The Sacramento Press wants your neighborhood-related questions for Interim City Manager Gus Vina, the city’s highest-ranking official. What issues or concerns do you have about your neighborhood? What do you think the city government should do to improve your neighborhood? Write your questions in the comments section at the bottom of this article. Questions for Vina can also be e-mailed to kathleen@sacramentopress.com. The Sacramento Press will choose several questions from community members for Vina to answer. Vina was chosen as interim city manager by Mayor Kevin Johnson and the eight City Council members and will serve for nine to 12 months. He replaced Ray Kerridge, who resigned fr

Consider the case of Republican mover-and-shaker Jon Bagatelos of Sacramento, who until recently was relatively unknown at City Hall. Bagatelos, along with his relatives and his family’s commercial glass businesses, has been particularly kind to Kevin Johnson – including sponsoring fundraisers and doling out $15,150 in contributions to his mayoral race. When Johnson launched his strong mayor power grab, the Bagatelos clan once again was generous, handing out $10,550 to the effort in December 2009. In January 2010 – a month after those strong mayor contributions -- Johnson smiled on Jon Bagatelos and made him a city planning commissioner. And now Bagatelos is back, part of a development t

In a win for Mayor Kevin Johnson and his arena task force, the City Council agreed to start talks with Sacramento developer Gerry Kamilos on a plan to build a new sports and entertainment center in the downtown railyards and develop two other sites. The City Council’s approval to begin talks with the Kamilos Group was unanimous. While an agreement between the city and Kamilos was not completed Tuesday, the council moved closer to a decision to work with Kamilos. In Kamilos’ multi-layered plan, the downtown railyards would be the location of a new sports and entertainment center. The plan also calls for the creation of a new state fairgrounds at Arco Arena and nearby property. Kamilos’ t

Sacramento’s business community has said repeatedly that former City Manager Ray Kerridge established a customer-service culture in the city’s development department. At the same time, the department is wracked with investigations into possible breaches of laws. Now that Kerridge has left the city — March 11 12 was his last day of work — how will the culture of the Community Development Department change? New leadership and the findings from an audit are two upcoming developments that may change the department. The recent resignations of Kerridge and department director Bill Thomas have created job openings. At this point, both positions are being held by interim officials. Gus Vina is i

Gus Vina, already serving as acting city manager, has been selected to be the interim city manager for the following nine-to-12 months. City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned last month and will leave his post Friday. Kerridge has said he’s taking a private sector position, but has not yet announced where that position will be. Mayor Kevin Johnson and several council members held a press conference Wednesday to announce Vina’s new position. “And I think it’s very clear to all of us that (Kerridge) has very big shoes that we need to fill,” Johnson said. “And we feel that we found the right person to fill his shoes in a very short timeframe.” Johnson and the council members unanimously chose

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson – a three-time NBA all-star point guard for the Phoenix Suns – shared his thoughts on Sacramento Kings Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans Tuesday morning at a press conference. Johnson officially endorsed Evans last week, and came before tonight’s rally to support Evans. "He's doing some amazing things," Johnson said about Evans' performance this season. "He's on pace to do something only three other (rookies) in the history of the NBA have done in the past – averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (per game)." The three players who Johnson talked about are LeBron James and hall-of-famers Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan. Currently, Evans is

The city auditor’s office — vacant for nearly a year — has been brought back to life. Mayor Kevin Johnson and three council members announced at a Tuesday morning press conference that Jorge Oseguera is the city's new internal auditor. Most recently, Oseguera was a senior program performance auditor for the city of San Jose. He began work at the city of Sacramento Monday. “I think the audit function is an essential element of the public’s accountability, and I look forward to meeting my objectives in meeting the public’s accountability,” Oseguera said. He also said he would participate in preparations for an upcoming audit of the Community Development Department. The investigation will

 Professional football is coming to Sacramento. The United Football League is moving the California Redwoods from the Bay Area to Sacramento for the fall 2010 season, UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced at a press conference today. "It's an exciting day for the UFL," he said. The California Redwoods, which played in San Francisco and San Jose last year, will be relocating to Sacramento for the UFL's second season. The new season marks the UFL's expansion, with two more teams being added and the season length extending from six games to 10. The Sacramento team will be renamed, and fans can submit a team name at the UFL's website. Mayor Kevin Johnson was at the press conference we

A popular furry beast made a rare appearance Tuesday morning at City Hall. Slamson, the mascot for the Sacramento Kings, joined with local officials to promote Tyreke Evans as the choice for NBA Rookie of the Year. Mayor Kevin Johnson, Assemblyman Roger Niello and County Supervisor Jimmie Yee all turned out for the press conference to cheer for Evans. “Rally for RekeROY Night” will take place March 10 during the game between the Kings and the Toronto Raptors at Arco Arena.

Deadlines are looming for Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer arena task force. The panel expects to announce its recommendation on a new sports and entertainment complex March 11. The 12-member task force plans to appear before the City Council and make its suggestions March 16. The task force is making recommendations for a new arena, but does not have the power to put its recommendation into action. The City Council will decide how to address the task force’s ideas. These appearances will mark the panel's final public events, according to Jeremiah Jackson, its project coordinator. “The task force will not disband immediately, but will be available for another month or so to ensure the c

Mayor Kevin Johnson called for city government reform, the launching of a green initiative, increased public safety and moving forward with the arena project at his second State of the City address Thursday. “The state of the city is in our hands,” Johnson told the members of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “The key is not about getting hit, it’s about getting up again.” Johnson discussed the hits the city has recently taken, including an increase to 13 percent unemployment from about 5 percent just a couple years ago, high crime rates and lackluster business performance, but he emphasized the need to be optimistic. “This is our time, Sacramento,” Johnson said. He high

 The Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Sacramento is closing its doors after 12 years. The restaurant was an anchor of the troubled Westfield Downtown Plaza, and is the latest casualty of the poor economy, said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "The Hard Rock closing certainly reflects what is going on with this country and state. It's hitting us very hard," Johnson said at a press conference Friday. "We haven't hit bottom and we haven't come out of it yet, and that's very difficult for all of us." Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said he just heard about the closing Thursday. "We are disappointed," he said. "Hard Rock is an iconic property. The destination it repre

Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Robbie Waters praised City Manager Ray Kerridge, who announced yesterday that he was resigning on March 12, at a joint press conference Thursday. Without naming anyone in particular, Johnson and Waters both blamed other council members for the negative atmosphere at City Hall. The other council members did not attend the press conference. However, Joann Cummins, district director for Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, attended the event. “I think the divisiveness has certainly played a role (in Kerridge’s decision),” Johnson said. He said he was concerned that the work environment could cause “great talent” to leave. Johnson also faulted himself for his

Prospective developers for a new sports and entertainment complex were questioned by Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force Wednesday night. The 12-member task force, which includes real estate, finance and communications executives, asked numerous follow-up questions after listening to presentations by Matt Haines, Doug Tatara and Ali Mackani. Haines, who owns Bistro 33 in Midtown, told the task force about his proposal to build the complex in downtown’s Docks Area. “This would be a direct front-door” to Old Sacramento, he said. Old Sacramento is north of the proposed area. Task force project coordinator Matt Massari wrote earlier that Haines’ Docks Area project would be “adjacent

 The Kings have been having a roller coaster season. The team is undeniably better than last year, but its recent monthlong collapse has left it with a 18-35 record. This tally has been accompanied off-court by injuries, trade rumors, and uncertainty about a new arena and the Kings' future in Sacramento. While it's a turbulent time to be a Kings fan, most fans who attended Tuesday's home game remained optimistic and excited about the future. "They're pretty good," William Yu said. "They're making a lot of progress," added the 38-year-old engineer. "They play all the way, and they're fun to watch," warehouse operator Jerry Sudderberg said. Much of the optimism centers around the front-

Mayor Kevin Johnson has abandoned his effort to put his latest “strong mayor” proposal on the June ballot, saying there is not enough support from council members. Johnson said he now plans to start campaigning to place the proposal on the November ballot. He also cited the city’s budget deficit as a reason to delay the initiative to November. “There’s not a lot of appetite from council members to put it on the ballot in June,” Johnson said. “Secondly, we had a budget workshop last week on Thursday and we have some significant challenges that we need to deal with going forward.” He said he will ask the City Council at tonight’s meeting to consider placing the proposal on the November ba

A consultant for the National Basketball Association pressed the City Council earlier this week to back its proposal for a new arena in Sacramento. The NBA, developer Gerry Kamilos and the Maloofs are working together on the proposal, which is led by Kamilos. John Moag, a consultant for the National Basketball Association, expressed his preference for the NBA/Kamilos plan in a Feb. 9 letter sent to Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Council members. “We expect the City of Sacramento will be the lead agency on the convergence project with a major role being played by the state of California,” Moag wrote. “We urge you to make the review and consideration of the convergence plan a priority of th

A major international bank that has generated controversy on the national level is being welcomed to Sacramento by the city’s mayor. At the same time, Goldman Sachs is being sued by a city councilman. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer arena task force has applauded Goldman for volunteering to work with task force members to analyze proposals for a new entertainment and sports complex. Meanwhile, City Councilman Steve Cohn is suing Goldman as part of his day job. Cohn is the Chief Assistant General Counsel for the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, which is fighting Goldman in federal court in New York. SMUD alleges that Goldman and 46 other financial companies together ch

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s latest strong mayor proposal drew strong reactions from a councilwoman and members of the public even though it was not officially on the City Council agenda. Johnson’s new strong mayor package was taken off the agenda Tuesday night without explanation from city officials. Even though the proposal was pulled from the meeting, the council heard comments from several members of the public, pro and con. Then, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy spoke of her opposition to Johnson’s plan. “I think the entire city is suffering from a case of strong mayor fatigue,” she said, adding that the city needs to stop focusing on the issue of a strong mayor form of government. Sheedy sugge

"For us domestic riders, this is our Tour de France," Chris Jones said of the Amgen Tour of California. "It's the biggest race of our year," added the 31-year-old cyclist from Auburn. Jones and Michael Sayers, a retired professional rider, are Amgen tour veterans. They joined John McCasey, Sacramento Sports Commission director, at a Tuesday press conference at Mason's Restaurant. They introduced the tour's first stage -- from Nevada City to Sacramento -- with Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilmen Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn also in attendance. The event kicked off with a video that provided a glimpse of the scenery cyclists will see when they ride from Nevada City to Sacramento on May 16.