residents never have to leave their living area. The old layout had residents leaving their units for the cafeteria, exercise, school and more. Each pod has two classroom attached. Residents attend school

As of Jan. 1, California takes precautions to ensure restaurants and other food facilities follow the dictate's of Assembly Bill 97, which prohibits the use of oil, shortening and margarine with more than 0.5 grams of trans fat.  The law was authored by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2008.  California became the first state to pass such a law, although cities such as New York and Boston have similar laws. According to Mendoza's Trans Fat Ban Fact Sheet, trans fat increases the risk of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of deaths in the country.  "This is more than just legislation. This is a call to action that takes into consideration the health

Nearly 100 people stood outside the County Administration Center at 700 H Street on Tuesday at noon, while the County Board of Supervisors Meeting had its lunch break. Consisting of mental health patients, mental health clinicians, and their supporters, the gatherers protested proposed mental health budget cuts being discussed in the meeting. "We have 2,400 clients, and by June 31, we have to cut our number of clients to 1,000; it's kind of hard to let go of all of those mental health patients," said Marilyn Washington, a member of the regional support team for Turning Point Community Programs, a mental health agency. "It's going to cost the city more money, since we are the ones who hel