The 30 percent increase in sewage rates that was approved last month will raise rents and make owning income properties more difficult, according to some in the industry. The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District approved the 30 percent increase over three years on June 23 in a 9-2 vote in response to a December decision by the state to set new guidelines for clean water in the Sacramento-San Juaquin Delta. The new guidelines require tightening controls on sewage discharge that will cause the local providers to overhaul their systems. To read more about the decision, click here. “It’s troubling in this very down economic climate to see any increases of that magnitude,” said Ji

When buildings become slums and havens for gangs, prostitution and drug use, a little-known city program can force landowners to clean them up or – in extreme cases – be evicted. The Justice for Neighbors program began in 2006 and allows multiple departments – including police, code enforcement, the city attorney’s office and park rangers – to focus their efforts on some of the worst slumlords and dangerous properties in the city, resolving an average of 17 cases per year. “Essentially, it’s a public and social nuisance (enforcement) team,” said Gustavo Martinez, supervising deputy city attorney. “We meet every month and evaluate the worst security issues.” Property owners are required

In their first Big Sky Conference game of the season, the Sacramento State football team upset No. 20-ranked Weber State 24-17 in front of 7,000 fans at Hornet Stadium on Saturday night. The Hornets improve to a 2-1 overall record and 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play for the season. The win on Saturday night puts them in a first-place tie with Eastern Washington University in the Big Sky Conference standings. The Hornets’ ground game was impressive, totaling 245 yards for the night against the Wildcats’ 102 yards. Running back Bryan Hilliard notched his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 136 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown made in the last minutes of the game. Run

Welcome to my new column. I have been a Real Estate Broker and brokerage owner for six years in Midtown and now in East Sacramento. For the past three years I have primarily sold foreclosures for banks and institutions. Before I became a Real Estate Broker I “flipped” older distressed homes in the greater downtown Sacramento area. I am a member of four professional associations and attend several conferences and workshops a year where I have direct contact with the real estate industry’s leaders and experts. This insight helps me greatly with the understanding of real estate’s future. As most people are well aware the real estate market is not going to recover soon and the foreclosure ma

Sacramento, Calif. — In an employee-led initiative, Voyage Home Loans donated over eight hundred dollars to UNICEF’s ongoing humanitarian relief effort for children in Haiti. The donations were collected by members of a team from KDND 107.9 “The End” in Sacramento. The contributions were a part of Voyage’s new Social Good Directive, which hopes to promote local, regional, and global Social Good awareness through Facebook in 2010. The project was led by Voyage’s Carly Harrington and Corinne Blackney, who quickly and efficiently brought the employees together and organized the donations in slightly over an hour’s time after hearing about The End’s efforts via the “Wake Up Call” morning show

 Tree clean our air and water, store carbon in their trunks, create habitat for wildlife, reduce air pollution, increase property values, and provide countless other benefits. The Sacramento Tree Foundation works to leverage all of the benefits that trees provide to create healthy and sustainable communities through building the best urban forest in the Sacramento region. A major keystone in building the best urban forest is the Greenprint initiative, a multi-decade regional framework created to meet Sacramento's sustainability and livability goals by expanding urban forests and optimizing the benefits of tree canopies. Greenprint partners, comprised of 22 cities and 6 counties, have agree

Saturday, August 29, at 10 a.m. Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and Sacramento community members will gather to dedicate the Thor family home at 2954 Connie Drive in Sacramento. The Thor family has put in 500 hours of sweat equity alongside community volunteers and other Habitat families. The Thor family home was made possible by a $75,000 sponsorship from the California State Employees Charitable Campaign. This simple, decent home includes environmentally friendly, money saving solar panels thanks to a grant from PG&E. Habitat for Humanity serves families earning 30 percent – 50 percent of the Sacramento County area median income. According to the 2000 US Census Bureau, in Sacramento Cou

Loomis, CA- Early Sunday morning structure fire claims the life of an elderly disabled man. Wife and dog escape the blaze. The beautiful mansion type home in the 6900 Prarie Ct., Loomis, CA, caught fire early Sunday morning. Penryn Battalion Chief stated that the home was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. He stated that the wife and dog escaped but her elderly disabled husband did not escape. The home was located deep in the hills of Loomis and difficult to access. Fire crews also had to shuttle water via "water tender" trucks to finally extinguish the fire. In some of the photos you will see some blue light showering in the upper right corner. The power was live during the en

Sacramento, CA by Ed Fogle   It was a bittersweet day for homeowners in the 6900 block Silverthorne Circle today. While their home was saved, they lost their furry friend.   Kirk Davies, photographer for MaverickPhotography.us and neighbor to the family, stated "it smelled like something barbequing when I walked outside, then I saw smoke pouring from my neighbors house and called 911" Tuesday afternoon, about 4:30 P.M., it is believed (but still under investigation) that a fire started in the dishwasher. Battalion Chief, Richard Anderson stated that the fire was contained to the kitchen area of the home. "A repair man from Sears was supposed to be at the home working on the dishwasher

Sacramento, CA- At 7:24 P.M. Friday evening, Sacramento firefighters were called to a downtown structure, just a few houses down from Old Ironsides off of 10th and S streets. When firefighters arrived at 1913 10th Street, they found the second floor and attic of the old Victorian well involved. Per Captain Jim Doucette, Engine 1 was on scene in about three minutes. Firefighters made a very aggressive attack on the fire. With the fire well seated in the attic, firefighters had to tear in and gain access to the space to bring the blaze under control. The roof on the north side became unstable and all the firefighters were ordered out. They were able to control the rest of the blaze from o

I see you all the time at Tupelo Coffee House, but you don’t know me. We both like it that way. Neither of us will exchange a word, but I have created your brief back-story for my own entertainment. It is fiction, but this is the nature of our relationship. I have 900 Facebook friends, and I frequent all the same spots, but I do not know anyone. We work here, meet here, and play here. When home is where the couch is, we spend most of our waking hours out and about; returning home only to crash for the night. Time is calculated in semesters, leases, and rental agreements instead of years or friendships. Neighbors have come to represent mysteries rather than faces or lives. Forgotten are t

The article below was written in 2007.  After this article was published, the owner of the house on 22nd and H Street contacted me.  He claims that his home is NOT haunted.  He also makes claim that there was NEVER any Martinez family that lived in this home and where that name came from is beyond him.  He believes that the urban legend of his home being haunted was started by his sister and it grew out of proportion and became the urban legend that it is now.  Paul Dale Roberts.  -  Now to the story that I wrote in 2007: I think before I talking about our haunting investigation, I want to talk about a few other things to get this article started. First off, before I became HPI's ghost wr

This years California Wildland Fire Season is nearing its end. This past fire season has been an ugly and deadly one. But here in Sacramento we are entering our "Urban Fire Season". What I mean by that is this is the time of year where we start seeing more structure fires and unfortunately this is usually the time of year that we experience our fire deaths. More people are spending their time indoors for obvious reasons. With that we have fires that are caused by defective heating equipment, fireplaces, candles, cooking, and the all too common, "smoking". Now is the perfect time to go through and check the safety of your home. It's is also a very good time to sit down with your family and