Saturday, March 20 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. California Complete Count is hosting a rally/march to raise awareness of the U.S. Census. Entertainment starts at 10:00 a.m. and a 1/2 mile march around the Capitol starts at 10:45. At 11:45, there will be brief speeches from Mayor Kevin Johnson and Lt. Gov. Mona Pasquil. Entertainment from community groups will continue until 2:30 p.m. The rally/march is intended to raise awareness and support for the census. Workers from the Census Bureau will man questionnaire assistance centers to answer questions and help fill out census forms. The event is part of the March 20 "Be Californian, Be Counted" day. Five hundred people are expected.   No other e

Loosen your belts. Sacramento's most famous burger place, The Squeeze Inn, held its grand reopening celebration Thursday morning. The celebration featured guest appearances by Mayor Kevin Johnson, City Councilman Kevin McCarty and County Supervisor Don Nottoli as well as music, speeches, a raffle and a burger-eating contest. Several hundred people shuffled into The Squeeze Inn throughout the lunch hour for special prices on the burger known for its famous "cheese skirt," which extends an inch beyond the bun. The burger is constructed by cooking a one-third-pound beef patty and putting "a giant handful of cheese" on top of, and around, the burger, said Squeeze Inn employee Keith Lenhart.

Sacramentans should be enjoying a sigh of relief today, and a swell of pride. After months, years, even a decade of back and forth, conflict and aimlessness, there is finally some movement forward on a sports and entertainment complex. Yes, forward. Thursday morning's decision by the Sacramento First Task Force to recommend - if just recommend - the complicated but far-reaching "land swap" proposed by Gerry Kamilos' and David Taylor's organizations, and supported by the NBA and other crucial organizations, means that we are moving forward. Finally. There will be a lot of arguing about this for some time. As an assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is to be praised for making progress on

 Over 700 business, community, and political leaders gathered at the Sacramento Convention Center to celebrate 38 years of service of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The 2010 Business Award winners were also honored that evening as well as Astronaut Jose Hernandez who is the first recipient of the Unity Award.     Astronaut Jose Hernandez, keynote speaker, honored the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with a photo collage of his first mission to the International Space Station autographed by the crew patch aboard the United Space Shuttle Discovery.  His message was inspirational and moved over 700 guests who attended this memorable event. President/CEO Steve Gándol

The night of March 10 may be the night that helps skyrocket Sacramento Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans to the Rookie of the Year (ROY) award for this season, but it will not be determined just by “’Reke’s” abilities and skills on the court. The support and excitement of all Sacramentans and Kings fans for Evans could have a large part in helping the former Memphis Tiger possibly win the award. With a banner that read, “RALLY FOR ’REKE, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR” behind him and local leaders, regional leaders, Slamson and Kings dancers alongside him, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced at a press conference Tuesday morning that March 10 would be ‘Rally for RekeROY Night’ at Arco Arena. The Kings will

"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.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force will focus on giving all proposals a fair hearing over the next four weeks, an arena team leader said Thursday. Four task force subcommittees on finance, transportation, site evaluation, and business and community impact will collect more detailed information from the development teams that have pitched seven arena options. The subcommittees will also consider renovating Arco Arena, the current home of the Kings, and a previous proposal to build at Cal Expo, said Chris Lehane, co-chair of the Sacramento First Task Force. Subcommittee work will not be public. The information gathered will be used to create a scoring matrix to weigh the pro

The Natomas Chamber of Commerce today criticized the NBA and Maloofs for backing an arena plan weeks before the Sacramento First task force is scheduled to make its recommendations to Mayor Kevin Johnson and the public. In a statment released today, chamber officials announced plans to launch a "Keep The Arena In Natomas" campaign during a press conference set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Five Star Way and Del Paso Road. The chamber is a partner in the Natomas ESC group which presented a proposal at City Hall yesterday for an arena and entertainment complex on 100 city-owned acres located north of Arco Arena.   "Natomas needs representation in the discussion about where a new sports complex

A lawyer defending the “strong mayor” initiative made arguments Friday in an effort to convince a judge to throw out a draft ruling against the initiative. Judge Loren McMaster heard arguments from lawyers representing the plaintiff and defendants at Sacramento County Superior Court but did not issue a final ruling Friday. McMaster did not announce when he would release his final decision. He issued a tentative ruling Thursday that said the initiative should not be placed on the June ballot. Bill Camp is the plaintiff who is challenging the initiative through a lawsuit. Camp, the executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, filed the lawsuit as an individual.  The defend

Mayor Kevin Johnson commented on today’s initial Sacramento County Superior Court ruling that the strong mayor initiative should not be placed on the June ballot. Johnson made his remarks to reporters before an open house on proposals for a new Sacramento entertainment and sports complex. Sacramento Press staff reporter Suzanne Hurt reported Johnson's comments on Judge Loren McMaster’s draft decision: “I think it was a temporary setback,” Johnson said. “This is something we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight nail and tooth.” Johnson noted that the early decision was “very disheartening,” and indicated that it affects voters’ rights. “Voters deserve and have a right to vote on this

Let me clarify the newly coined term "greenwash". If whitewashing is to 'gloss over or cover up a crime or a scandal', then "greenwashing" would be the use of money in an attempt to gloss over or cover up a crime or scandal. One year ago today on January 12th 2009, my friend and reporter Leann Lopez hand delivered nine letters with a "hungry4justice" card to the receptionist desk at City Hall. Mayor Kevin Johnson and all off the other city council members should have personally received their copy. Maybe the City Council didn't think this issue was important enough or they didn't want to believe this story to be true because Leann did not get one response by phone call or email about the

The city needs to make headway on flood protection efforts in order for the federal government to lift a moratorium on building in Natomas, Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency banned development in Natomas in 2008 because of the threat of flooding. Johnson said at his weekly press conference that flood protection will be one of his priorities in 2010. “We have to make progress so that (FEMA) will lift the moratorium,” Johnson said. New building in Natomas would generate dollars for the city’s general fund, he said. “If we want to grow revenue, we’ve got to find ways to have more economic development opportunities,” he said. Still, he noted that th

A little over two months ago, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts chose Sacramento over 27 other cities as the first partner for the "Any Given Child" program. The program, which promotes arts education, will be developed in Sacramento over the next two years before rolling out nationwide. Mayor Kevin Johnson emailed the following survey regarding participation in the Any Given Child program: In October, the Kennedy Center announced that it would pilot its Any Given Child program here in Sacramento with the goal of providing access and equity in arts in education to all students. Since then, we've been hard at work focusing on this welcome opportunity to expand arts opport

The Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce on Thursday endorsed the strong mayor initiative going before primary election voters next summer. Following study by a task force, the business association voiced support for an executive mayor with more power than the current city charter allows. The initiative's passage would change the form of city government that was established in 1921, according to the chamber. "The city of Sacramento deserves a government structure that is effective and accountable," said Matt Mahood, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, in a press conference at chamber headquarters. The press conference was held about a week after several local u

A Look Back: Year One: Mayor Johnson's First 12 Months of Propaganda The first of several parts in response to Mayor Johnson's recent evaluation of his first year in office. Part One — Effective Government and Accountability — or Propaganda? Propaganda as described by Wikipedia: Propaganda is a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional ra

As Mayor Kevin Johnson prepared for a Thursday night meeting to discuss new arena options, his chief of staff talked with Sacramento State students about the issues currently facing Sacramento -- namely, the arena, public safety and who’s in charge. Kunal Merchant joined the Mayor’s office in Dec. 2008 and has had a lot to manage in his year of service. Despite the furloughs and layoffs surrounding him, however, he is hopeful about Sacramento’s future. “We feel really optimistic about sacramento's prospects,” he said. “This is a moment in time where we have a chance to get things really right that can have positive consequences for decades.” Getting things right, he said, includes improv

  With announcement of Sacramento First Entertainment and Sports Complex Task Force, Nov. 19, by Mayor Kevin Johson, the Sacramento Metro Chamber  issued this statement by President & CEO Matthew Mahood:   We are pleased that Mayor Johnson is taking a strong leadership role in solving this ongoing regional issue on how to finance and construct an entertainment and sports complex. We hope the task force can find a viable solution to building a world-class facility here that will attract quality entertainment for our residents.   The issue is complex and needs focused attention. We applaud the combination of task force members who have subject-matter expertise and civic interest in find

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Washington, D.C. Schools Chancelllor Michelle Rhee are engaged to wed. Few details were released, but the Mayor did issue a statement. "This is an exciting time in our lives and I feel truly blessed," Johnson commented in a public statement issued Friday. "Michelle is an amazing person, and I could not be happier." Rhee, who served on the Mayor's St. Hope Academy before leaving for Washington, D.C., is divorced and has two children. The Sacramento Bee reports Rhee was once on the cover of Time Magazine as a prominent education reformer. No wedding date has been scheduled as of yet. --- Matthew Keys is an online news writer for FOX40.com and communit

Thursday morning, journalist Lisa Ling, members of the City Council and the homeless and formerly-homeless community joined Mayor Kevin Johnson in launching the "Sacramento Steps Forward" initiative. A crowd of several hundred waved blue initiative flags and cheered as Johnson announced his goal "to end homelessness and focus on permanent housing." He applauded permanent housing shelters such as Mercy Housing, Turning Point and Martin Luther King Jr. Village, 3900 47th Avenue, where the launch was held. Johnson said the goal of Sacramento Steps Forward is to provide 2,400 "decent and affordable" permanent housing units over the next three years. That would nearly quadruple the amount of

The Sacramento Kings campaign, Operation Sellout, sold out the first home game, Nov. 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies. That means the Kings, last in NBA attendance, sold 17,317 tickets for a team that sold out only three games last season. ESPN reported that the Kings averaged 12,571 fans per game, leaving 4,746 seats empty. Mayor Kevin Johnson, an outspoken advocate for keeping the Kings in Sacramento, is involved with the campaign.   “I went to Gavin and Joe Maloof and asked them how I can be helpful,” Johnson said.  “They said the best thing that would help them right now would be to help them sell out the first two home games, get the fans energized, and rekindle some of the energy