Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday that Sacramento has been selected as one of only two cities in the country to participate in a privately funded program for energy efficiency retrofits of commercial buildings. English businessman and Virgin Records owner, Sir Richard Branson, and a consortium of businesses selected Sacramento and Miami for a private investment of $100 million for each city to retrofit city buildings with renewable energy, energy efficiency and water conservation improvements. “This is a real game-changer for our city in terms of fulfilling out goal of reducing our environmental footprint,” Johnson said Tuesday. The commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) p

The nation’s top environmental official, Lisa Jackson, expressed her view in Sacramento on Monday that federal and state environmental regulations can help create demand for green businesses and technologies. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Jackson spoke about environmental regulation and green jobs to an audience of more than 250 people at the Cal/EPA building downtown. She was the latest in a string of high-profile speakers brought into town to speak on behalf of “Greenwise,” Mayor Kevin Johnson’s environmental initiative. Contrary to the views of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which argues that businesses are stymied by many environmental regulations, Jackson said that re

Sacramento City Unified School District is getting some national help to renovate and make some of its more than 80 campuses more eco-friendly. A full-time sustainability officer will help schools meet LEED standards as part of a program through the U.S. Green Building Council, said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools, which is based in Washington, D.C. “(We) were impressed by your community’s enormous undertaking to become the greenest region in the country,” Gutter said, adding that beginning districtwide sustainability measures takes a large amount of time and money. The Green Schools Fellowship Program aims to help improve school sites to make them more environme

In addition to breaking the news that former Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee would base her education group in Sacramento at Thursday’s State of the City address, Mayor Kevin Johnson also laid out his agenda for the environment, education and downtown development. Johnson’s speech was the key draw of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 19th annual event, held at the Sacramento Convention Center. The chamber’s communications director, Hal Silliman, said this year’s turnout of about 950 people set a record. In remarks before Johnson’s speech, Metro Chamber Board Chair Gregory Eldridge commented on the poor economic environment in Sacramento, saying “many of our members contin

How the Greenwise Sacramento initiative will further advance our leadership in the green economy; as well as Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's vision for how the city will overcome its many challenges while creating jobs and revitalizing the central core: That's what's on board at the Sacramento Metro Chamber's 19th Annual State of the City Address, Thursday, Jan. 20 at the Sacramento Convention Center. “The City of Sacramento is focusing on creating momentum within the Green Economy,” said Matt Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “In many ways our region can showcase success in this industry as we continue to lead the way for other cities statewide. It’s the entrepreneurial spirit of b

A policy report on Mayor Kevin Johnson’s 2010 environmental initiative, known as “Greenwise,” is scheduled to be released on Jan. 20 at the annual State of the City address. The Greenwise report will consist of an action plan and goals, according to a Dec. 15 e-mail from the Greenwise project coordinator Lauren Altdoerffer. Johnson will speak at the State of the City address, which will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center. The report will be the product of months of meetings and brainstorming sessions on environmental sustainability in the Sacramento region. Johnson has repeatedly stressed that the focus on environmental progress should be regional. “If we look at just one poli

Sacramento is making progress toward Mayor Kevin Johnson’s goal of becoming the green capitol of the nation, green leaders said Tuesday at the final Greenwise Intitative meeting. Alice Waters, chef, activist and co-owner of Chez Panisse, Mayor Sam Adams of Portland and honorary co-chair of Greenwise Initiative Chancellor Linda P.B. Ketehi gathered at the California Museum to discuss Sacramento's resources and collaborative efforts. “After the last 24 months, in terms of the triple bottom line sustainability – environmental, social and economic sustainability – your city has gone from kind of good work – but middle of the pack – to a real bullet, and people are really watching what you’re

Americans have embraced environmentalism as a trendy idea, but they must wage a revolution, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said in Sacramento on Thursday. Friedman’s speech to about 1,000 people at the Crest Theatre was for “Greenwise,” Mayor Kevin Johnson’s environmental initiative. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist presented his views on the global environment and economy, and discussed his new book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America.” The event was free to the public and Friedman was not paid to speak, said Johnson spokesman Joaquin McPeek. Friedman’s talk was a star-studded political event: After the author

As Greenwise Sacramento continues to formulate a strategy for making Sacramento into Mayor Kevin Johnson’s vision of the “Emerald Valley,” San Francisco Mayor and candidate for Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom came to Tuesday’s monthly meeting to offer inspiration and guidance. “Global consumption is nothing more than the sum of all local consumption,” Newsom said, adding that movements like Greenwise Sacramento are the key to moving forward when progress is stalled at the federal level. The meeting was held at California State University, Sacramento, and the several-hundred-strong audience consisted of regional business owners, politicians, students and others interested in energy effic

Sacramento Residents have an opportunity to make their region a national leader for green technology development, according to author and activist Van Jones, who received a standing ovation for his speech at Mayor Kevin Johnson's second public meeting for Greenwise Sacramento. "The kind of environmental solutions that make sense for Sacramento make sense for America," Jones said. Over 400 area residents attended the Tuesday afternoon meeting to listen to the former special adviser to the Obama administration. He said that he has travelled all over the country for green events, and he was impressed with Sacramento’s. "Usually (a city) will have the mayor, they'll have a press conference

 Mayor Kevin Johnson held a second meeting on his Greenwise initiative Tuesday at Sacramento City College detailing his monthly plans through December and highlighting his four major focuses within the project. The “Four Major Principles” Johnson discussed were regional economy, green jobs, innovative policies and green IQ. Regional economy was emphasized at the meeting and Johnson said that for this project to work, the entire region, which consists of 6 six counties and 22 cities, must all work together and make the leap simultaneously. “There are strength in numbers,” he said. “If we look at just one policy for one city, we will not have a competitive advantage. It has to be a region