Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "gov arnold schwarzenegger"

Downtown Plaza loses tree, lighting

2010-11-24T04:40:56Z

Sacramento’s holiday lights will shine a little less brightly this season when Westfield Downtown Plaza goes without a giant Christmas tree for the first time in 30 years.

Without a tree, the annual day-after-Thanksgiving tree lighting ceremony at the mall's Seventh and K streets entrance also won't be held. However, the plaza is likely to be the only place in Sacramento with a little snow this winter after artificial snow-making machines are set up in a children's play area.

Sacramentans can enjoy two other Christmas tree lightings. Old Sacramento will light up its huge tree at 6 p.m. Wednesday at K and Front streets, followed by a light show and more to set the historic district sparkling. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will host a tree lighting ceremony at the state Capitol at 5 p.m. Dec. 7.

The plaza has had a tree averaging about 50 feet tall for the last 29 years, Plaza Marketing Director Raelene Trumm said.

"We're not doing the tree this year," Trumm said. "There's a tree lighting at Old Sacramento and one at the Capitol, so it seemed to get lost in the middle."

Westfield Downtown Plaza is the title sponsor of the ice-skating rink, which lies in St. Rose of Lima Park across the street from the Seventh and K streets entrance. Management decided to decorate the entire plaza with about 16 smaller Christmas trees, Christmas lights and window decorations rather than focus on one end. On Tuesday, crews began installing trees, Trumm said.

"We just wanted to add more Christmas atmosphere throughout the mall," said Trumm, adding that the economy and work at the Seventh and K entrance also contributed to the decision. She couldn't say whether there would be a tree at the plaza next year.

Macy’s Christmas store has temporarily set up shop in the second-floor space vacated by Banana Republic, near the K and Seventh streets entrance.

In Old Sacramento, a crew of four used an 80-foot boom to decorate the 5,000-pound, 50-foot blue spruce trucked in from Carlton Christmas Trees, a farm near Mt. Shasta. The crew strung up more than 4,000 lights: traditional colored Christmas tree lights, icicle lights, twinkle and flicker lights, and strobes. Ornaments range from plastic candy, bells and balls to handmade ornaments celebrating the 1857 poem, "The Night Before Christmas."

At least eight people helped decorate buildings and install lighting and sound equipment, said Old Sacramento Business Association Executive Director Melissa Martinez.

The district is adding holiday scenes and expanding the Theatre of Lights, a light and sound show begun last year. The 20-minute show will operate at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays, throughout the season. On certain nights, Old Sacramento will also host Santa and other street performers, TV personalities and vendors selling cocoa and spiced nuts.

"This is the best year yet," Martinez said. "We've really concentrated on bringing it up to a different level and increasing the wow factor."

Photos of Christmas tree installations at the state Capitol and in Old Sacramento by Katie Garner. Other photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks in Sacramento

2010-11-20T02:13:25Z

Attorney and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., called for the entire nation to be linked on one electricity grid in a fiery speech in downtown Sacramento on Friday.

Kennedy was the keynote speaker for “Greenwise,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s environmental initiative. Since he started his initiative in June, Johnson has hosted talks with speakers including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. About 300 people attended Kennedy’s speech, which was held at the Hyatt Regency at 12th and L streets.

The country’s current energy system is irrational, Kennedy said, noting there are 50 different public utilities commissions. The electricity system in the nation should be linked together, Kennedy said, so that solar and wind energy could be used in every community.

“We need a national marketplace where every American is hooked to a national unified grid,” he said. “A marketplace that does what a real free market capitalism is supposed to do: which is supposed to reward good behavior, which is efficiency. And punish bad behavior, which is inefficiency and waste.”

Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA administrator for a region that includes California, Arizona and Hawaii, was among other speakers who addressed the audience before Kennedy arrived.

“People are looking to examples, and frankly, they’re looking to California,” Blumenfeld said. “They’re looking to the place where the iPhone comes from and saying, ‘You know what, they can invent this amazing thing. Surely, they can work out what to do with local government.’ And I think we’re rising to the occasion.”

Kennedy had been scheduled to speak at 11 a.m., but he arrived nearly an hour later because his flight to Sacramento was delayed.

Johnson improvised in the downtime before Kennedy arrived, telling humorous anecdotes to the audience and showing a clip of comedian Stephen Colbert interviewing environmentalist Van Jones.

In his talk, Kennedy simultaneously advocated for an alternative energy national electric grid and attacked the use of oil and coal energy.

Kennedy peppered his speech with insults directed at incumbent U.S. Congressmembers, the coal industry and Fox News. He drew applause from some members of the audience when he said: “Right now, we have a marketplace that is rigged by rules that were written by the incumbents to reward the dirtiest, filthiest, most poisonous, most destructive, most addictive fuels from hell, rather than the cheap, clean, green, wholesome, abundant fuels from heaven.”

Mark Henwood, a local clean energy business owner, was so amused by Kennedy’s colorful insults that he wrote them down.

However, Henwood pointed out that national legislation with rules for limiting greenhouse gas emissions has failed to receive approval from the U.S. Congress.

“We have some evidence that there’s not enough political will,” he said.

Before Kennedy’s talk, Johnson spoke about his hopes for environmentalism in Sacramento.

“We want to transform Sacramento in The Emerald Valley, the greenest region in the county and a hub for clean technology,” he said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Johnson, SMUD official protest Prop. 23

2010-10-15T01:16:13Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson and representatives from public agencies and small businesses said Thursday that ballot measure Proposition 23 would harm the environment, green businesses and air quality.

The November ballot measure would overturn the state’s climate change law, AB 32, until the state reaches an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent or lower for four consecutive quarters. AB 32, which the California Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger passed in 2006, aims to cut California’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Backers of Prop. 23, officially called the “California Jobs Initiative,” argue that AB 32 hurts businesses that must pay the expense of making mandatory changes to comply. The Sacramento City Council, which includes Johnson, unanimously opposed Prop. 23 in a symbolic vote in August.

Texas oil companies Valero and Tesoro are high-profile financial contributors to Prop. 23.

“We don’t want to be addicted to oil,” Johnson said at a press conference on Thursday.

Josh Daniels, who owns an environmentally friendly home materials business called Green Sacramento, also spoke with Johnson. “We’ve definitely benefited a lot in (the green building) industry from AB 32,” Daniels said.

In her comments, Genevieve Shiroma, president of the board of directors for the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, said the utility helps to advance economic development and create jobs through its environmental programs.

Larry Greene, executive director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said that passage of Prop. 23 would be the “wrong thing to do for air quality and public health.”

Meanwhile, the Yes on Prop. 23 campaign contends that an overturn of AB 32 would maintain jobs. The campaign’s website says the measure focuses on “protecting jobs, preserving environmental protections, and holding the line on costs for California’s struggling families.”

Photo by Kathleen Haley.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Education panel: Villaraigosa, Rhee criticize teachers' unions

2010-10-06T05:48:37Z

A high-profile panel that included Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Washington, D.C., Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee met in Sacramento on Tuesday evening and discussed pitfalls in the nation’s education system.

Most of the members of the panel, which also included Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and an official with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said state and national teachers’ unions have made efforts to halt education reforms.

The panel held its discussion after a screening of “Waiting for Superman,” filmmaker Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary about education reform. About 200 people gathered for the screening, including special guests from state government such as California Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss and California Assembly members Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) and Dan Logue (R-Linda).

Villaraigosa noted that he is a former employee of the California Teachers Association, but faulted the union for opposing changes that he views as reforms.

“I am unabashedly pro-teacher,” Villaraigosa said. “I believe in collective bargaining. But what you see up here is a broken system ... The most powerful defenders of that broken system, without a question, is the teacher’s union.”

The panelists tackled the issue of tenure for teachers, which is a job security guarantee.

Schwarzenegger criticized the practice of tenure for teachers: “I don’t think this is good for the teachers. I don’t think this is good for the kids. I don’t think this is good for the country.”

Rhee, whose rocky relationship with teachers’ unions was profiled in the documentary, said in the panel that contracts with unions need to be changed.

“We need to make sure that we have collective bargaining agreements that are also focused on children, not adults,” Rhee said.

She also called for a “bold” legislative agenda in California that would involve reducing pensions and benefits for teachers and public employees.

Meanwhile, the American Federation of Teachers argues that Guggenheim’s film is misleading.

“The film's central themes—that all public school teachers are bad, that all charter schools are good and that teachers' unions are to blame for failing schools—are incomplete and inaccurate, and they do a disservice to the millions of good teachers in our schools who work their hearts out every day,” according to the AFT website.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

SEIU Rally Brings Thousands to Capitol

2009-07-02T06:06:58Z

On Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., approximately 2,000 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gathered on the west steps of the Capitol in a powerful end to Tuesday's outcry rally over the state’s budget decisions, which would cut the salaries of state workers by 15 percent.

A giant screen was set up to project the image of the speakers. Tents were scattered providing first aid, food and information on how to contact the governor. Participants sat on the grass and milled around, but once Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker took the stage, most remained standing to listen intently to her words.

Walker addressed SEIU's grievances with the state legislature's handling of the budget. She spoke about the issues that have not been taken into consideration by the state, such as SEIU's proposed contract that would have saved $340 million, or their identification of the 34.7 million dollars allocated for private vendor contracts. She reminded the crowd that all departments have been cut by 10 percent, yet people continue to return to work and provide the same services. She also reminded the crowd, to loud cries of indignation, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement of a third furlough day.

"The only thing I have to say is, 'Governor, you were elected to do a job, you have failed, you are not providing leadership to California and today Local 1000 is putting you on notice, and we're not going to take it anymore,'" Walker said.

Speeches finished, members of SEIU took to circling the west steps in a slow march, chanting various slogans of empowerment such as, "We've had enough, we won’t take it no more," "Union power" and the Bob Marley lyric, "Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights."

The sizable turnout featured SEIU members from all over California including Fresno, Redding, Rancho Cucamonga and Oakland.

Lesley Wong, a writer for Caltrans and Oakland resident, noted that the sheer number of bodies the event drew contributed to its success.

"I've been to past rallies, ridden the bus up from Oakland," Wong said. "This one, by far, has been the biggest one we've had that I've been to."

She also expressed that the governor's announcement of the implementation of a third furlough day was a deal-breaker for many state workers.

"It's the final 5 percent extra that pushed everyone over," Wong said. "It's an absolute breaking point. I've got people working with me who are making less money than they were 15 years ago."

In Walker's final address to the members of SEUI, she looked toward the future.

"The next time we come out, I hope to see 20,000 state workers," she said.

The response of the crowd could be heard a block away on L Street.

County fears state may take local social services, public safety funds

2009-06-05T04:36:11Z

Sacramento County’s public safety and social service programs will be harmed if the state advances a proposal to borrow $2 billion from local governments, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst.

The county is planning cuts to close its own $180 million budget gap.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed borrowing property tax revenues from local governments as one of many ways to address the state’s $24.3 billion deficit. Holst noted that Sacramento County’s portion of the $2 billion would be $32 million.

Lending $32 million in county revenues to the state “would directly impact public safety and social programs,” Holst said. “We are watching the state very closely to see what they are planning to do so that we can be better prepared to adjust our services to our communities and minimize the impact of the loss of services.”

In order for Schwarzenegger’s proposal to be enacted, the state Legislature must approve it with a two-thirds vote. California Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said it gives Schwarzenegger "no pleasure" to propose to borrow from local governments.

Palmer noted that Schwarzenegger supported local government authority and the 2004 initiative Proposition 1A, which voters approved. That proposition ensures that local governments maintain control over their property and sales tax revenues.

However, the proposition enables the state to borrow the local government funds in a fiscal crisis. The proposition says the state must reimburse local governments with interest within three years.

The governor made the proposal because of the “severe recession,” Palmer said.

The city of Sacramento would also be affected by Schwarzenegger’s plan. Mayor Kevin Johnson said recently that the city could dedicate up to $12 million in “risk funds” to the state. City staffers wrote in a May 22 report that these funds “are reserved to cover city liability settlements over the life of a claimant.”

Sacramento County expects to release its proposed budget Friday, June 5.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor Johnson: state worker layoffs could damage local economy

2009-06-04T04:06:21Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson told media outlets earlier this week that possible layoffs of state workers may harm the city’s economy.

Layoffs for about 5,000 state workers have been proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to address the state’s $24.3 billion deficit. Local governments throughout the state may be impacted by state budget cuts, Johnson said. But because many Sacramento residents are state workers, the city faces “a double whammy.”

Sacramento is “very uniquely positioned as a state capital city to get hit twice,” Johnson said Tuesday.

Johnson went on to say that if these workers are laid off, they may not be able to make their mortgage payments. In turn, these residents may foreclose on their homes, and add to the city’s foreclosure problems, Johnson said.

Johnson is also worried that an additional proposed furlough day for state workers would discourage residents from shopping and spending money in Sacramento. When furloughs are in place, “those workers don’t come downtown,” Johnson said. “They don’t shop at our retail outlets, and they don’t dine at our restaurants.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.