We’ve all felt the pangs of Sacramento’s economic downturn, from some people losing jobs to others finding it more difficult every day to get one, and the more unfortunate circumstance of many even losing their businesses or homes. But how much longer is it expected to last, and is this the worst of it? The Sacramento Press asked people in Capitol Park their thoughts on whether Sacramento is in a recession or a depression.   Capitol area resident, 55-year-old Diana Williams, program technician for the Department of Health, said she sees both: “The reason for it is that I’ve been on the service (for the State) a little while, and I’ve experienced difficulties in politics where it’s inf

As Steve Szalay prepared to hand over the reins to the top spot in county government, he talked about his experiences as interim county executive and sent a message to his successor: “Don’t screw it up.” Szalay came on board with the county in December of 2009 when County Executive Terry Schutten retired. It was a temporary assignment that would bring Szalay out of retirement just long enough to put the county back on track while the Board of Supervisors recruited a permanent county executive. With more than 40 years’ experience in California government, including work in the administration of four counties and as executive director for the California State Association of Counties, Szala

Sacramento County elected officials approved a budget Thursday that could result in more than 200 employee layoffs, according to county budget officer Tom Burkart. These layoffs for the 2011/2012 fiscal year are in addition to the 1,299 layoffs the county has made since the 2008/2009 fiscal year, said county spokeswoman Chris Andis. She added that 1,299 people were actually laid off as opposed to job positions being cut. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors balanced its budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year on Thursday afternoon, closing out a $90 million shortfall. The county has a general fund of $1.9 billion and a total budget of roughly $3.5 billion. The approved budget is a f

Sacramento County’s budget situation for the 2011/2012 fiscal year could be described by the grammatically incorrect but accurate phrase “less bad.” In other words, the county’s budget gap of $90 million is less severe than the $181 million shortfall it faced last year. But the current gap, which is likely to result in a wave of layoffs, is still grim. County Interim Executive Officer Steven Szalay laid out budget details in a Friday morning press conference at the downtown county building on H Street. The county plans to cut 321 employee positions in its budget process, Szalay said. “I’m very sad to have to have these service-level reductions,” he said. “They’re definitely going to hur

The city’s current budget gap of $39 million is grim. But the city’s financial situation is even more dismal when examined in the context of its budget cuts in recent years. The city has laid off about 215 employees since February 2008, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams. In addition, the city has taken 900 positions off its books since the 2008/2009 fiscal year and cannot hire employees for those spots, according to the city budget document. The city currently has 4,576 employee positions, Williams said. Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka are recommending the City Council approve an $812 million budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Of

De Vere’s Irish Pub, a locally owned downtown business founded in the midst of the recession, will open its second location at the end of the summer in the space that was formerly the home of Soga’s in Davis. “We’re excited,” said co-owner Simon de Vere White. “We’ve been eying Davis for a long time.” The new space, at 217 E St. in downtown Davis, is 4,800 square feet, about 1,000 square feet bigger than the Sacramento pub. His brother, co-owner Henry de Vere White, said the expansion is a risk, but one he hopes will prove as successful as the current location on 15th and L streets in Sacramento. “I think we filled a niche here in Sacramento," Simon de Vere White said, adding that the

Addressing an estimated $35 million-$40 million budget gap for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Interim City Manager Gus Vina hosted a special workshop on economic recovery for the City Council. He presented a variety of plans to bring in more revenue, including enhancing the city’s parks with tourist attractions, providing incentives to businesses and creating a mix of opportunities in the city’s job market. Vina urged City Council members to move quickly on the economic recovery plan so the city can begin to see results. “I don’t expect the benefits in 2012 and 2013 to be huge, but it will be a good beginning,” he said. He told council members that unemployment in 2011 is expected to remai

City Treasurer Russ Fehr explained the city’s cash flow problems to the City Council Tuesday night, noting that the city’s general fund will need to continue to borrow cash. The city has a $90 million cash flow gap, Fehr said. To address its cash flow troubles, the city recently borrowed $40 million, he said. The city’s cash situation changes throughout the year, according to a report by Fehr. That’s because the city receives property tax revenues during the second half of the fiscal year, which begins Jan. 1, Fehr said. The heart of the problem is the cash situation with the general fund, he said. “I want to emphasize that the cash flow issue in first half of the year is not new,” he

For self-employed Sacramentans who want to keep work and home separate, the ThinkHouse Collective provides an office space without any of the drudgery of a cubicle forest. “We’re a co-working community,” said co-founder Janna Santoro. “It’s a membership community for Sacramento’s creative class.” Santoro said the ThinkHouse Collective, located at 1726 11th St., offers all the social aspects of a traditional office, where members can bounce ideas off each other, while freeing workers from the typical distractions of working from home such as pets, kids and chores. Co-founder Jeremy Maron said the collective is essentially a community of freelancers including writers, photographers and ot

The message from officials at Wednesday’s third annual State of Sacramento County forum was that things might be tough now, but hard work today is laying the groundwork for prosperity in the future. “We should always question our assumptions that things tomorrow will be as they are today,” said Roger Dickinson, chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and State Assemblyman-elect. The Metro Chamber event was held at Sacramento International Airport, and 260 people attended, according to Communications Director Hal Silliman. Dickinson said the $1.08 billion airport expansion – also known as “The Big Build” – is iconic of what is in store for the county and will “inspire us to f

After seven years on Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento, The French Hen will be shutting its doors. In an e-mail message sent to patrons, Owner Nicole Turner said that her lease is up at the end of the year, and she is moving out her wares. She also wrote that all items – with the exception of consignment items – will be priced at 25- to 50-percent off. The store is located at 3200 Folsom Blvd. Turner’s statement in full: I wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to close The French Hen. It has been an amazing seven years. I have enjoyed being able to explore my creative side and I hope I have been an inspiration. I am going to miss seeing all of the friends I have made but I

A downtown restaurant, Sofia on 11th, is expected to close Saturday — another victim of the recession and Furlough Fridays, as well as a somewhat obscure location. Jeremy and Vicki Bennett, both Mississippi natives, took over the restaurant four years ago with partner Martin Tejeda. Staff was reduced to a skeleton crew in June. Jeremy Bennett shared news of the closing with employees and customers on Thursday. "It just got to the point where I couldn't hold on anymore," he said. Bennett helped seat people when Sofia filled during the lunch rush. Wearing a black T-shirt as he poured iced tea, the most visible sign that he was the owner was the strain on his face. Dinner business droppe

Boating season has hit full throttle in Sacramento, yet nearly a quarter of the slips at the city's public marina sit empty. That's unusual for the 475-slip Sacramento Marina, which boasted a waiting list of 300 just three years ago. The problem may be about to get worse after rate increases took effect at the marina Thursday. Slip occupancy levels change throughout the year, with the highest levels during boating season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In fiscal year 2010/2011, the marina — the largest in the city — is expected to see an average annual occupancy rate of no more than 65 percent. The down economy is largely to blame, with an unfortunately timed renovation playing a role in

On Friday I had the opportunity to attend the Structures 2010 event hosted by the Sacramento Business Journal. I have come to enjoy attending the periodic varied themed events hosted by the BizJournal as they attract a generous mix of professionals. Friday’s event however was of particular interest. In recent years the event has celebrated local accomplishments in the building industry, sometimes highlighting developments in green building or public-private partnerships. This year however the BizJournal chose a more dour topic, the recession. Gone were the cavalier attitudes of “sitting out the recession” present at many business events. The panel assembled by the BizJournal was transparen

A story in The Sacramento Bee on job creation in the U.S. and in California sidestepped the main cause of the recession and unemployment: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/03/2652552/stronger-us-job-numbers-dont-carry.html That is the $8 trillion national housing bubble. In California, this bubble inflated higher than it did in most other states. Thus the loss of housing wealth in California’s economy has led to a sharp drop-off in residents’ wealth. This means that these consumers have less money in their pockets to buy goods and services. That, in turn, has dampened the bottom lines of businesses, big and small. This loss of consumption has also slashed tax revenue flowing to the state and l

When I first heard that the Sacramento Kings would be offering “dollar beer night” on its nationally televised Wednesday night home game as a promotion to bring in more fans, it was surprisingly troublesome to learn on many levels. As someone who is a community advocate and supporter of the organization MADD, this to me has the makings of irresponsibility written all over it, similar to letting a drunk tend bar. The Kings for all that can be said about their play on the court and lack of home attendance, should not display such gimmicky promotions that will encourage people to engage in risky drinking behavior just for a quick buck. Granted buying beer is an option to fans and no one’s arm

There is no doubt that the Sacramento River Cats have brought an exciting and competitive brand of baseball to this city since they moved to Raley Field from Vancouver, Wash., in 2000. From the moment of arrival, the team performed and continues to perform well, winning four PCL championships and seven PCL southern division titles, as well as the Triple-A championship last season.   Another area in which this team has never struggled is putting fans in the seats. For the past nine seasons, the River Cats have led all minor league baseball in attendance, carrying about 10,000 fans a game during that span. However, attendance has dropped during the current season due to the economic situat

Sacramento-based McClatchy Co. on Tuesday announced a surge in second-quarter earnings following the latest round of company-wide downsizing. More cutbacks are still in the works to staunch a continued loss in revenue. Next week, members of the editorial employee union at The Sacramento Bee, the company's flagship, will vote on a proposal to use accrued vacation days rather than face unpaid furloughs this year. However, a small amount of hiring is still taking place. Net quarterly profit rose to $42.2 million, up from $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2008. Per-share earnings grew to 50 cents, up from 24 cents for the same period last year, according to the report released Tuesday

Walk through some of the region's newest neighborhoods and you'll discover hundreds upon hundreds of houses lying empty. Their owners, victims of foreclosure, have long since moved on. While only some of those are currently on the market, you'll find it next to impossible to come upon a foreclosed home for sale in Sacramento's central city. That's because there's currently only one. The desirability of living in the grid and of its housing stock have kept prices fairly stable and made the area nearly immune to the foreclosure crisis, unlike outlying areas of the city and fast-growing suburbs like Natomas and Elk Grove, according to local real estate agents. "Downtown has held its value,

Sacramento County officials began budget hearings Tuesday with an explanation of the county's poor financial state, noting that the county is expecting an ongoing pattern of poor sales tax revenues, among other problems. The county is also facing criticism about its budgeting practices from credit rating agencies, said Nav Gill, chief operations officer for the county. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is addressing a $180 million budget gap in budget hearings this week. Supervisors may approve a proposed budget next week. The county’s proposed overall budget is $4.3 billion for the 2009/2010 fiscal year. The proposed general fund budget is $2.03 billion. “This budget is the mos