Local producer and businessman Tony Savo announced today he will be hosting "Sactown Famous" a new reality show set to begin production in the Sacramento region late next week. The show will be produced by Savo's Coalition Media Group in association with One Mil Records and will spotlight the areas local talent, events and nightlife as well as feature exclusive interviews with the Capital city's biggest names. Tony Savo says: "Sacramento's a very diverse and dynamic city and I think it should be celebrated. We got the Kings, the River Cats, the UFC's Urijah Faber and the Maloof's Global Skateboarding Initiative just for starters... there's a lot to take pride in if you call this place you

As our City leaders continue to debate how to finance an NBA-size arena in the downtown, climaxing with a final City Council vote in the next few weeks, here are ten reasons why I believe financing a new area with a 50-year "parking lot fee" agreement is not good for the financial and emotional well-being of our great City of Sacramento. (1) Fifty-year agreements encourage abuse and escalation of fees. If the capitalist system depends upon free enterprise and competition, 50-year agreements are an invitation for corruption and exploitation. Immediately or gradually, we will all curse the day this deal was done, every time we park downtown. (2) If you can afford $200-$500 for a family to

The Sacramento Kings named Keith Smart head coach Thursday, promoting him from his position of assistant coach after firing Paul Westphal Thursday morning. “Keith will bring a new perspective to the team as we try to move forward with the season,” Geoff Petrie, chief of basketball operations, said in a press release. “He’s very well prepared and will assume the job with some new ideas and new approaches of his own. We’re all excited and looking forward to working with him.” Westphal was let go after about two and a half seasons where the Kings’ record was 51 wins and 120 losses. This season began with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers Dec. 26, but the Kings had only won two games going i

The Sacramento Kings ended a three-game losing streak Sunday night in a 96-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets. Guard Tyreke Evans led the team with 27 points, scoring 13 points in the third quarter. Evans was also a force on the defense, and along with guard Marcus Thornton, who scored 25 points, helped the team dominate the second half of the game. Noticeably absent from the court was center DeMarcus Cousins, who had been listed as a probable starter in the game. Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal issued a release before the game in which he said Cousins was asked to stay home after he demanded to be traded. Despite his absence, the Kings dominated the Hornets. Westphal said he does not k

The Sacramento Kings fell behind early on Saturday night and were never able to catch up with the visiting New York Knicks as they dropped their third consecutive loss by a final score of 114-92 to close out 2011. The Kings were thought to be catching a break as the Knicks were without their star forward Amar’e Stoudemire but rookie Josh Harrellson got the start and chipped in with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Sacramento struggled all night to get the offense going and they fell behind by as many as 22 points in the first half. New York’s biggest lead on the night was 29 points. Kings guard Marcus Thornton led the team in scoring with 14 points while his backcourt teamm

If the financing plan for a new arena is going to fully materialize in Sacramento by March 1st, the NBA’s current deadline for city leaders to have the specific plans set in place, it will undoubtedly have to include revenue streams from a plethora of exotic sources. Options on the table as of now include turning over control of most of Downtown’s on-street parking spaces and garages for 50 years to a private firm, the sale of some 20-or-so publicly owned properties, an undisclosed amount of financial assistance from the Maloof’s and the NBA itself, and the promise of a big infusion of startup cash via the Anschutz Entertainment Group . AEG, in case you didn’t already know, is the largest

ThinkBIG, the group of movers-and-shakers put together by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to help sell the idea of building a new arena for the Kings, was out in full force yesterday doing damage control as city staffers published the findings of its study that looks into the feasibility of selling away publicly owned parking spaces and garages for the next 50 years for some quick upfront construction cash. Beside the staff comments in the first dozen or so pages of the report, it's the exact same findings that my site, ranSACkedmedia, got a hold of last week; privatizing parking will force Downtown visitors to spend more money to park their cars, taking away parking revenue will leave a $9

The Sacramento Kings should be back on the court by this time next month, according to reports this morning that claim that NBA team owners and players are finalizing a deal to bring the labor lockout to an end. If everything goes as planned, the league plans to play a shortened 66-game season with training camps set to open December 9th. The tentative agreement is still only a “handshake deal” at this time, but both sides seem optimistic that a partial season will be salvaged beginning with a marquee tripleheader on December 25th. No word yet on when the Kings would return to Power Balance Pavilion, but today’s news is seen as an early Christmas present for the support staff that work a

Now that the NBA players union has taken serious steps to sue the league and team owners local officials in Sacramento are scrambling to salvage the momentum they’ve amassed with their “Think Big” campaign. In a total about-face to the direction of the movement that started and the end of last season, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson quickly played down the significance of a prolonged NBA lockout by issuing the following statement to the press: “I remain hopeful that all parties will come together and reach a solution. From Sacramento's perspective, our focus is on continuing to move forward on developing an Entertainment and Sports Complex. This has never been about an arena for pro basket

After a slightly flawed but excellent nonetheless One Scary Nite 2, expectations were high for the third annual installment of the "Deon Taylor Enterprises presents: One Scary Nite" Halloween party, which went down at the California Auto Museum Thursday night. Familiar attractions returning this year included "Mad Scientist" Jack Sparx with his Tesla coil, huge propane fireballs and deranged laugh, stilt walkers, fire dancers, go-go dancers and many bloody, gory "staff monsters" and zombies who shuffled around the venue with a vacant look in their eyes, grunting at passing partygoers. Absent this year were the red carpet and arrivals, the national musical act (last year it was Bell Biv D

A public opinion poll delivered to the City Council Thursday shows support for both the downtown arena and several public funding options. That poll came in with 33 days remaining in the Think Big Sacramento committee’s 100-day timeline to come up with a “menu of options” for financing an entertainment and sports complex, said Kunal Merchant, chief of staff to Mayor Kevin Johnson. Paul Maslin, of the public opinion research and strategy organization Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, said his company did more than 700 phone interviews with residents of Sacramento, Sacramento County, El Dorado County, Placer County and Yuba County. The polls were completed two weeks ago. The f

In what Mayor Kevin Johnson called an unprecedented event, 14 chambers of commerce from the Sacramento region announced Thursday that they support an entertainment and sports complex in downtown Sacramento. Johnson said the backing of the regional business community, which came after a four-county bus trip for Think Big Sacramento, is a commitment to the promise he made to the National Basketball Association earlier this year in New York City that Sacramento is an NBA city and can build a new arena. “I did not sell Sacramento, I sold our region,” he said, adding that a common commitment to a downtown sports and entertainment complex will provide a more vibrant community. The major obsta

From Little League to Major League Baseball or punches to knockouts in boxing, it’s important to keep fans and readers up to date on sport results and highlights. Sam Amick, Sports Illustrated columnist for SI.com, shared his personal experiences Tuesday, giving multiple anecdotes to explain lessons learned, experiences gained and answered audience member questions about the craft. The single most important skill that Amick stressed was preparation and research. He compared sports writing to a chef saying that one prepares by having the correct ingredients for a recipe. He encouraged the audience to try to gain as much information about the sports topic, the team, athletes and statistic

Thanks to those of you who came to our Bias in Journalism workshop earlier this month. If you missed it, you can read the recap here. For July, we are excited to announce a new workshop presenter – Sam Amick. With the Sacramento River Cats season well under way, the Sacramento Capitals tennis team starting in July and the buzz building for the next Sacramento Kings basketball season – there will be plenty of sports stories to be covered on The Sacramento Press and on blogs, etc. Amick will teach a workshop on sports writing at the Sacramento Press office from 6:30 - 8 p.m. July 12. Amick is currently an NBA columnist for Sports Illustrated at SI.com. He received his degree in journali

I attended the Kings victory rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza last night, but I did so reluctantly. I am on record as being somewhat immune to Kings fever, to say the least. I appreciate them for what they do for the town, and I am sensitive to what their departure would mean for us as a city. It wouldn’t be good. But I’m not a fan. So I went grudgingly, mostly because I live nearby and it was on my way somewhere else. It was a news event regarding a crucial current concern. Why not? I left, if not a believer, then certainly more engaged than I had been, and even a little moved. I don’t love the Sacramento Kings, but I have loved the Giants of old, the A’s in their heyday and the 49ers when

Sacramento Kings fans will gather Friday evening at Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s pool to celebrate the Sacramento Kings staying in town for another season. Several special guest speakers are expected to join in the festivities as well. Hot 103.5 will provide the music for evening and the pool will be lit up bright purple for the Kings. There will be raffle prizes including tickets to the Fray and Train, spa treatment as well as food and a no-host bar at the Coconut poolside bar. Attendees are encouraged to wear their purple and get ready for an evening of partying and dancing at the first Thunder Valley pool party of the summer. More information and rsvp at the facebook event.    

George Maloof's comment this morning that keeping the Kings in Sacramento for one more year is "the right thing to do" struck me as disingenuous.  Since when is "doing the right thing" the way the Maloofs operate? This was not a decision based on principle. It was based on money, and a lot of other things far beyond the M-Bro's control. They simply weren't able to pull the move off. Yet. That said, this morning's announcement that the Kings will be staying in Sacramento is unalloyed good news. Whether or not the Kings staying in Sacramento is ultimately the "right" thing for Sacramento is still up in the air; but today, it is very much a good thing. Whether that remains true going forwa

The Committee to Save the Kings has gathered enough signatures in Anaheim to halt the issuance of $75 million in bonds that was approved by the Anaheim City Council to fund a Sacramento Kings move to Anaheim, pending voter approval. That’s according to Kellen Arno of Arno Political Consultants, which collected 11,000 - 12,000 signatures. The next scheduled election is not until June of 2012. The bonds will “absolutely have to” go before voters, he said. According to Arno, his firm is finalizing the signatures – making sure the ones sent are all legible names and real addresses – and will send them to government officials in the next few days. “We’re done,” he said, saying he is confid

Downtown businesses are getting in on the underground social media campaign #HereWePurple. They’re supporting the Sacramento Kings while the NBA is in town through displays, specials, deals, freebies and more. The social media campaign #HereWePurple has encouraged Sacramento to show support for the Kings by “painting the town purple” today while the NBA is in town meeting with local business leaders. The facebook event encourages residents to wear purple, sport a Kings jersey, put sign in your windows and cars, put up flags, wear your purple jewelry or whatever you've got all day long. “We've been watching the campaign on Twitter and wanted to get our downtown businesses to encourage Sac

People of all ages were wearing purple in Downtown Sac today. I had to really look to spot purple. Some colors were almost purple so I figured they were showing support for the Kings. On the south side of the Capitol a man was wearing a big King's face with a crown. I was driving too fast to catch him. Fans were wearing purple to show visiting National Basketball Association representatives that the capital is worthy of an NBA team. Some businesses were offering specials that included purple. Here's some of the folks I saw around Cesar Chavez Plaza and City Hall: