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

How’s business? What can be done to make it better? With those questions, more than two dozen business people and Sacramento County staffers are visiting businesses Friday in the Arden Arcade district for the annual Business Walk to find out what kind of assistance can be brought to help improve the business environment. It’s expected that more than 100 shops, offices and stores will be visited today along eight commercial corridors—including Watt Avenue, Fulton Avenue, Auburn Boulevard and Hurley Way, among others. Business Walks help county officials make improvements in services to the districts, according to Howard Schmidt, chief of staff for Supervisor Susan Peters, District 5, whe

Business and civic leaders are invited to join the Sacramento Metro Chamber when it hosts Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Third District, and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Fourth District, on Monday, Sept. 28, at Le Rivage Hotel, Sacramento. “The Metro Chamber is pleased once again to provide one of the few forums where businesspeople can meet their elected officials for an open discussion on current issues affecting the region and the nation,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO. The breakfast will be held 8-10 a.m. at Le Rivage Hotel, 4350 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento, 95822. Register by noon Friday at http://www.metrochamber.org/events. For event information, contact Lindsay Ono at 916-319-4262 or lono@met

Business and civic leaders  are in Vancouver, B.C. through Friday, Aug. 22, to study successful strategies for eco-commercialism and regional sustainability. They are part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber's annual Study Mission. Previous cities visited include Portland, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Austin and San Antonio, and San Diego. Thirty participants are taking four days to interview experts on how Vancouver has become an international gateway to the Pacific-Asian market. The Vancouver region has also developed strategies for converting new ideas into business start-ups and jobs. Randy Sater, the 2010 chair of the Metro Chamber Board kicked off the Study Mission yesterday (photo). Oth

I’m a new business owner. Actually, I’m not all that new. I have had a Web consulting business for nearly four years, after having “retired” from corporate life. Last year, I decided to start a second adjunct business, and one key target market area that I wanted to grow into was Sacramento. So I decided to hatch an experiment, and this article will be the first of a series of articles about my experiences. It may document a success or two, or maybe it won’t, depending upon the outcome. Time will tell. Background To give you, the reader a bit of background, I’m a computer technologist coming from a twenty-one year history of working in a corporate environment with data centers, programm