Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "don nottoli"

Arena, green tech, education: State of the City highlights

2012-01-31T02:20:44Z

A new program to raise $10 million for arena financing and turning Sacramento into an “Emerald Valley” were two key points in Mayor Kevin Johnson’s State of the City address Monday.

Johnson’s speech focused on boosting the local economy in three areas: building an entertainment and sports complex, green-sector jobs and reforming public schools to create a more competitive workforce.

“The economy is bad everywhere, but it’s worse here,” Johnson told the nearly 1,000 people in the audience.

“We have to take bold actions,” Johnson said. “We have to make the impossible possible.”

The mayor delivered the 20th annual speech at the Sacramento Convention Center in an event hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Johnson introduced a new program aimed at raising $10 million toward the cost of building the entertainment and sports complex.

The “Brick-by-Brick” program will allow individual supporters to buy bricks with their names engraved on them to be placed in the entryway of the new complex.

Johnson said after the event that the program is in the early stages and costs for the bricks have not yet been determined.

The first three honorary bricks were given to City Councilman Steve Cohn and two young Kings fans, Jack O’Brien, 11 and Gil Vechner, 12. The two boys caught Johnson’s attention when they started a lemonade stand last year to raise money for the arena.

“It’s time to finish what we started. It’s crunch time,” Johnson said, referring to the March 1 financing plan deadline to prevent the Kings from relocating.

Johnson turned the discussion to employment concerns, saying he believes one of the biggest problems Sacramento faces is a dependence on state government and real estate for jobs and revenue.

“This sets us up to be the hardest hit in a financial crisis,” Johnson said.

Bringing green technology and green industry jobs to the region is one solution to that problem, Johnson said.

Among the goals Johnson outlined for 2012 are plans to raise $100 million to retrofit schools to make them more energy-efficient and “green,” and joining the Edible Schoolyard Program to bring school gardens, cooking classes and healthy eating to local schools.

“Becoming the Emerald Valley is within our grasp,” Johnson said.

Although he doesn’t have a direct relationship to local schools as the mayor, Johnson said improving education has long been a focus for him – and it should be a focus for the city, he said.

As a way to keep schools accountable to parents – and to make it easier for parents to decide which schools are best for their kids based on performance – Johnson said he is working to establish “report cards” for local schools.

The new rating system will assign a letter grade to every school in the county based on a range of performance criteria including student test scores and whether the schools are meeting academic standards.

Johnson said his office will not be responsible for consequences to a school for getting a low grade – the consequences will come from parents who withdraw their students or choose not to enroll them in low-grade schools.

Some business and civic leaders at the event had a positive reaction to the mayor’s address – former State Assemblyman and current president of the Sacramento Metro Chamber Roger Niello said it was “completely on point,” and County Supervisor Don Nottoli said it was “very well-delivered.”

“I think (Johnson) was absolutely right about the region needing to diversify its economic base,” County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan said after the event.

“I think that’s the most important point he made,” she added.

Michael Ault, Executive Director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the mayor did a good job of breaking down what needs to be done for the city into smaller, achievable goals.

“You just can’t have 30 priorities for the coming year. We have to narrow it to a few legitimately reachable goals,” Ault said.

“The sports and entertainment complex is clearly something we think needs to be accomplished in the short term and I think the mayor really highlighted that,” he added.

The current city charter does not require the mayor to give a state of the city address. Johnson has delivered the speech each year he’s been in office – four times.

If the mayor’s charter reform proposal gets on the ballot and is passed by voters, an annual state of the city address would become a requirement for future Sacramento mayors.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

50 years of protecting the American River Parkway

2011-12-10T01:11:58Z

The Save the American River Parkway Association celebrated its 50th anniversary this month and received a resolution from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors honoring its accomplishments over the past five decades.

“We commend the work that a whole host of folks (at the association) have done in providing a strong voice for a precious resource,” Supervisor Don Nottoli said Tuesday as he presented the resolution.

The Save the American River Association is a volunteer, nonprofit group of more than 600 members and a Board of Directors that started in 1961 to develop the American River Parkway and to create a plan to maintain it.

The 23-mile American River Parkway hosts more than 5 million visitors each year for fishing, boating and rafting on the water – and picnicking, golfing and paved walking and bicycling trails for land lovers.

The association’s mission, according to its website, is to “protect and enhance the wildlife habitat, fishery, and recreational resources” of the parkway – something that has brought both challenge and triumph over the years for the organization.

In the mid-1950s, the state parks department focused resources on the Sierras and redwoods areas of the state, leaving the smaller, more urban park areas to be maintained – and funded – by local governments.

The Save the American River Parkway Association took up the charge to serve as advocate and protector whenever publicly owned parkway property was threatened by private or commercial interests.

In one 17-year-long legal battle, the association teamed up with Sacramento County and the Environmental Defense Fund to prevent water being diverted from the river to the East Bay. The result was the establishment of minimum water flow standards that met fishery and recreational needs along the American River.

A continuing challenge for the association is achieving a balance between recreation development and maintaining natural values.

Unwanted facilities can always removed or replaced, the association website states, but it may take 100 years to restore the original natural scene.

To maintain such a balance, the association works to gather public support for maintaining the inherent natural aspects of the parkway – and to prevent unwanted development intrusions, such as commercial building sites that tower over the parkways.

City Councilman Jay Schenirer said he and his wife regularly use the American River bike trail – a significant park of the parkway system.

“I think it’s a treasure of Sacramento,” Schenirer said. “You have the combination of the river and a fair amount of wildlife – I think people truly appreciate it.”

Throughout budget discussions for the 2011-12 fiscal year, the association was strongly opposed to county budget cuts that reduced the number of park rangers.

“There are only 11 rangers today, versus 22 just a couple of years back,” association president Warren Truitt wrote in a recent letter to association members.

“The dangerously understaffed ranger staff is responsible for all 15,000-plus acres of Regional Parks spread all over the county,” Truitt wrote. “The assigned resources cannot possibly protect the assets.”

In response to the budget cuts this year, Truitt and other members of the association formed a “grassroots working group” to look at ways to supplement funding the parks department receives from the county general fund.

“We appreciate the opportunity to work with the county in protecting such a valuable resource,” Truitt told supervisors Tuesday.

Truitt said he hopes the association and the county will continue to work together to keep the parkway “pure and clean” and available to the community.

“We took pleasure in establishing (the association),” Truitt said, “and we look forward to keeping it rolling for another 50 years as it continues to be a vital part of this region.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Photos of Airport Terminal B Grand Opening

2011-10-03T18:44:58Z

Here are more photos from Saturday night's big celebration of The Big Build, the name of the Sacramento International Airport's new Terminal B project:

For more info CLICK HERE>>>

New airport Terminal B celebrates grand opening

2011-10-03T03:24:17Z

More than 1,000 people attended a party Saturday that included Cirque du Soleil performers dancing with hoops, walking on stilts and performing acrobatics from 40-foot-long ribbons hanging from the rafters to celebrate the grand opening of the new Terminal B of the Sacramento International Airport.

“We didn’t want to stand in the shadow of another city,” Hardy Acree, director of airports for Sacramento County Airport System, said Saturday. “We wanted to create our own identity here in Sacramento and with this, we certainly have.”

The party – hosted by the architect and construction firms responsible for the terminal project, Corgan Associates and Turner Construction – was a grand spectacle with live music, food and wine, and gave members of the public a chance to explore the new terminal without buying an airline ticket.

The celebration marked the long-awaited end of an 11-year, $1 billion-plus project, Acree said.

The new 669,000-square-foot Terminal B features a modern steel and glass architecture with spacious waiting areas for the 19 new gates. The high-tech terminal includes more than 20 self check-in ticketing kiosks along with four baggage claim rotundas.

The main difference between Terminal A and the new Terminal B is that arrivals and departures are on separate levels in the new terminal, making it more convenient for people to drop off and pick up travelers.

“This will now be the central terminal,” said Phil Mein, lead planning architect for Corgan Associates. “If we need to expand in the future, we’ll build additional concourses. We have plenty of room. The plan is for this to last at least 50 years.”

Along with more than 40,000 square feet of concession space, the new Terminal B boasts more than $8 million in public art projects – money well spent, some local art enthusiasts say.

“This is fabulous,” local attorney Steve Felderstein said of the terminal interior. “Between the Crocker Art Museum and this, we’re transported to a wonderful place.”

Mein also described some of the energy-efficient features of the terminal, including windows and skylights controlled with louvers to keep the heat out while letting in plenty of natural light.

Another interesting feature of the terminal is the redwood beams in the ceiling.

The wood is old-growth redwood that was harvested in northern California in 1919 and 1920, and used to build the Franklin-Thornton bridge in the southern part of Sacramento county, according to Acree.

When the bridge was deconstructed in 2003, the Sacramento Department of Transportation had plans to sell it, so the wood was kept in storage at Franklin Airfield – until Acree came along and decided that he could put it to good use in the Terminal B project.

“We took the wood and made part of our past into part of our future,” Acree said. “It’s salvaging a piece of material that you really can’t recreate, and putting it to a functional use and captured a part of our history.

Acree said the terminal project began with an original budget of $1.08 billion, and ended up $65 million under budget – and four months ahead of schedule.

“We did the right things and we did them the right way,” Acree said.

Acree added that now that the new terminal is moving into operational mode, it will mean another 225 jobs for the area.

Brent Kelley, design director for the Big Build Program from Corgan Associates, officially opened the terminal by sharing a toast with the crowd:

“Here’s to the newest, most modern and easiest to use airport facility in the country. May it forever change the history of Sacramento. May it bring prosperity to the community and be a source of pride for Sacramento. Cheers!”

Airlines with stations at the new Terminal B will include Aeromexico, American, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue and Southwest.

“It’s a beautiful terminal,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said, “but the true test will be how it works for customers. It may be pretty, but more importantly, it’s got to work.”

The new terminal building will receive its first travelers late Wednesday evening from incoming flights, and the first departures out of the new terminal will take off at 6 a.m. Thursday.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

County redistricting draws to a close

2011-09-03T03:49:19Z

The County Board of Supervisors will meet Thursday for what they hope will be the final meeting on redistricting for the County. They still have 10 map variations to consider though – a number that has fluctuated since the redistricting process began in late March.

According to the 2010 census, the total population for Sacramento County is 1,418,788 – a 16 percent increase over the last 10 years.

Just as the state and cities are required to do, the county redistricts every 10 years to balance population numbers in all districts. This requires some adjustments in each supervisors’ district boundaries.

The process of making those adjustments began when Elections Department staff received the 2010 census data.

The most significant issue with redistricting at the county level, according to Supervisor Jimmy Yee, was not simply the amount of growth, but where the growth occurred.

Since the last census, North Natomas and Elk Grove areas saw the most growth, Yee said.

The largest adjustment for population affected county District 5, where Supervisor Don Nottoli “had to give up up 71,000 people,” Yee said.

Yee, on the other hand, had to add 33,000 people to his District 2 to keep population in each district as close to equal as possible.

The Department of Voter Registration and Elections is part of the Countywide Service Agency. Because redistricting is a means to equalize populations to make elections fair, the Registrar of Voters and the Elections Department staff oversee the redistricting process for the county.

Five redistricting maps were drawn by Elections Department staff, said Alice Jaboe, Sacramento County assistant registrar of voters.

“The maps were starting points for the redistricting discussion,” Jaboe said. “Then we went to the public for their input.”

Outreach to engage the public in conversation about the maps included “dozens” of community meetings, breakfast group gatherings and visits with neighborhood associations, Jaboe said.

“We were out almost every morning, eating waffles and pancakes and talking to people in every part of the county and in every district,” Jaboe said.

Department staff used public feedback and comments sent to supervisors’ offices to refine the five maps before submitting them to the board at the first public redistricting meeting on July 26.

One significant adjustment proposed to county districts has been drawing District 4 far enough south to include Rancho Murieta (moving it out of it’s current District 5), versus setting the boundary of Folsom along Highway 50, dividing it between Districts 4 and 5.

Andy Morin, Folsom city mayor, said in an Aug. 8 email to board supervisors that he favored a map that kept “Folsom and its potential growth area south of Highway 50” entirely in the 4th district.

Morin said the primary concern is “uniform representation throughout our community and continuity of representation” by current Supervisor, Roberta MacGlashan.

“Folsom knows Roberta and Roberta knows Folsom,” Morin said in the letter. “Moving Folsom out of the 4th district would be an unnecessarily radical change to our connection with the County of Sacramento.”

The challenge of the process, said Supervisor Jimmy Yee, is that – due to Brown Act limitations – supervisors can’t discuss any maps “behind closed doors.”

“The only time we can talk together is at the board meeting,” Yee said, “and up to that time, we don’t know what anyone else (on the board) is thinking. So, we have quite a lot of discussion at each public meeting.”

Board of Supervisors meetings generally last from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., but the recent redistricting items on meeting agendas took up the majority of those hours.

With each public discussion, maps were added or eliminated, refined or removed – leaving at meeting’s end as many as 16 or as few as three maps.

Supervisor Don Nottoli described the redistricting process as “sometimes messy” in an open forum, but “that’s the way to do it, and the public has taken part all the way through the process.”

Despite the fluctuation in map counts, there has been “very little drama” in the process at the county, Yee said.

“Redistricting is not quite as dramatic (here) as it is in the city,” Yee said. “Each (county supervisor) represents about 285,000 people. It’s not like in the city, where a very little change makes a very big difference.”

“We’re not fighting over a little UC Davis hospital or a high school,” Yee said. “Our areas are very large – we’re talking about a lot of people at once.”

“We’ve put a real emphasis on keeping communities intact,” Nottoli said Friday. “(We’ve tried to) keep cities whole as much as we can – communities and neighborhoods, too – using logical boundaries wherever possible.”

Nottoli said one of the maps the board will consider Thursday is “kind of a hybrid of the starting base map,” which takes into account public comments and board member suggestions.

Nottoli said supervisors took a map that “seemed closest” to what the board wanted, and each supervisor added notes and changes to it. Staff was directed to make the revisions and bring back the new map at the next meeting for consideration.

The next meeting of the County Board of Supervisors will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the County Administration Center, 700 H St.

Nottoli and Yee both said they expect the board to take final action on a new map at the Thursday meeting.

View all of the draft map plans here.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follw her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

County approves budget, layoffs expected

2011-06-10T01:22:31Z

Sacramento County elected officials approved a budget Thursday that could result in more than 200 employee layoffs, according to county budget officer Tom Burkart.

These layoffs for the 2011/2012 fiscal year are in addition to the 1,299 layoffs the county has made since the 2008/2009 fiscal year, said county spokeswoman Chris Andis.

She added that 1,299 people were actually laid off as opposed to job positions being cut.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors balanced its budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year on Thursday afternoon, closing out a $90 million shortfall. The county has a general fund of $1.9 billion and a total budget of roughly $3.5 billion.

The approved budget is a first version – the supervisors will pass a final budget in September.

While Burkart provided an estimate for upcoming layoffs, exact figures were unclear Thursday.

“As a board member and member of this community, it weighs heavily on me that over the past several years, we’ve laid off hundreds and hundreds of people,” Supervisor Don Nottoli said at Thursday’s budget meeting.

The people who will be laid off attend local churches, shop in local stores and send their children to local schools, he said.

Interim County Executive Officer Steven Szalay estimated that more than 300 job positions will now be removed. That number does not include lost job positions from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office, Szalay said.

District Attorney Jan Scully and Sheriff Scott Jones are responsible for calculating their departments’ lost positions and possible layoffs.

The loss of about 300 positions – which does not include the D.A’s office and the Sheriff’s Department – may translate to about 200 actual layoffs, Burkart said.

Positions are different from layoffs because they can include vacancies. The county also uses a complicated system of demotions as part of the layoff process, which can affect the number of actual layoffs.

The Sheriff’s Department had faced a $26.7 million shortfall, but Jones recently pared down that number to $9.5 million. Thursday, the Board of Supervisors brought down Jones’ budget shortfall to $4.3 million.

Jones was scheduled to hold a press conference late Thursday afternoon. The Sacramento Press will follow up on any information about possible layoffs at the Sheriff’s Department on Friday.

The District Attorney’s office is facing a $6.2 million shortfall in response to the Board of Supervisors’ budget approval. Scully’s office had a $13.3 million gap in February. She brought it down to $8.6 million. The supervisors restored about $2 million to the D.A.’s budget, leaving it with a $6.2 million gap.

In a press advisory released after the budget approval, Scully said the upcoming cuts to her office would hurt residents.

“Arrests take criminals off the street – only prosecutors keep them off the streets,” she said. “It is the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors to fund prosecutions for the entire county – the unincorporated areas and all of the cities.

“Most of the cases my office prosecutes come from the cities. By failing to take that into account, the board shortchanged more than 60 percent of our residents.”

Scully will speak publicly next week about how the cuts will affect her office, according to the news advisory.

While exact layoff figures are unclear, Andis provided statistics showing that the the departments of Human Assistance and Transportation are among other departments with filled positions slated to be cut.

The county’s drop in revenues since the 2007/2008 fiscal year has been a central reason for the county’s poor financial state, Szalay said in May. Since then, the county’s revenues from property, sales and motor vehicle taxes have dropped by more than $100 million, he added.

State budget cuts have also hurt the county, according to Szalay.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County leaders pass budget with at least 725 layoffs

2010-06-18T03:20:44Z

At least 725 county employees will be laid off as a result of the county budget approved by the Board of Supervisors Thursday in a 3-2 vote.

The board has now balanced its the county's budget, which had a $181 million gap. The total budget for the 2010/2011 fiscal year is $3.5 billion. Of that amount, $1.9 billion makes up the county’s general fund.

Supervisors held lengthy meetings on the budget over the course of four days this week.

Supervisors Roberta MacGlashan and Roger Dickinson voted against the budget’s general fund allocations, offering different reasons for why they disagreed with the budget. Supervisors Don Nottoli, Susan Peters and Jimmie Yee voted in support of passing the budget, which led to its approval just after 3 p.m.

MacGlashan said she could not vote in favor of the budget because it did not put enough money toward public safety.

“This budget tells the residents of the unincorporated area they’re on their own,” she said.

Dickinson objected to the budget because he said he thought it did not make social services a higher priority. While public safety is the board’s top priority, he said, it’s not the board’s only priority.

“We have an obligation, a duty, particularly as a county, to address those who are the least among us,” he said.

Supervisor Don Nottoli said he felt he had a responsibility to pass a budget for the county, even though the budget includes compromises.

“The bottom line is that there’s not sufficient funding,” Nottoli said. “Yes, we prioritize and we make decisions.”

Major cuts to public safety and social services programs and departments are included in the budget.

Before the board passed its budget, it lessened the damage to some departments. Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said earlier this week that the department faced a $37.6 million budget gap.

Because the board moved additional dollars to McGinness’s department Thursday, the sheriff’s deficit was lowered to $19.8 million.

McGinness declined to estimate how many layoffs his department would need to make to balance out his budget.

“Everything’s on the table at this point,” McGinness said after the hearing. “We need to find a way to live within our new budgetary constraint, which just got constricted by another $20 million dollars.”

The layoff figures are not final at this point, according to Nav Gill, the county’s chief operations officer. However, there could be more than 725, he said.

The county refers to the budget that was passed Thursday as the “recommended budget.” That’s because it will look at its figures again in September, after hearing how the state’s budget will affect the county.

Ann Edwards-Buckley, director of the county’s Health and Human Services Department, said her department was cut in several areas, including public health services, public health nursing, Child Protective Services and in-home support.

“We’ll have significant reductions in health care services for the poor,” she said.

The public can watch Monday's meeting here. View Tuesday's hearings here. Watch the video of Wednesday's meeting here.

Photo of Supervisors Roberta MacGlashan and Don Nottoli by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor backs candidates Ashby, Cohn, Schenirer and Waters

2010-05-19T03:43:09Z

In a statement Tuesday on his blog, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson made his endorsements for candidates competing in the June 8 primary election.

A KCRA reporter asked Johnson at a Monday press conference if Johnson would endorse candidates who oppose a “strong mayor” form of government. Johnson is leading an effort to bring more authority to the mayor’s office.

In response to the reporter’s question, Johnson said: “I think that’s not really the issue before people. I don’t think that people have had to make a decision on that. So, there’s not a litmus, in general, for that right now.”

Johnson said the candidates he is supporting are not content with the status quo. He explained that he backed candidates with energy, problem-solving skills, “a sense of urgency to get things done,” and a vision for the “new Sacramento.”

However, the Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday that Councilman Ray Tretheway claimed he was pressured by unnamed Johnson supporters to back a strong mayor plan. Johnson is endorsing the following candidates:

Sacramento City Council

City Council District 1: Angelique Ashby

City Council District 3: Steve Cohn

City Council District 5: Jay Schenirer

City Council District 7: Robbie Waters

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors:

Board of Supervisors 1: Phil Serna

Board of Supervisors 2: Jimmie Yee

Board of Supervisors 5: Don Nottoli

Other County Races

Sacramento County Sheriff: Jim Cooper

Sacramento District Attorney: Jan Scully

Assessor: Kathleen Kelleher

State Legislature

Assembly District 9: Lauren Hammond

Assembly District 5: Richard Pan

State Senate District 6: Darrell Steinberg

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County of Sacramento Turning a Blind Eye and Deaf Ear to Youth violence

2010-04-14T11:47:02Z

On April 12, 2010, at 2:40 p.m., Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Double Homicide at Howe Avenue and Bluebird Lane. The deputies found 27yr-old Stefon Mayers Jr, lying next to the car’s driver’s-side door. Mayers suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was able to step out of the car but collapsed next to the car.

Deputies also located 18yr-old Jazzmye Sharnae Bruner sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, dead at the scene, with a single gunshot wound.

Will County Supervisor Sue Peters address the violence or the families suffering as a result of the violence in her district?

With the exception of Cortez Quinn, chief of staff for Supervisor Dickinson, who has continuously attended Youth Violence meetings and with the exception of County Supervisor Roger Dickinson who has held several Gang Task Force meetings

County Supervisors Jimmie Yee, Don Nottoli, Roberta MacGlashan and Sue Peters appear to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear towards the violence surrounding the County of Sacramento.

How can our County Supervisors truly be blind to the violence within the County of Sacramento? A 16yr-old is on trial for shooting and killing a Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy. A 14yr old girl was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for her role in the murder of 17yr old Avid Chand. Youth are dying and youth are being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Where are the County Supervisors during this crisis?

The violence, a crisis, which has existed for decades in both the City and County of Sacramento has never significantly or effectively been addressed. Below is just a portion of the deaths, arrests / sentences for MURDER over the last 16 months only since January 2009.
Families, friends and residents are mourning as our children are dying on Sacramento streets and becoming the walking dead in California State Prisons.

-April 12, 2010- Double Homicide 18yr old Jazzmyne Sharnae Bruner and 27yr old Stefon Maye rs Jr shot and killed on a County of Sacramento Street

-April 2010- Victor Ortega convicted of killing 18yr old Marcus Mayes whose body laid dead on a County of Sacramento Street

-March 2010- 26yr old Salvador Heredia-Arriaga shot and killed 2600 block of River Plaza Drive in South Natomas

-March 2010 - 19yr old shot and killed at Bowling Alley Country Lane

-March 2010- 17yr old Marque Alexander Johnson shot and killed on a city of Sacramento street

-March 2010- 20yr old Lan Anh Le arrested for the violent struggle and death of 26yr old Monica Anne Anderson- Greenback Lane

-February 2010- Trial begins for 16yr old Jimmy Siackasorn for shooting death of SSD Detective VI Nguyen

-February 2010- 17yr old Rebecca Layson murdered. 18yr old Anton Johnson arrested, 17yr old Tyler Espinoza arrested. - Citrus Heights

-February 2010- 22yr old David Blanks killed 3600 block of No Freeway Blvd. 21yr old Sean Joyner arrested, 20yr old Nicholas Newsome arrested

-February 2010- Dominick West convicted of killing 21yr old Mary Ourk on 12th & W street in the city of Sacramento

-January 2010- 18yr old Richard Hall in custody for shooting death of Mathew Maurizzio- County of Sacramento, Dixieanne Ave

-January 2010- 22yr old shot multiple times in Sacramento County restaurant in the County of Sacramento

-January 2010- 26yr old Shawn West lying in pool of blood shot and killed in the County of Sacramento at Jack in the Box. 21yr old Cort Milgrim, 19yr old Joel Satchell, 21yr old Andre Powe arrested charged with murder facing life without parole.

-January 2010- 27yr old Amber Manoa shot and killed in the County of Sacramento. 27yr old Albert Dennis arrested for murder

-January 2010- Two dead, one injured in Arden Arcade shooting 18yr old Marcus Thompson, 29yr old Eleea Langley shot and killed. 18yr old shot/ injured

-January 2010- Navarro sentenced to life without parole in the city of Sacramento shooting death of 21yr old Adrian Hutchins

-January 2010- James Winters sentenced to 40yrs to Life for the murder of Alfredo Perez in the County of Sacramento

-January 2010- 19yr old Perell Marquise Waters shot and killed. Three arrested, 20yr old Marcus Scott, 19yr old Ronald Grant, 20yr old Jumal Gray

-December 2009- 21yr old Emmanuel Pickens killed outside nightclub on Del Paso Blvd

-December 2009- 21yr old Michael Wiesz charged with homicide of security guard/ bouncer at city of Sacramento midtown night club.

-December 2009- Arrested at 17yrs old Anh-Tuan Dao Pham is sentenced at 19yrs old to 39yrs to life accused of shooting/ killing 17yr old Dominique Hickman and wounding 2 others less than an hour before killing Hickman.

-December 2009- Bobby Chiu at 22yrs old is sentenced to 26yrs to Life for killing 15yr old Roberto Treadway. Chiu was 16yrs old when arrested for the shooting.

-December 2009- 17yr old arrested for killing 23yr old Carlos Cervantes Jr. Cervantes died from a single gun shot wound in the county of Sacramento Fruitridge Neighborhood.

-December 2009 Two arrested, 26yr old Dominique Givens and 21yr old London Shaw for the County of Sacramento shooting of Sevon Boles near Florin Road and Sunnyslope

-December 2009- 19yr old Perell Marquise Waters an expectant father is shot and killed on the 1900 block of San Juan Road in the County of Sacramento.

-December 2009- 20yr old Jonah Simms shot and killed. 23yr old Arthur McCall arrested for city of Sacramento homicide on Bowles Street.

-December 2009- 23yr old Carlos Cervantes shot and killed gunshot wound to upper body in the County of Sacramento, Fruitridge area.

-December 2009- 21yr old Francisco Medina-Tomas gun downed in County of Sacramento street. 21yr old Jose Gutierrez, 20yr old Juan Gonzalez arrested and charged with murder

-December 2009- 22yr old Vardan Abramyan and three other youth in early 20's Arthur Battle, Jason Dillingham, Isaiah Barron sentenced to life without parole in pay for hire murder in the County of Sacramento

-November 2009- 21yr old Juan Carlos Sanchez shot and killed behind Ross on Zinfandel Dr and Folsom Blvd in County of Sacramento 19yr old Deandre Brooks arrested and charged with murder

-November 2009- 21yr old shot and killed in county of Sacramento, North Highlands, three 24yr olds arrested and charged with murder

-November 2009- 21yr old Curtis Chapman sentenced to Life without Parole plus 25yrs, 20yr old Richard Hundley sentenced to Life without parole both charged with shooting/ killing 33yr old in County of Sacramento.

-November 2009- Four youth in 20's wanted for city of Sacramento shooting/ killing on 3300 block of V Street

-November 2009- Arrested at 18 and 19yrs of age, 22yr old Dontae Stirgus and 23 yr old Tommie Hall face 21yrs to Life for the County of Sacramento shooting of Domikos Kantrell Jones

-October 2009- 24yr old Michael Thames shot and killed in his home. Several teens are sought for the city of Sacramento shooting

-October 2009- 19yr old Anh-Tuan Dao Pham arrested at 16yrs old, for shooting/ killing Dominique Hickman and wounding two others after he gun down Hickman in the city of Sacramento

-October 2009- 19yr old Doshmen Johnson arrested at 18yrs of age sentenced to Life without parole plus 25yrs plus 10yrs for the murder of a 27yr in the County of Sacramento

-October 2009- 20yr old Nicholas Newsome arrested for the shooting death of 22yr old David Blanks in the City of Sacramento

-October 2009- 24yr old arrested for double homicide in the County of Sacramento of 23yr old Tamil Robbins, 24yr old Shawn Cope.

-October 2009- 19yr old Frank Abella sentenced to Life without Parole for the death of disabled man in the County of Sacramento

-October 2009- 19yr old Daniel Russell and 20yr old Calvin Pearson sentenced to life without Parole. They were arrested at 16yrs of age for the killing of a 90yr old woman

-October 2009- 21yr old Dominic Campos body found dead in Florin Road parking lot in the City of Sacramento

-October 2009- 18yr old William Virdee fatally shot in his car in the County of Sacramento

-October 2009- 16yr old boy shot and killed walking down street in County of Sacramento

-September 2009- 21yr old Darryl Jackson acquitted. His co defendant, Jim Cage, arrested at 27yrs old and sentenced to 50yrs to life for the City of Sacramento murder of 27yr old Michael Barron

-August 2009- Youth sought in Arden Arcade Apt homicide

-July 2009- 22yr old Freddie Rimpson, Jay Pierce sentenced to Life without Parole for County of Sacramento homicide/ robbery attempting to raise bail money for their friend.

-July 2009- 20yr old Anthony Race arrested for murder of 19yr old Issac Bartkovsky in the County of Sacramento

-July 2009-26yr old Tersha Brown fatally shot in the head in the city of Sacramento

-June 2009- 26yr old Sevon Boles shot and killed in city of Sacramento

-June 2009- 14yr old Ronald Kenoly killed. 13yr old suspect turns himself in. 14yr old arrested 8000 Block of Heritage Hill Drive

-June 2009- 23yr old Roy Houston arrested for city of Sacramento murder of 21yr old Donald Mc Call. Houston was 19yrs old when suspected of the shooting.

-June 2009-Andre Pulido arrested at 24yrs of age sentenced to Life without Parole for city of Sacramento death of 21yr old Rodrigo Rodriguez

-June 2009- 23yr old shot and killed in city of Sacramento - downtown

-May 2009- Eight in custody 22yr old Corey Carmicle, 21yr old Charles Ferrell, 19yr old Willie Harris, 22yr old Willie Toliver, two 17yr olds,15yr old and 23yr old Leighni Hall for County of Sacramento homicide of 24yr old Patrick Razaghzadeh

-May 2009- 20yr old Christopher Montejano shot and killed in City of Sacramento - Oak Park

-May 2009- 19yr old Frederick Howard body found behind a County of Sacramento garbage bin

-May 2009- 21yr old Phillip Cousins shot to death in Valley Hi, 19yr old also shot gunshot in torso in city of Sacramento

-May 2009- 22yr old Michael Scott sentenced to Life without Parole, 21yr old Ian Clark Johnson sentenced to 15yrs to Life both charged with murder of 18yr old Shanneel Singh in the city of Sacramento (arrested at 18 and 19yrs of age)

-April 2009- 22yr old Lavelle Chapman convicted of shooting death of 18 yr old Pasha Voskoboinik in County of Sacramento

-April 2009- 22yr old Cristo Lopez, 23yr old Andrew Lynch, 31yr old Rebecca Brousseau arrested in homicide of Khet Saelee in Fruitridge area alley

-April 2009- 19yr old John Faavesi (arrested at 16yrs old) convicted of manslaughter sentenced to 36 years 8 months for death of 26yr old Sylvia Guerrero

-April 2009- 18yr old Emanuel Michel shot and killed on 57th Avenue in the city of Sacramento

-April 2009- 21yr old Hung Tround arrested for homicide

-April 2009- 22yr old Oscar Ceballos arrested charged with shooting death on MLK Blvd in the city of Sacramento

-April 2009- 20yr old Curtis Anderson shot and killed gunshot wound to the head. 25yr old Jamaral Smith arrested

-April 2009-23yr old Leopoldo Velasco III shot and killed on the 3900 block of 17th Avenue

-April 2009- 17yr old Jarrell Tyes arrested at 15yrs old sentenced to life in prison for the county of Sacramento shooting/ death of 16yr old Jelisa Office

-April 2009- 23yr old Ceron Hill convicted to 52yrs to Life for the shooting death of 18yr old Jack Lawrence

-April 2009- Arrested at 20yrs of age 22yr old Rashad Mack, arrested at 19yrs old 21yr old Ulysses Walker sentenced to life without parole plus 25years for city of Sacramento robbery/ shooting.

-February 2009- 25yr old shot and killed in City of Sacramento Altos/ Eleanor Avenue

-February 2009- Arrested at 21yrs old Sirtice Melonson is sentenced to life without parole for shooting death of Navid Chand. Arrested at 14yrs of age 17yr old Sarah Weeden sentenced to 27yrs to life for murder of Navid Chand in the County of Sacramento

-February 2009- Jury convicts 20yr old Jonathan Hampton who was arrested at 18yrs old for the death of 19yr old Jonathan Giurbino in city of Sacramento - South Land Park

-January 2009- 21yr old found multiple gunshot wounds, 27yr old shot and killed in the County of Sacramento

-January 2009- 20yr old Kyle Ray Smith killed in the city of Sacramento - Pocket area. 18yr old Nicholas Moreno arrested

*** This is not a complete list of youth death/ arrest/ sentences within the last 16 months. This list does not include youth shot who survived nor does it include youth facing life in prison for crimes which do not involve murder. Hundreds have been buried in Sacramento and hundreds more will live and die in California prisons.

How can the County of Sacramento turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to a crisis? Is it possible our elected officials value money more than they do the lives, freedom, quality of life, peace of mind,... of some Sacramento residents?

Regional Transit board cuts: slower light rail, fewer buses

2010-03-30T05:48:05Z

Dozens of bus routes in the Sacramento region will vanish and light rail will slow down on the weekends as a result of sweeping Regional Transit budget cuts. The agency’s board of directors slashed bus, light rail and paratransit service Monday night to resolve a $10.6 million deficit.

One of the major budget fixes scales back night service seven days per week. The RT board decided that light rail, bus and paratransit trips that now begin after 9 p.m. will cease.

Public transportation will also be slower on weekends. Right now, light rail picks up passengers in 15-minute cycles during the weekend. The cuts mean that riders can catch the light rail every 30 minutes on weekends, explained Mike Wiley, RT’s general manager and CEO.

Cuts will take effect June 20.

While the board cut paratransit trips that begin after 9 p.m., that decision could be changed. Board Member Don Nottoli asked RT staff to look into ways that paratransit riders could take later rides.

Some paratransit riders expressed concern at the Monday meeting that they could be left on the street if they were out late.

Pamela Ross of Sacramento said that she takes paratransit late at night when she comes home from summer vacations. Ross, who uses a wheelchair and has two service animals, was worried that she wouldn’t have a paratransit ride home from the train station. She said she “really didn’t want to sleep in the train station at night.”

RT works with a private firm, Paratransit, Inc., to provide transit service for disabled residents.

The cuts yield $11.7 million, nearly $1 million more than the deficit, Wiley said. That extra million provides “wiggle room,” he said.

Wiley said that million-dollar cushion could be necessary because there are many assumptions in RT’s budget plans. The agency previously had a $25 million deficit, he said. The deficit number changed because recent state legislation moved $11.8 million to the agency. Before Monday, RT made more cuts and also found some new revenue opportunities, Wiley said. The state money, new revenue possibilities and new cuts brought the deficit down to $10.6 million, he explained.

However, the numbers are not set in stone, Wiley said. The new revenue possibilities — which include funds RT is hoping to receive from the federal government — will need to pan out.

An RT report for Monday’s meeting said the following weekday bus routes will disappear: 4, 8, 9, 10, 18, 20, 36, 50E, 63, 73, 83, 89, 94, 95, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106, 107, 141, 142, 200, 201, 210, 226, 251, 261

The report states that the following Saturday routes will end: 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 24, 28, 54, 61, 65, 74, 143

The following Sunday routes will stop service: 8, 13, 14, 22

Some bus routes will also have slower service on weekends.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County managers protest suggested budget cut

2009-09-12T01:56:39Z

Sacramento County managers are strongly opposing a suggestion from Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli to cut a benefit that helps employees save money for retirement. A representative from the Sacramento County Management Association (SCMA) told the Board of Supervisors on Friday that managers are making sacrifices to assist the county, and are not being treated fairly.

“We keep hearing by public comment that managers need to take more cuts,” said Sue Elliott, acting president of SCMA. “Yet, we feel we have done our part.”

Elliott made her remarks during the board’s fourth day of final budget hearings. The most recently updated figure for the county’s budget deficit is $68 million. Unions are vehemently protesting the the county’s plan to lay off 350 employees. In addition to the layoffs, the board has said it plans to cut 16 hours per month from the workload of county employees who are represented by unions.

The county's final decisions are expected on Sept. 16.

Elliott told the board that managers’ concessions include furlough days and the elimination of a cost-of-living pay increase. The 2.9 percent cost-of-living raise for managers was cut for the 2009/2010 fiscal year, she said.

Nottoli suggested Thursday that the board consider cutting the deferred compensation benefit for managers. Elliott said the benefit costs about $1.1 million annually, with $335,000 coming out of the general fund.

Elliott said that managers were being treated unfairly by the board, noting that employees represented by the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the Sacramento County Probation Association maintained their cost-of-living increases. She acknowledged that sheriff’s deputies and probation employees “put their lives on the line,” but contended there is unequal treatment among employee groups.

Elliott made her remarks the day after the executive director of United Public Employees Local 1 said the county was cutting rank-and-file workers while keeping jobs for officials. “You’re too top-heavy,” Ted Somera said in comments to the board. “You have too many chiefs.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County budget hearing draws big protests; union calls for Schutten to step down

2009-09-11T03:46:01Z

It would be an understatement to use the word “passionate” to describe the emotions of the hundreds of people who gathered in the Board of Supervisors' chambers for Thursday's budget hearing. The word “livid” would best describe the mood of the crowd as elected officials considered making $48 million in cuts to county social services programs.

The supervisors are planning to cut more than 360 positions as they face a new budget gap of more than $54.5 million. In addition to the scores of planned layoffs, the board proposes cutting 16 hours per month from the workload of county employees who are represented by unions. The supervisors will hold another budget meeting tomorrow and are scheduled to decide the final budget on Sept. 16.

Supervisor Susan Peters said the county's finances are being harmed by the recession and state cutbacks. "Unfortunately, today's economic circumstances have not changed — again, due to the national and state economic decline," she said. "That's a cold, hard economic fact. And compounding that are cuts imposed upon us by the state of California."

Ted Somera, executive director of United Public Employees Local 1, told the board that the county was cutting rank-and-file workers while maintaining jobs for many officials.

“You’re too top-heavy,” he said. “You have too many chiefs.” Somera’s union alleges that the county’s plan is illegal.

Somera’s remarks received loud applause from the audience. When protesters of the cuts made their remarks to the board, audience members reacted loudly with applause and cheering. Some even exchanged high-fives.

Outside the doors of the board’s chambers at the County Administration Building, the United Public Employees Local 1 collected signatures from people who support firing County Executive Terry Schutten. The union said it had nearly 600 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

During the morning session, about 250 people filled the supervisors’ chambers. About 320 people attended the afternoon session, filling the chambers and packing into the overflow seating area in the lobby.

Supervisor Don Nottoli suggested the board consider cutting a deferred compensation benefit for managers, adding that he wanted to discuss the idea during budget deliberations. The benefit, which helps employees save for retirement, has a general fund cost of about $390,000 per year, he said.

“As we’re looking at this, I certainly want us to have that conversation,” Nottoli said. “And again, I know there’s sensitivity to it.” The crowd cheered in response to his suggestion.

Also Thursday, Ann Edwards-Buckley, the county’s director of Health and Human Services, delivered dismal news to the board about how the cuts would harm the Child Protective Services (CPS) program. CPS has faced criticism over child fatalities from both the county’s grand jury and MGT of America, Inc., a management consulting firm that reviewed the program.

The $14.9 million in cuts to CPS would create a “weakened infrastructure necessary to provide oversight, accountability and improvement as identified in the MFT and Grand Jury report,” according to Edwards-Buckley's presentation to the board.

Dominic Bobo, a 17-year-old who was in foster care since he was 7-years-old, urged the board not to cut jobs for social workers. At times, “life was just so stressful that sometimes I just wanted to stop,” he said. “But it was my social workers that helped to push me through and keep me going.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.