Local leaders are pushing to get a new criminal courthouse built at the edge of the railyards downtown, with a decision on the location likely to be made by the end of March. Bill Vickrey, the director of the Judicial Council's Administrative Office of the Courts, is reviewing two sites where the state could build a $439 million courthouse. One location is at Fifth and H streets across from the federal courthouse, and the other is a hole in the ground at 301 Capitol Mall where developer John Saca once planned to build twin 53-story condo towers. The 44-courtroom facility is being built to relieve crowding at Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse and is currently one of the state

Z Spot Cafe & Grill, a lunch spot across from the federal courthouse at Fifth and I streets, has mysteriously closed. The cafe and its outside courtyard at 500 I St. were empty Tuesday. Tables and chairs were gone, and the floor and counters were dirty and empty. Cash registers and other equipment, along with food, had been cleared out, possibly overnight. A drink dispenser was the only piece of equipment left on the restaurant's front counter. Confused customers stopped by during the day to try to figure out what had happened. A woman named Lisa who works at the nearby Hall of Justice, 813 Sixth St., said she wasn't able to reach the cafe by phone. "I called today to order a hamburger

Sacramento firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the federal courthouse downtown Wednesday afternoon. Steps are being taken to fix the problem after a faulty detector or possibly a bad ballast inside a light fixture set off a fifth-floor fire alarm at the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 I St., said Fire Department Station 2 Capt. Scott Visser. The alarm was reported at 1:58 p.m. Four fire stations -- 1, 2, 13 and 14 -- sent 13 firefighters, three engines and one truck to the scene.

 Sacramento firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the federal courthouse just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Fire crews made their way into the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, at 501 I St., after a fifth-floor fire alarm was reported at 1:58 p.m., said Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja. Three engines and one truck are at the scene. Bentovoja and 12 other firefighters are investigating the cause of the alarm.

Sacramento, CA May 17, 2009 Things are quiet now around the Federal Courthouse at 501 I St., in Downtown Sacramento, but around 5 am Sunday morning, there was a hubbub of activity as word spread that an unknown incendiary devise had been located on the west side of the courthouse. Per Sacramento Police Department, “at 4:47 a.m., Federal Protection Service personnel located a suspicious item on the west side of the Sacramento Federal Courthouse and contacted the Police Department.” A myriad of agencies are assisting with the investigation to ensure every angle is covered. The agencies involved are: Sacramento City Fire Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fede