Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "recession"

Man on the Street: Recession or Depression?

2011-08-17T02:47:47Z

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 influenced, as a state worker, our income, our self-worth. Not only just a state worker just being as a neighbor, listening to other people, the negativity that’s going on in California, people not handling the books right and what have you,” Williams said.

“I think we’re in a recession because you can see it around you. Starting with income – we don’t have the money to take care of business anymore – people are losing homes ... It started with businesses – when they started closing. When we (saw) that, then it started affecting our homes. It’s a recession, and we’re depressed because we can’t enjoy what we worked for.”

Lindsay Landis, a 30-year-old dental hygienist who lives in El Dorado Hills, attributed the problem to the city’s job market.

“So I’m not an economist, but I’d say Sacramento is definitely recessed and close to depressed,” she said. “

I think jobs are tough. The job market’s tough. I think people are definitely feeling stretched, and it’s a tough economy.”

Stockton resident Mike Ellis, a 28-year-old state worker in the Secretary of State’s office, had a similar view:

“I would say recession. (Employment) rates are low. I wouldn’t say depression, I mean, people are still getting jobs, but it’s just not as frequent as people would like – how they used to be.”

“With all the restaurants here closing daily, I think we’re definitely in a recession,” said 58-year-old Robert Gonzalez of Loomis.

“You see a lot of businesses that are just going under, and you see the people staying inside bringing their lunches to work, and these restaurants are just going by the wayside,” he said.

Gonzalez, a contractor for the Employment Development Department, said that local businesses are one of the many who are affected by the economic downturn the most.

“And that’s just a small microcosm of what’s happening around here, but I think it’s a good indicator, so, that’s my answer to that,” he added.

Bianca Aguilar, a 22-year-old student from Midtown, said she would call it a recession “because I feel like some businesses are thriving while others have gone down or even have gone out of business because of the economic state we’re in.”

Natomas resident Monique Tovar, 24, an accountant for Dome Printing, also went with recession:

“I feel as though we’re likely more to recover from this as long as we’re able to get people to stop buying things they can’t afford and if the state can come up with a budget, so I believe we’re in a recession.”

Laolee Xiong, 29-year-old pocket area resident and training coordinator for the California Department of Finance, said, “It depends on how you define it. I think that it’s in a depression. It’s not really going backwards, I think it’s just kind of stagnated from what it used to be. But it’s not really going backwards in my personal opinion.”

What do you think, is Sacramento in a recession or a depression? Tell us in the comment section below.

Szalay prepares to say good-bye to top county spot

2011-06-30T00:58:46Z

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, Szalay was ready for new challenges.

“(Sacramento County) was in bad shape, and it needed to be ‘repositioned,’ ” Szalay said. “We’re not ‘recovering,’ we’re positioning in a different direction. This is what I enjoy most. I’m happiest when there are problems to solve.”

He wanted problems to solve, and he got them.

For starters, the county budget was in need of a serious overhaul.

Sacramento County has a budget of $3.5 billion, Szalay said, and the general fund makes up $2 billion of that amount.

When the county supervisors approved the 2009/2010 budget, it was balanced with $80.2 million of one-time resources and internal borrowing – which damaged the county’s credit rating.

“When I walked in the door, they’d had a budget in place for five months, and they already knew they were about $15 million out of balance,” Szalay said. “The consistent one-time fund use took (the county’s) credit rating from A-minus to triple B-plus.”

The previous year, the budget gap was smaller ($123.7 million), but the board used more one-time resources that year ($103 million) to plug the hole.

“They were in denial about the recession and getting further and further behind,” Szalay said.

In addition to a runaway budget problem, the county was working with labor contracts that created havoc with the balance sheet.

Szalay said Schutten and the board entered into five-year labor contracts in 2005/2006, when times were good – contracts that included cost-of-living increases and equity increases for every bargaining unit for every year.

“While revenues where going down, expenses were going up,” Szalay said. “What wizard decided that was a wonderful thing? I don’t know what they were smokin’ when they came up with the idea.”

Despite the continual downturn in the economy since 2006, the labor contracts stayed in place.

The first order of business as “ICE” (the acronym-turned-nickname was effective almost immediately, Szalay said) was to set up a plan focused on four key areas of improvement: budget/fiscal, labor, debt and efficiency.

“You want current revenue to pay for current services,” Szalay explained, “and then you want a small contingency to take care of unexpected things that happen in the year, and you want managers on top of things to make adjustments quickly when it’s needed.”

To solve fiscal challenges, Szalay said he worked with management and the board to make “reasonable and necessary” cuts and to reduce the amount of one-time funds used to fill budget shortfalls.

Through those efforts, county supervisors cut more than 1,000 positions, streamlined some services and reduced the budget gap by almost $130 million over two years.

“We’re now within $19 million of having current revenue pay for current services,” Szalay said. “That’s huge.”

Next, he worked to negotiate labor contracts that didn’t undermine the budget.

What the county ended up with were new labor contracts that had no increase the first year, no increase the second year, and the third year, “we’ll talk,” Szalay said.

The new contracts also included lower-tier retirement for new employees and stopping heath care stipends previously given to retirees.

“All 26 unions agreed to the terms,” Szalay said. “That was a real accomplishment.”

Of everything he has worked on as interim county executive, though, the work that really ignited a fire in Szalay was what he calls “new efficiencies.”

“This is the fun stuff,” Szalay said. “This is where you get things done.”

The “new efficiencies” are composed in a list of 56 projects that Szalay and county management worked on for the past 21 months to save money, increase revenue and enhance services throughout the county.

Some projects changed policy to direct new revenue into the general reserve fund every year and not pull from the fund to fill budget gaps.

Other projects created new contracts with private nonprofit and corporate entities to take over services previously operated by county staff.

“This county has one service delivery policy: Hire a bunch of civil service workers and put ’em to work,” Szalay said. “What we need is a mix. We should (also) have some contracts with the private sector, some contracts with (the) nonprofit sector, some joint services with the city.”

Reorganization projects were also part of Szalay’s plans.

Szalay took the “three-legged stool model” of county services that includes municipal services, countywide services, and internal support operations, and looked for ways to combine operations or reorganize to eliminate redundancy.

Szalay estimated that the changes will save the county between $10 million and $13 million each year in operating costs.

When asked if he feels he’s accomplished what he set out to do for the county, Szalay was emphatic.

“Yes. Definitely.” he said. “We’ve adopted two budgets, gone through negotiations of labor contracts, worked on 56 efficiency plans and started working on marijuana permitting,” Szalay said.

“The time is good for a hand-off,” he added.

As Szalay returns to retired life, he said he and his wife, Diane Cummins, a special advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown, will spend time relaxing with family in the days to come, and they are planning a month-long trip to Italy in September.

After that, Szalay said, he will probably do some independent consulting work or focus on projects for the county on a contract basis.

The new county executive, Brad Hudson, is expected to take over on Aug. 14, and Szalay said he has every confidence in Hudson’s abilities.

Hudson’s background is in economic development, Szalay pointed out, so when the county experiences new growth – “and it will,” Szalay assured – Hudson will have plenty of opportunity to “show his stuff.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of being able to make some changes at the top of this organization, and there’s an excellent management team that I’m turning over to the new guy,” Szalay said.

Does he think Hudson can keep things going in the right direction?

“He’d better,” Szalay said. “He knows that, for the next few years, fiscal stability has to be the No. 1 goal.”

Szalay said he’ll have two days to brief Hudson about the position before stepping down, and he’ll have one last comment before handing over the keys to the office:

“Now, don’t screw it up! I’ll be watching you!”

County approves budget, layoffs expected

2011-06-10T01:22:31Z

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 first version – the supervisors will pass a final budget in September.

While Burkart provided an estimate for upcoming layoffs, exact figures were unclear Thursday.

“As a board member and member of this community, it weighs heavily on me that over the past several years, we’ve laid off hundreds and hundreds of people,” Supervisor Don Nottoli said at Thursday’s budget meeting.

The people who will be laid off attend local churches, shop in local stores and send their children to local schools, he said.

Interim County Executive Officer Steven Szalay estimated that more than 300 job positions will now be removed. That number does not include lost job positions from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office, Szalay said.

District Attorney Jan Scully and Sheriff Scott Jones are responsible for calculating their departments’ lost positions and possible layoffs.

The loss of about 300 positions – which does not include the D.A’s office and the Sheriff’s Department – may translate to about 200 actual layoffs, Burkart said.

Positions are different from layoffs because they can include vacancies. The county also uses a complicated system of demotions as part of the layoff process, which can affect the number of actual layoffs.

The Sheriff’s Department had faced a $26.7 million shortfall, but Jones recently pared down that number to $9.5 million. Thursday, the Board of Supervisors brought down Jones’ budget shortfall to $4.3 million.

Jones was scheduled to hold a press conference late Thursday afternoon. The Sacramento Press will follow up on any information about possible layoffs at the Sheriff’s Department on Friday.

The District Attorney’s office is facing a $6.2 million shortfall in response to the Board of Supervisors’ budget approval. Scully’s office had a $13.3 million gap in February. She brought it down to $8.6 million. The supervisors restored about $2 million to the D.A.’s budget, leaving it with a $6.2 million gap.

In a press advisory released after the budget approval, Scully said the upcoming cuts to her office would hurt residents.

“Arrests take criminals off the street – only prosecutors keep them off the streets,” she said. “It is the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors to fund prosecutions for the entire county – the unincorporated areas and all of the cities.

“Most of the cases my office prosecutes come from the cities. By failing to take that into account, the board shortchanged more than 60 percent of our residents.”

Scully will speak publicly next week about how the cuts will affect her office, according to the news advisory.

While exact layoff figures are unclear, Andis provided statistics showing that the the departments of Human Assistance and Transportation are among other departments with filled positions slated to be cut.

The county’s drop in revenues since the 2007/2008 fiscal year has been a central reason for the county’s poor financial state, Szalay said in May. Since then, the county’s revenues from property, sales and motor vehicle taxes have dropped by more than $100 million, he added.

State budget cuts have also hurt the county, according to Szalay.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County cuts could cause more layoffs

2011-05-14T01:40:46Z

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 hurt in all sectors of the county.”

The county expects to face cuts in nearly all departments, he added.

County officials said they have not yet calculated how many of the positions are currently filled by employees and how many are vacant. The number of filled positions, which will help the public understand how many layoffs there may be, will be released with the budget proposal in two weeks, Szalay said.

The county’s drop in revenues since the 2007/2008 fiscal year has been a central reason for the county’s poor financial state, Szalay said. Since then, the county’s revenues from property, sales and motor vehicle taxes have dropped by more than $100 million, he added.

The 321 positions do not include any positions from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office, according to Szalay.

The $90 million gap consists of a roughly $70 million gap in the county’s general fund and cuts to the county from the state, according to county spokeswoman Chris Andis.

Szalay said the Sheriff’s Department will need to make $26 million in cuts. However, Sheriff Scott Jones said he is examining several funding sources and is confident he can pare down that number. He said he hopes to not make layoffs.

“All facets of the county have been devastated by cuts,” Jones said. “We are not alone in that.”

There is a bright spot in this year’s budget, according to Szalay. “We are making progress towards the goal of having current revenue pay for current services,” he said.

While Szalay proposed the budget, the Board of Supervisors will make all final budget decisions.

The number of actual layoffs that could result from the budget crunch may not be known for some time. The county applies a complex demotion process when it makes layoffs that can change the final number. Some workers may decide to retire.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors’ chambers at 700 H St. will be the site of the budget hearings, which are scheduled to begin the week of June 6. The hearings will be open to the public.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City budget crisis: Past, present and future

2011-05-07T00:51:25Z

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 that amount, $362 million would be the general fund.

The city defines the general fund, consisting of taxes and fees, as its main fund for operations.

The City Council is now weighing whether to lay off hundreds of city employees in the next few weeks.

Mayor Kevin Johnson was visibly distressed Tuesday night after Masuoka briefed the City Council on the budget cuts and layoffs suggested by the city manager’s office.

“Those brutal facts gave me a headache,” Johnson said. “We’re talking about laying off a lot of people. And that just doesn’t feel good for any of us.”

Edgar explains in the budget document why the city has a $39 million gap. Because the city is still in a recession, sales tax revenues are likely to stay flat, and property tax revenues are down, the budget document says.

Labor costs have risen due to union contracts, new Fire Department staff in Natomas and mandatory retirement payments for employees, according to the document.

And, the city must keep its vehicles in working condition and replace old public safety machinery such as ambulances and defibrillators, all of which costs money, the document states.

City employees from various departments could be laid off, including 80 cops.

Police officers have been shielded from layoffs for decades: No officers were laid off during Sacramento City Councilman Darrell Fong’s 30-year career with the Police Department, Fong said last week. He retired from the department in 2009.

Even though the department has not faced layoffs of cops, the number of positions has shrunk in recent years.

“We had 804 officers in 2007 and 704 in 2010,” police spokeswoman Laura Peck said.

The city currently has 701 sworn police officers.

Johnson said Tuesday that he wants to learn more about the context of the cuts in recent years. He asked staff to present information soon on the following questions:

“How much have we cut from our general fund over the last four years?” Johnson asked city staff. “And then, secondly, how has that impacted job reduction over that period of time? I’m just interested because that time period has been brutal for our community.”

The Sacramento Press will report on city staff’s answers to Johnson’s questions when the information becomes available.

On top of its past and current woes, the immediate future for Sacramento’s city government does not look bright.

City officials project in the budget document that the city will continue to face budget gaps until fiscal year 2015/2016. The gap for fiscal year 2012/2013 is $11.7 million and is expected to rise to $22.9 million in fiscal year 2013/2014.

In fiscal year 2014/2015, the city expects to be $18 million in the hole. The gap drops to a $13 million deficit predicted in fiscal year 2015/2016.

“Given the lack of any significant revenue growth in the forecast, the current level of annual expenditure is not sustainable,” according to the budget document.

Still, the discussion of the current $39 million gap is continuing, and it’s possible that council members could find ways to prevent some cuts.

For example, Council members Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Angelique Ashby all said they like the idea of seeing whether the city could move the public safety headquarters from Freeport Boulevard to the city’s Richards Boulevard location. The city has extra space at its Richards Boulevard building, Fong said.

Moving public safety workers to Richards Boulevard could save the city an estimated $800,000 - $900,000 per year in energy savings and maintenance costs, Fong said, referring to an estimate from the Police Department.

The Freeport building is not energy-efficient, he said.

City leaders need to look for “creative options to save a few bucks,” McCarty said.

Read a list of all the upcoming city budget hearings here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

De Vere's expanding to Davis

2011-04-05T00:09:14Z

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 brothers hope to do the same in Davis.

The basic concept will be the same, as they said community involvement at all levels is important to success.

“We are a neighborhood Irish pub,” Henry de Vere White said. “We do lunch and dinner, and you see the little ones coming in, and then at night it gets a little bit (of an older crowd).”

According to Christi Skibbins, executive director of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, E Street is often referred to as “Eat Street.”

“E Street is a street a lot of people call Eat Street because there are so many restaurants and bars,” she said. “It will be a good spot for them. They’re right across from E Street Plaza, so there is plenty of parking, and it has easy access from all of Davis.”

The Davis pub will have the same menu as de Vere’s in Sacramento when it comes to drinks and food, but possibly with more emphasis on hamburgers with the large student population, Simon de Vere White said.

“It’s too early to tell, but that’s something we will work out when we get closer to opening,” he added.

Activities like the popular Monday night trivia challenge will be carried over to the Davis location as well.

The décor will be similar, as family friends in Ireland will once again be designing the interior space.

“This whole pub was built in Ireland then broken down and shipped over here,” Henry de Vere White said Monday in the Sacramento pub. “All the decorations on the walls are replicas of family items from Ireland.”

Authenticity is important to the brothers, with Simon being born in Ireland and Henry being born in Boston – the first one born in America from a family that traces its Irish heritage back to the year 1140.

The brothers have been living in Sacramento since 1985.

“In here, we have high ceilings, but in Davis, the ceilings are much lower,” Henry de Vere White said. “This is typical of a Victorian pub in downtown Dublin, but the Davis one will have more of a neighborhood feel.”

Philippe Masoud is the owner of two restaurants with locations in both Sacramento and Davis – Crepeville and Burgers and Brew. He said he expects the pub to be successful as well, since the same types of places appeal to both cities.

“Davis is a really good town for us. Sacramento took us longer to be discovered,” he said, adding that he opened his businesses in Davis first.

One challenge to doing business in Davis that Sacramento doesn’t face, however, is that business slows down considerably in summer, when the college students are on break, he said.

But that can be overcome, he said, adding, “I think they will do really good.”

For more information on de Vere’s Irish Pub in Davis, check the pub’s Facebook page or follow it on Twitter.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Vina details financial recovery plans

2011-01-26T03:18:49Z

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 remain between 11.5 and 13.5 percent. Vina said he wants to apply incentives toward small and medium-sized businesses, which make up 96 percent of the employers in the Sacramento region.

“We need to focus on small, medium businesses (and) what we can do for them,” Vina said. These businesses have 500 or fewer employees, he added.

Vina also said the city needs to broaden its employment market, a point that Mayor Kevin Johnson often makes at his press conferences. The city can’t rely overly on its government workers to keep the local economy working, Vina said.

He said he wants to focus on the sectors of green and clean technology, heath and medicine, higher education and agriculture.

“You need to diversify to avoid risk,” Vina said.

Another idea discussed at the workshop is to upgrade regional parks so they draw more visitors. To beckon tourists, the city could explore adding attractions such as museums, aquariums and centers for competitive sports, said Jim Combs, the city’s Parks and Recreation director.

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said the city could create skate tournaments as an attraction.

Combs also presented the idea of hiring youth part-time and paying them minimum wage to help maintain city parks.

Combs acknowledged that the department will likely face layoffs as part of budget cuts. “We probably will lose some of our workforce,” he said.

Public hearings on the city budget will begin on Feb. 1.

Vina has taken the lead on the economic recovery plan. The City Council voted Tuesday night in a private meeting not to promote Vina to the permanent city manager position. In a 5-4 vote, council members decided to hold a national search for a new city manager. The council members who voted to conduct the search and not promote Vina were Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Bonnie Pannell, Darrell Fong and Kevin McCarty.

It’s unclear at this point how the City Council’s decision not to promote Vina will affect the economic recovery plan.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Treasurer: City must borrow cash

2010-12-08T05:54:18Z

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 told the City Council. “Nearly all cities, counties, districts (and) school districts that receive property taxes face this problem. It’s sort of generically known as ‘the dry period.’

“Why it’s become a new issue for us in recent years, is that the general fund is now having to borrow for cash flow purposes,” he said.

The general fund has had cash flow troubles since Fiscal Year 2008-2009, according to Fehr’s report. “It’s certain that the general fund is going to have to borrow cash for the foreseeable future,” he told the council members.

Fehr urged the City Council to minimize and then stop using unsustainable solutions to balance the budget.

City Councilman Rob Fong was the only council member who commented after Fehr’s presentation. “It is a critical situation,” he said. The City Council and city staff must work on the cash flow problem together during budget season, Fong added.

Mayor Kevin Johnson commented on the situation at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “When times were good in the Sacramento economy, we spent more than we should,” Johnson said.

Fehr said last week that the city is not at risk of bankruptcy.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

ThinkHouse Collective offers space for the self-employed

2010-11-12T02:03:16Z

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 other creative people.

“If you’re a freelancer working out of your home, where do you get stimulation?” Maron asked. “You need to have a community. Here, you’re getting feedback whenever you need it.”

The business launched Oct. 4, and Photographer Jeannine Mengel became the first member.

“It’s a motivation for me to get up and, for me, there is a different feeling than being at home,” she said. “I know I’m here with a purpose.”

Mengel said she is enjoying the atmosphere, and the other members have helped her with business-related questions she has had. She said the environment also keeps her working.

“I’ve been able to strike a good balance between working and breaks,” she said.

Santoro and Maron said the working environment can be anything the members want it to be.

The business is located in a 1900s craftsman-style house downtown. The main room features a cafe-style shared workspace, but private offices are available, as is a private conference room.

For workers who need to get some fresh air, a back patio, front porch and second-floor balcony are all available.

“This is definitely an inspiring space,” Santoro said.

Santoro’s previous experience with the co-working business model came as a co-founder of The Urban Hive, and she said her newest venture is built around a similar model, but provides a different vibe.

Another co-working business in Sacramento is Capsity Offices, and Santoro said she sees the group of businesses as all part of one community.

“Co-working is exploding globally,” she said, adding that it started in San Francisco but is popular throughout the country and Western Europe.

Maron said the need for businesses such as the ThinkHouse Collective arose when people started losing jobs during the current recession and realized they can freelance, but don’t want to pay the expenses of leasing an office.

“If you go out and lease an office, are you prepared to sign a three- or five-year lease?” Maron asked. He added that memberships start at $125, and all the office amenities are provided.

“We have a fax line, a copier, a business address and lots and lots and lots of coffee,” he said.

Freelance writer and blogger Margaret Andrews said she worked from home for years, but she needed something to do to get out, and the ThinkHouse Collective provided a good workspace.

“Coming here is by choice,” she said. “You can sit on a comfortable chair or in a couch and hang out with people like you. They’re kind of like comrades in a way. You get the social aspect of working in an office.”

It’s common, she said, for someone to read a sentence for instant feedback or check a spelling or grammar rule.

“It also keeps me in touch with what’s going on around Midtown and downtown,” she said.

Santoro said there are about 10 full-fledged members now, and she is happy with the progress. The business will support about 40 people before an additional location is needed.

Current hours are from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, but Santoro and Maron said they are looking to expand them in the future. Currently, the space can be rented on weekends and is open for Second Saturday Art Walk events.

For membership pricing scales and current contact information, visit the ThinkHouse Collective website.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County laying groundwork for economic turnaround

2010-11-11T01:41:02Z

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 focus on realizing an even brighter and better future.”

For context, Dickinson recalled the devastating news the county received in 1995 when it was decided that McClellan Air Force Base would be closed – a base on which 13,000 people worked, including 10,000 civilians.

Just six years later, 2,500 people were employed on the former base.

“Today, over 15,000 people report to McClellan Park each and every day, and 6.5 million square feet is under lease,” Dickinson said.

He added that the McClellan Park project was one of the best partnerships between government and the private sector he has ever seen, and the airport expansion is another way to strengthen the region.

Interim County Executive Steven Szalay laid out the steps the county has taken to weather the current recession.

He said the county closed a $181 million budget gap this year and is constantly looking at better ways to govern and increase efficiency.

To prevent similar budget crises in the future, Szalay said the county has reduced its reliance on one-time funding from $80 million to $30 million per year and is working to lower that number further.

When the economy turns around, a budgeting policy will be put into place that will save 50 cents of each dollar in revenue. Those funds will be put into reserves and will be reinvested to provide a hedge against future downturns.

To encourage departments to run more efficiently, Szalay said they will now be able to carry over money they save in their own budgets to the next fiscal year, rather than having any savings diverted to the county’s general fund.

Finally, Szalay said the county is working within the region to streamline services needed by all governing bodies, including animal control and emergency dispatching, so unnecessary parallel services are consolidated.

Metro Chamber members were given a look at what will be included in the new airport’s Terminal B by Sacramento County Airport System Director G. Hardy Acree. Details of the expansion will be provided in an upcoming Sacramento Press article.

Bill Swelbar, a research engineer for the MIT International Center for Air Transportation, then discussed the issues facing the global airline industry and metropolitan areas with airports going into the future.

Swelbar said he sees successful airports in the future as being ones around major metropolitan centers, while more-remote ones could find it difficult to stay open.

“That’s not Sacramento,” Swelbar said. “Sacramento is very well-positioned for tomorrow.”

Attending the event was Tim Youmans, who works in the public finance and real estate field.

“The county seems to be repositioning themselves well for the next 10 years,” Youmans said.

He added that he found the presentation on air travel to be interesting and was heartened by the conclusion that Sacramento will continue to be a viable option for air travel growth.

“I think they’re seizing the opportunity in this economic downturn to become more innovative and rethink their procedures and changing them to be more efficient,” said Jim Alves, who works for SMUD.

During his remarks, Dickinson voiced his vision for the future of the county.

“We have a vision of a vital and vibrant region,” he said, “of an ever-growing and attractive center of community life, commerce, entertainment, the arts ... in short, the best place to live, anywhere.”

Photo 3 is Roger Dickinson, and photo 4 is Steven Szalay.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

The French Hen to close

2010-10-29T22:42:11Z

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 feel I am making the right choice for myself and my family. My lease is up at the end of year so I must begin moving out my merchandise. The store is very full so come down soon for the best selection. All items excluding consignment will be 25% to 50% off. I want to thank all of you that have been faithful customers all these years. I really truly appreciate getting to know and working with all of you.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Couple's Sofia to be shuttered

2010-09-03T01:05:17Z

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 dropped 60 percent since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision in June 2009 to furlough state workers for a third Friday each month to help deal with the state's annual budget crises. Happy hour sales dropped 30 to 40 percent since then, he said.

Attorneys and judges working at nearby courthouses always brought a big chunk of business to the restaurant, tucked inside a Best Western at 815 11th St. Sofia lost many regulars when at least 20 Sacramento County public defenders were laid off this summer.

But those aren't the only blows to hit Sofia. The restaurant's location at the corner of 11th and H streets has kept it largely hidden, Bennett said.

"It's been tough, because we're not part of the main strip," he said. "So getting people to come over here who weren't working nearby has been difficult."

The couple has been redecorating the restaurant gradually over the years, partly with money borrowed from his dad.

Operating independently within a hotel has been good and bad. There hasn't been money for marketing the restaurant the way there would be with a big chain. Many hotel customers eat there, yet some locals had reservations about going to a "hotel restaurant," said Bennett, who speaks with a slight Southern twang.

Hers is much more noticeable. Bennett's really comes out after a long day at work or a couple of cocktails.

They have been trying to sell the restaurant or bring in a major investor. A deal appeared imminent but fell through this week.

They also haven't been able to get state funding for a culinary program they were trying to develop for vocational high school students. The on-the-job-training portion would have started at Sofia in October with juniors and seniors at risk of dropping out of school.

"If either of those had come through for me, I would have been able to weather the storm," Bennett said. "It's just sad for the mom-and-pop shops getting squeezed out. The ones that need help the most can never get it."

An inclusive, progressive church called A Church for All will likely be able to continue meeting in the restaurant's upstairs banquet room on Sundays, he said.

Bennett will continue to pursue starting a culinary and hospitality program for at-risk youth. He'll now need to find a kitchen where he can teach.

When he first moved to Sacramento eight years ago and his drawl was thicker, Bennett used to get teased about being from Mississippi.

But lately, friends and family down South have been making fun of him for being from California, which has become notorious for its financial mess and the problems state leaders have balancing the budget every year. As the state capital, Sacramento and its economy seem to be hardest hit.

"Now we're like the new Mississippi in a way," he said.

Photo of Vicki and Jeremy Bennett by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Sofia restaurant photo by Brandon Darnell.

City marina faces challenges

2010-07-16T03:42:14Z

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 the situation, said marina officials.

"Generally speaking, the marina industry is hurting along with the rest of the country," said Barbara Bonebrake, director of the city's Convention, Culture & Leisure Department, which oversees the marina. "It's very much the same as real estate. In fact, it is real estate — only for boats."

However, some boat owners say new rate increases are pushing them out.

With three out of four boaters earning less than $100,000 annually, the recession has hit hard for many. Reduced income and the cost of gas to fill a boat's tank were cited by nearly a third of boaters as the reasons they didn't boat more last year, according to figures compiled by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

On a recent Friday afternoon, boats motored through the off-river marina, which sits in a quiet basin in Miller Park at the west end of Broadway. Couples, friends and families fueled vessels at the marina's gas pump before heading out onto the Sacramento River.

“I know a lot of people who are furious about the hike in the rates,” said one boater, who didn’t want to disclose her name.

Like its remote location, the marina operates largely independent of the city. The marina is an enterprise zone, a self-supporting business making money from slip rentals, gas and store sales, and rentals of its newly renovated Captain's Lounge. Slips range from 25 to 50 feet.

Its annual gross revenue is expected to be $1.5 million for fiscal year 2010. Ten percent of gross revenues are paid to the city each year as a franchise fee for payroll, accounting and attorney services provided by the city, said marina Manager Bud Camper, who had 20 years' experience managing private marinas in the Sacramento Delta before going to work at the Sacramento Marina.

The marina took shape about 50 years ago after the Miller family donated land to the city. The marina originally had only 200 floating slips. About half were uncovered. About 25 years ago, the city expanded the basin harbor and added new docks with about 275 more covered slips and a marina administration office, which sits on a hill overlooking the basin harbor.

In 2007, just as the economy began tanking, the marina underwent an $11 million renovation to replace the south basin's original, 50-year-old wooden docks and its 200 slips. Bellingham Marine Industries, the largest dock builder in the country, built floating concrete docks with steel roofs and a new floating fuel station with a tiny general store in the south basin.

The marina supported 370 boats during construction. Many had to be moved daily to make way for the work. But the marina lost about 100 boats before construction started. Most slips became vacant due to normal attrition. However, management had to ask a few owners to remove boats that were not seaworthy or had let insurance lapse, and asked a few of the less-senior boaters to find an alternative dock during construction, Camper said.

"We anticipated we'd fill the marina right back up again. But the economy kept getting in our way," said Camper, who was hired to oversee the renovation. He began one day before the work started.

"We noticed it at the same time we started calling boaters to come back after building the new docks. To our surprise, people were saying no," he said. "Turned out, that was the beginning of it. We never got the marina full again."

Recreational boating sales have fallen throughout the country. The industry generated $30.8 billion in sales and services in 2009, but that was a 9 percent decrease from 2008. Sales of new boats and motors fell by 24 percent, according to the NMMA.

Dealers selling new boats began pulling out of Sacramento in early 2009. Now, there are none selling boats over 25 feet, said Camper, wearing a black captain's cap, Hawaiian shirt and a tattoo with his wife's and son's names on his forearm.

Most marinas enjoyed high occupancy levels and waiting lists for years. Now, occupancy levels are down at many marinas throughout the region and the country.

"It's the economy," said boater Greg Hatfield, a former city employee. "You look on Craigslist or in the newspaper. It's just boat after boat after boat for sale."

Slips at urban marinas are more costly than those in the Delta, where rural land is cheaper. There, hundreds of mom-and-pop marinas are able to charge 30 to 40 percent lower than the city's public marina and other urban marinas like River View Marina and Sherwood Harbor Marina.

People are pulling boats out of the marina because they can't afford to boat or they've found a cheaper place to dock in the Delta. Some didn’t have a choice. About 24 boats were repossessed at the Sacramento Marina in the last year. When they go, few boaters explain the reason for leaving, Camper said.

"Most of the time, they just take out a boat and don't say anything," he said.

For years, the Sacramento Marina charged $10 a foot for any size slip. In 2006, following industry standards, the marina began calculating rates differently, charging $10 a foot for whichever was longest — the slip or the boat.

In 2008, the marina got City Council approval for five years' of increased rates to pay for the expansion and to bring their rates in line with other urban marinas, where larger slips cost more per foot because they cost more to build and operate. The increased fees also help pay for marina maintenance and keeping the basin waterway clean.

The most recent rate increases started in fiscal year 2009. Annual increases ranged from 5 to 17 percent, depending on slip size. For fiscal year 2010 only, the marina changed the rate increase to 8 percent across the board. Rates, which took effect Thursday, are now $300 a month for 25-foot covered slips, $406 for 30-foot slips and $770 for 50-foot slips.

The 120-slip Sacramento Yacht Club in West Sacramento is cheaper, charging just over $8 per foot per month for slips that are 30 to 50 feet. Members must volunteer or attend meetings monthly, which keeps costs down. They haven't had a vacancy in a decade, said Port Captain Chuck Lenert. The atmosphere is different as well, with a location right on the river and club members who know their slip mates.

Another boat owner said his fees have doubled in the last five years. He found another marina where he’ll pay $200 less per month for a slip and gave notice that he’s leaving the marina. Other boaters are about to do the same thing, he said.

“When times are tough, they continue to raise it on the people who are still able to boat, so they're going to run everybody off,” said the boat owner, who didn’t want to give his name for fear he’d be “blacklisted” in Sacramento.

The rate increase — coupled with the lower occupancies most marinas are facing — may have helped spawn a marina rate war. Nearby River View Marina on Garden Highway is now offering 10- to 20-percent discounts off published rates to boaters who relocate.

"Whatever Sacramento Marina is charging, we'll charge 20 percent less,” River View Marina co-owner John Maddex said Thursday. “It's a highly competitive market.”

The public Sacramento Marina can’t engage in a bidding war for customers. Its rates must stay the same for everyone, said Camper, who wasn’t surprised by the competition.

Marinas are like hotels — amenities and quality vary, and no two are alike. The Sacramento Marina may lose boaters because of the rate increase, but in the end, the renovation and rate changes will pay off with a long-term, successful marina, Camper said.

“We think we have a top-notch place to be,” Camper said. “We want to keep it that way.”

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Lessons from Companies Hit Hard by the Recession

2010-05-24T21:08:14Z

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 transparent and candid about the realities that face their industry and their individual companies. Of the architectural and construction firms represented neither was experiencing revenues half of what they experienced at their peaks in 2007. These businesses had some sobering advice that I think should resonate with any Sacramento Area business.

The local firms present where Carlton Engineering, represented by President Alan Carlton; Williams Paddon Architects and Planners represented by President Jim Williams. Also present was Tony Cooper, Founding partner of Shirlaws USA and Dennis Raymond, Principal at Raymond Business Advisors. Tony Cooper has acted as an advisor to companies struggling to survive the recession similar to Dennis Raymond who consults area businesses but also had the distinction of having worked for Irwin Union Bank which was liquidated by the FDIC in September of 2009. The topics covered by the panel ranged from the affects of a changing workforce on design to the future of the local economy and the effect on the shape of business.

The Economy – Is there an end in sight?
All of the panelists had realistic expectations regarding the economy. They all agreed that the peak economy was not only a realistic goal, but undesirable. Should production soon return to those levels, it would surely result in another collapse. Jim Williams comment was that the construction industry would “achieve stability when the industry looses capacity”. Under current conditions there are simply too many competitors in order to profitably divide the small amount of business. It is an uncomfortable reality across several local industries that in order to succeed some companies simply need to give up and find other industries or niches to compete in.
As for how the companies have managed to keep the right talent there was a surprising consensus regarding staffing. While Raymond commented that “people, innovation, and leadership are always good investments”, the entire panel agreed with Tony Cooper, “that when it comes to cutting employees, attitude comes before talent”. This can certainly be an unnerving reality for any worker who clings to specialty training or workplace skills for their future in the workplace.

The Evolution of the Workplace
Most professionals can point to evolution in the workplace. Gen-Y brings a new perspective and expectations just as technology has made telecommuting full or part time a reality for many organizations. Rarely do you hear somebody articulate so coherently and insightfully about the future of the workforce and it’s affect on workplace design. Jim Williams of William Paddon Architects and Planners offered just that. As companies seek ways to remain lean in real-estate coming out of the recession greater innovation in how the workforce gathers and interacts is going to be required. During one question Jim remarked that in many work places we go to our cubicles and “spend about half of our time emailing each other”. Jim obviously has some forward thinking notions of tomorrows work environment. His vision includes environments where “gathering places are going to be more important”, where workforces come together “to create the mission and the energy” that makes a company run.

Advice for Struggling Businesses
There are many companies and organizations still struggling through the economy. Nowhere to be found was any lifeline that things will be easy anytime soon. So what should a business be doing to make it? Jim Williams recommend that you ask yourself one simple question: “If you were going to start your business over again, would you do it like you are doing it right now?” The panelist’s comments reflected their openness, or perhaps the necessity, to consider measures they never before would have. For instance, Jim Carlton who for 27 years swore that a live person would always answer the company phone switched to an automated reception platform. Consultant Tony Cooper piled on with his comments that “you don’t go into a business to help old models work” and “if you’re working the model that lead you to success 5 years ago, you are going to whither on the vine”.

The panelists for the Structures 2010 event were speaking in regards to the beleaguered Sacramento construction industry. While construction is one of our heaviest hit industries, the panelists touched on some wisdom that applies across several of our regional industries.

If I had to highlight the overarching themes that effect local businesses it would be:

Practice Organizational Openness – Employee job descriptions should be more varied than ever. Everybody becomes a cost saver and innovator. Create lines of communication that breach traditional hierarchies.
Slaughter Sacred Cows- Holding to traditional business conventions may be keeping your organization from making necessary cuts.
Get Real – Do not waste time waiting for better markets to return. Build your business around today’s realities.

What lessons have you learned from your industry? What advice do you have for local businesses?

Has The Sacramento Bee heard of the housing bubble?

2010-04-03T15:37:01Z

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 local governments. Furloughs and layoffs of workers on state and local government payrolls further undermine consumption. That trend depresses private businesses, which employ the vast majority of the labor force. The bursting of the housing bubble caused the recession, the driving force of job losses in California and across the U.S. Maybe The Sacramento Bee can cover that news in the future.

Kings beer promotion sends wrong message this holiday season

2009-12-16T13:55:36Z

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 is being twisted to indulge on the dollar adult beverages, however, you would think that the Kings could come up with something a bit cleverer this holiday season. This is the time of year when you find people are drinking at holiday after holiday party and in these economic times who needs more enticing.

The Kings seem to forget that they essentially fired one of their former head coaches for a DUI offense just a few short years ago. The area surrounding Arco Arena is one that dockets a high number of drunk driver arrests within Sacramento. The bottom line of this is it just doesn’t sound right when the Kings should be doing else to promote a more family fun atmosphere such as family night for a dollar, now how’s that for a promotion.

River Cats filling seats despite recession

2009-08-15T02:40:38Z

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 situation, holding a mark of close to 9,000 a game compared to last year’s clip of 9,700. Because of this, Sacramento's beloved team is facing unprecedented challenges this season.

Yet despite the diminished turnout at games, Vice President of Media Relations and Assistant General manager Gabe Ross said he feels the company is well prepared to handle the down economy.

“Just like any business, we’re not immune to the recession,” Ross said. “But we like the position we’re in. We have tickets that are affordable and a great community reputation, and we’ve had a lot of success. So we’ve been prepared to withstand this climate as well as anybody.”

Affordability, Ross said, has been a central theme the front office is trying to operate by this year. Cheap tickets and more promotional deals have been two ways River Cats management has tried to counteract the effects of the recession on attendance.

Tickets start at $7 for lawn seats and the highest regular seating sections, with the nicest spot in the ballpark topping out at $40. There are also added promotions like Kids Eat Free on Tuesday nights, where children 12 and under get a free dinner.

It's promotions like that, Ross said, that have encouraged more parents to bring their kids out to the ballpark.

“People don’t stop doing things with their family when times are tough,” Ross said. “They just look at getting more value and more bang for their buck. The River Cats can provide that. Another good family deal is on Friday night with our Family Fun Fridays, where you can get four tickets, four hot dogs and four ice creams for 36 bucks.

"People come out to our games for the experience and affordability, and that’s what we try and provide,” Ross added.

There are a number of other weekly promotions offered by the River Cats as well. Sundays are U.S. Bank Kids Days, which provide various activities, including face painting, for children to partake in free of charge. On Tuesdays, single folks can bring a date to the game for free with the buy-one-get-one-free ticket deal for select seating and lawn seats. Tecate beers are also discounted at $3.50 between 6 and 7:30 p.m.

One of the more popular promotions is the Miller Light ‘Que and Brew on Thursday nights. Implemented last year, the event target towards the 21 to 35 age demographic, where there's various barbecued foods, and Miller beers are only $2 from 6-8:30 p.m. A more in-depth look at the 'Que and Brew can be read on a previous article here.

Even though most promotional offers are planned out before the season gets under way, Ross said his staff members have really had to think on their feet this year. He also said they’ve had to be more willing to make adjustments mid-season, while continually keeping an ear open for suggestions from anyone, anywhere.

“We’ve had to be creative,” Ross said. “We’ve done more promotions to focus on the value aspect that highlights the affordability of our product. We did Kid’s Eat Free for the first time on July 28, so that was added well into the season.

“We don’t have a monopoly on good ideas. So if we get an idea, be it from a fan or another corporation, that might resonate with the people of Sacramento, we definitely will try and implement it.”

Another reason attendance has stayed relatively high this season is due to the River Cats' repeated competitiveness, currently holding the best record in the Pacific Coast League at 73-45.

Although River Cats management has no direct control over the personnel assembled on the field, Ross said he has no doubt that a winning team does help the situation. He also added that he wouldn’t be surprised if the turnout remained fairly high even if the team had a poor record, given that many people come out for the experience rather than the product on the field.

As affiliates of the Oakland Athletics organization, the River Cats' fan base tends to be composed of mostly A’s fans. And while many people from Sacramento would make the trip to the Bay Area to catch an A’s or San Francisco Giants game, Media Relations Coordinator Nick Lozito said he suspects more folks are staying local and heading to Raley Field for the sake of saving money.

“The good thing for us is that a lot of people in the Sacramento area, instead of driving to see an A's (or) Giants game, are saving on gas money and buying a cheaper ticket here,” Lozito said. “We offer a good product and are much more affordable, so it just makes a lot of sense for many people out there.”

Despite all the challenges the River Cats have faced this season, things have gone relatively well for the Triple-A powerhouse. And while struggles will continue into the unforeseen future, Ross said that one thing will remain constant: the fans.

“We’re very fortunate to have such a loyal fan base that Sacramento has provided us since the start,” he said. “This city has been, and I’m sure will continue to be, supportive of this team, and we’re lucky to have such great fans.”

More ticket and promotional information, as well as the team’s schedule and other River Cat inquiries can be found on the team’s website at rivercats.com.

McClatchy profits grow

2009-07-22T05:43:33Z

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 by McClatchy.

The news was met with a spike in the value of McClatchy stock, which leveled off at 74 cents a share — up 20 cents — by the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday.

The "hard work" of restructuring and cutting expenses has led to the earnings growth in the midst of the recession and turbulence in the newspaper industry, according to Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chairman and chief executive officer.

"Our challenge in this extremely tough environment is to stabilize cash flow, reduce debt and continue a transition to an integrated multimedia company," he said.

"Looking ahead, we know that economic slowdowns do not last forever, and our 152-year-old company has been successful by taking a long-term view and staying true to our strategic plan," he said. "We are working to put ourselves in a good position to weather this downturn and to create value for all of our stakeholders."

Second-quarter revenues dropped to $365.3 million, a 25.4 percent decrease from 2008's $489.7 million. Although ad revenue of $283.7 million marked a 30 percent decrease since this time last year, the loss of ad revenue this year has been slowing slightly since at least April.

The growth in earnings followed a 15 percent workforce reduction in the spring. McClatchy had already cut more than 4,000 positions, or a third of its employees, in about a year.

McClatchy currently owns 30 daily papers and dozens of non-dailies, among other interests. In May, the Bee lost 128 positions, including 29 in the newsroom, or 11 percent of its workforce, said Pam Dinsmore, the paper's community affairs director.

The paper has been able to make a few hires, including eight people in advertising and a new business editor, she said. The ad positions had been cut, and those who left were contacted about the jobs.

Someone also has been hired to fill a capitol bureau opening, and the paper's attempting to replace an opinion editor, said reporter Ed Fletcher, who chairs the Bee's Newspaper Guild unit.

In another move that could offset expenses, the paper has entertained an offer to buy its two-level parking garage after someone approached the Bee. No deal was made on the structure, which was built to allow additions for office space or other uses. But management would consider other offers, she said, adding that selling the garage isn't part of any cost-cutting plans.

"It's not like there's a for-sale sign out there," Dinsmore said.

Employees, including the entire features staff, have been moved from the newspaper headquarter's third floor to the second floor. Management has talked about using the third floor as a conference center for staff. Dinsmore said she hasn't heard anything about the possibility of leasing the third floor out to someone.

The Bee is now opening up its Eleanor McClatchy Center — known to employees as "the Bee Hive" — to neighborhood and community groups free of charge. The center holds an 80-seat theater and a conference room.

The Bee is considering additional cost savings. Guild members have agreed to vote next week on "vacation burn down," or using all vacation they earn in the next six months, as well as five more days of vacation accrued previously — and all by the end of the year. Bee management said such an agreement would prevent a week of unpaid furlough days, Fletcher said.

If the union agrees, everyone else at the paper will get the same deal, including management, he said. The Guild contract expires at the end of the year. In the last few months, all employees also have taken 6 percent pay cuts, and the Bee has capped pension plans at current levels and frozen 401K matching.

"I would say higher profits are good. But it would feel a lot better if it didn't come on the backs of workers who didn't have to take paycuts or see their 401K plans obliterated," said Fletcher.

Staff cuts have impacted the newsroom's climate as well as coverage. Editorial staff were cut from features, sports and the metro section, and regional coverage was the biggest loser, Fletcher said.

Reporters don't have as much time for investigative stories, Fletcher said. Many reporters and editors' assignments have changed in recent months. The movie critic is now covering general features and entertainment, including music reviews. The TV critic writes a new wine column.

Layoffs have stopped. But people are still leaving the paper on their own.

"People aren't real sure about whether the jobs will be there a year from now, or two years from now, or three years from now," he said. "Morale has bounced back slightly. But there are a lot of people looking over their shoulder or looking for work."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. She can be reached at 916-804-2856 or suzanne@sacramentopress.com.

Foreclosures staying off the Grid

2009-06-30T01:48:19Z

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, because what we have downtown, you can't replicate in new construction areas," said David Kirrene, a real estate broker with Windermere Dunnigan Realtors.

"You've got the character of the old homes -- every house is different. You've got the tree-lined streets. And look at just how long these homes have lasted; the quality of the homes," he said. "I think with new construction areas -- you can get that in 'Any City, USA' ."

In addition, homeowners in the grid -- the area bounded by the Sacramento River on the west, the Union Pacific railroad tracks/B Street on the north, Alhambra Boulevard on the east and Broadway to the south -- are mostly more experienced, established buyers who bought their homes before this decade's new housing boom and who got fixed-rate mortgages, said Elizabeth Weintraub, an agent in Lyon Real Estate's Midtown office and a home-buying columnist for About.com.

Right now, only one foreclosed home -- a house on 25th Street in Midtown -- is currently on the market in the grid, according to Weintraub and Tabetha Holyfield, a real estate agent for Century 21 All Professional near Arden Fair Mall. That's out of 74 homes currently for sale in Midtown in the 95816 zip code and downtown in 95814 and 95811.

It's another story in the fastest-growing nearby towns. Natomas has 145 bank-owned homes for sale and Elk Grove has 139, said Weintraub. In the city, Del Paso has 44 on the market, Oak Park has 41, South Sacramento has 16 and Rosemont has seven, according to MetroList Services numbers provided by Weintraub and Holyfield.

Those numbers don't tell the whole tale. The actual number of foreclosed homes -- not just foreclosed homes on the market -- in the city and in particular, the grid, isn't kept by any government agency or a one-stop service accessible to real estate pros or consumers.

However, numbers are kept for the entire county. After a dip in foreclosures in recent months, Sacramento County is seeing a resurgence in the number of trustee's deeds filed when banks foreclose on homes. June already has 1,067, while May had 869, April had 897 and March had 919, according to figures from the Sacramento County Assessor's Office.

Before that, the monthly numbers of houses slipping out of owner's hands hadn't fallen below 1,071 (the figure for January 2009) since December 2007.

Two other problems with ferreting out the actual number of foreclosures are the "short sales" homes that are on the market to technically avoid foreclosure and all the foreclosed homes the banks are now holding back from the market, real estate agents said.

A short sale is an agreement between the homeowner and bank that allows the homeowner to avoid foreclosure. Short sales involve homeowners who need to sell either because they're undergoing hardship and can't afford the mortgage payments, or because the house is upside down and the owners owe more than the house is worth.

Banks can be negotiated with to allow owners to sell houses -- sometimes at half the price the owners paid -- if the bank gets all the money from the sale. The bank will then release the loan. These short-sale homes aren't listed as foreclosures, said Weintraub, who may be the city's top short-sales agent. She currently has 20 short-sale homes listed.

Currently, 58.6 percent in of the homes listed in Sacramento County are short sales, she said, adding, "Short sales are replacing foreclosures as the hot commodity."

In addition, banks are selling foreclosed houses in bulk at 50 cents on the dollar to investors, who turn around and list those properties at twice what they paid; yet those houses aren't advertised as foreclosures when they go back on the market.

Also, housing prices have gotten so low due to the glut of foreclosed homes that banks are not putting them on the market, real estate agents said.

"They're really controlling the market. So it's giving us a false sense of what's really going on," said Holyfield.

At the start of 2009, the number of bank-owned homes that were active real estate listings in Sacramento County and parts of nearby Yolo and Placer counties totaled 2,500. As of June 15, the number was only 909, she said.

"They're hoarding them. It's what's known as shadow inventory," Weintraub said. "Yet we all know the number of foreclosures are continually going up."

Most people who've lost their homes to foreclosure in other areas were first-time owners who bought between 2002 and 2006 in a time when home loans were too easy to get, and so the number of buyers skyrocketed. The demand inflated housing prices for both tract houses in brand-new subdivisions and lower-end houses in established neighborhoods and fueled a construction boom that created new neighborhoods.

At the same time, these people purchased with "100 percent financing," so they didn't put down any -- or at least not significant -- down payments. They also got adjustable-rate mortgages, which greatly increased their payments after the first few years.

"There were so many first-time home buyers. It didn't matter who you were. They were giving away homes like lollipops," said Holyfield.

Weintraub agreed, saying, "A lot of the people in trouble out in the suburbs are really people who never should have qualified to buy."

After the bottom fell out of the housing market, house prices plummeted and many people owed more than their houses were worth.

In the central city where there's no room for new home construction, seasoned owners have held onto their homes for a long time. The housing market has remained far more stable and prices have stayed relatively flat in comparison.

"We don't have the roller-coaster prices like we have in other areas," said Holyfield. "We didn't have those big explosions coming into Midtown, buying those properties and now selling those properties. You have established people living in the inner city, instead of having a whole neighborhood of people who just moved there in the last 10 years."

House prices never went up as high in the grid as they did in new areas, and now they've gone down only about 25 percent, contrasted with a 50- to 60-percent decrease in other areas, said Kirrene.

"I've always heard these are the first to go up in value and the last to go down in value," he said. The median sales prices of a 1600-square-foot, three-bedroom, single-family home is currently $308,000 in the grid, he said.

In 2008, 27 percent (13 out of 49) of the single-family homes sold in the 95816 zip code and 37 percent in 95814 and 95811 were foreclosures, while 70 to 80 percent of those sold in other regions were foreclosures, said Craig Dunnigan, who owns Prudential Dunnigan Real Estate.

From Dec., 27, 2008, a total of 670 foreclosed homes have sold in Elk Grove and 733 in Natomas, said Weintraub. Fifteen sold downtown and in 95816, which may include East Sacramento in this figure.

Real estate agents cited many reasons why people want to live in the central city and buy the houses that are here. Most of the homes were built before 1940. A sizable number were built before 1900. In the last six months, 20 of the active, pending and sold houses were built before 1900 and two before 1880, Kirrene said.

These homes were built better, with charm and quality craftsmanship that makes them higher-end properties. People also love being close to vibrant Midtown and downtown, with all the restaurants, shops, clubs, open park space and access to both the Sacramento and American rivers. People who work there don't want to commute, and they enjoy easy access to freeways, real estate agents said.

"People gravitate toward homes with character, and this is where people are going to find them," said Weintraub. "It's a desirable place to live."

County officials address sour economy, "structural deficit"

2009-06-10T05:06:04Z

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 most difficult one I have faced in my professional career,” said Sacramento County CEO Terry Schutten on Tuesday.

The poor economy has meant that county revenues from sales taxes and property taxes have fallen, Gill explained. He noted that the county has seen its revenues from sales tax dive, noting that the trend of poor sales tax returns “continues into the future.”

While the economy’s condition has meant decreased revenues for the county, credit rating agencies are launching criticism at the county's budgeting practices. Credit rating agencies have downgraded the county's credit rating, Gill said. The agencies are saying the county has a “structural deficit” because it has used one-time funds to balance budgets in the past, Gill said. They expect the county to balance its budget without using one-time funds, he also said.

The board will hold a hearing on county public safety budgets at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Street Interview

2009-06-05T05:00:14Z

The Sacramento Press is all about providing an outlet for everyone in the community. We recently hit the street to get people's comments on how they're coping with the recession.

This week's question: How has the continued recession affected your spending habits? What are you buying and what are you not buying right now?

Regina LaFitte, 45
Analyst, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Elk Grove Resident

"We're not going out as much. Most days, I bring my lunch. We get the essentials -- that's about it. I have a daughter who's in college. With the (student aid) cuts in education, I'm really feeling that one. As a state worker, we're doing a two-day furlough each month, and they're talking about an extra 5 percent (pay cut) across the board. My husband's not working right now. So overall, it's really touched my family. We really don't do a lot of extra stuff."

Sean Nichols, 41
Mail Handler
Midtown Resident

"I'm still keeping my gym membership. I'm still making money to be able to go to the movies twice a month and modest luxuries like that. I used to buy a shirt or a pair of pants a paycheck. I've cut back on restoration of my car -- a '68 Beetle. I've cut way back on the sports supplements. I used to spend $150 to $200 a month; now I'm spending $50 a month. I don't take as much protein. I'm less likely to be experimental. I've changed my exercise plan to supplement that."

Christine Apostol, 46
Mom
Elk Grove Resident

"We're trying to be reasonable. We're trying to look for sales, taking advantage of the discounts, out-of-business stores -- 'Hello!' I try to make sure the kids are (taken care of). Today's my son's graduation, so whatever his little heart desires -- within reason. The plan is to feed him and take him to his favorite spot. He wanted an earring. We also got him a hat with his name on it."

Cliff Watson, 51
General Contractor, Soon-To-Be website Publisher
Midtown Resident

"Construction's completely stopped. That's why I'm shopping instead of working. I like Macy's; I bought underwear today. I started my cuts (in expenses) last fall. I eliminated cable TV. Extra landline phones: gone. Fax line: gone. I stopped barbecuing and eating meat for the most part, because it's expensive and fattening. So now I eat rice and beans and turkey spam, instead of steak and fettucine alfredo. I'm one of those people who prepares for emergencies. I'm watching the dollar; I think the U.S. currency is going to collapse, and California is going to default and the United States is going to follow suit. So I bought an eight-month supply of rice and canned meat, and backup water filters, containers for water, and a supply of (nutritional) supplements to last for months. I stocked up on things I can use a long time -- except fresh juice, vegetables and fruit. I'll never go back to eating the way I did. Now I'm losing weight and getting more fit."

Elicia Allen, 28
Paralegal
Rancho Cordova Resident

"Our grocery bill has gone up due to the increase in the cost of groceries. My brother moved in with us. That also impacted our grocery bills. I don't usually sale-shop. Now I'm going to Food Source; I'd never gone there before. They have good sales on meat and produce. I got engaged in October. With the way the economy is right now, both myself and my fiancé didn't get our raises this year. Times are tough, and we're both lucky to have our jobs. Unfortunately, it's kind of extended the date of our wedding due to not having enough finances. Instead of having a 75-person wedding, we're going to 50. We're also not going to have a wedding cake. It (the cake) doesn't seem that important when other people don't have homes."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. We welcome your suggestions for future "Street Interview" questions. She can be reached at suzanne@sacramentopress.com or 804-2856.

County fears state may take local social services, public safety funds

2009-06-05T04:36:11Z

Sacramento County’s public safety and social service programs will be harmed if the state advances a proposal to borrow $2 billion from local governments, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst.

The county is planning cuts to close its own $180 million budget gap.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed borrowing property tax revenues from local governments as one of many ways to address the state’s $24.3 billion deficit. Holst noted that Sacramento County’s portion of the $2 billion would be $32 million.

Lending $32 million in county revenues to the state “would directly impact public safety and social programs,” Holst said. “We are watching the state very closely to see what they are planning to do so that we can be better prepared to adjust our services to our communities and minimize the impact of the loss of services.”

In order for Schwarzenegger’s proposal to be enacted, the state Legislature must approve it with a two-thirds vote. California Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said it gives Schwarzenegger "no pleasure" to propose to borrow from local governments.

Palmer noted that Schwarzenegger supported local government authority and the 2004 initiative Proposition 1A, which voters approved. That proposition ensures that local governments maintain control over their property and sales tax revenues.

However, the proposition enables the state to borrow the local government funds in a fiscal crisis. The proposition says the state must reimburse local governments with interest within three years.

The governor made the proposal because of the “severe recession,” Palmer said.

The city of Sacramento would also be affected by Schwarzenegger’s plan. Mayor Kevin Johnson said recently that the city could dedicate up to $12 million in “risk funds” to the state. City staffers wrote in a May 22 report that these funds “are reserved to cover city liability settlements over the life of a claimant.”

Sacramento County expects to release its proposed budget Friday, June 5.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor Johnson: state worker layoffs could damage local economy

2009-06-04T04:06:21Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson told media outlets earlier this week that possible layoffs of state workers may harm the city’s economy.

Layoffs for about 5,000 state workers have been proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to address the state’s $24.3 billion deficit. Local governments throughout the state may be impacted by state budget cuts, Johnson said. But because many Sacramento residents are state workers, the city faces “a double whammy.”

Sacramento is “very uniquely positioned as a state capital city to get hit twice,” Johnson said Tuesday.

Johnson went on to say that if these workers are laid off, they may not be able to make their mortgage payments. In turn, these residents may foreclose on their homes, and add to the city’s foreclosure problems, Johnson said.

Johnson is also worried that an additional proposed furlough day for state workers would discourage residents from shopping and spending money in Sacramento. When furloughs are in place, “those workers don’t come downtown,” Johnson said. “They don’t shop at our retail outlets, and they don’t dine at our restaurants.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City employees receive pink slips, 168 possible layoffs

2009-06-03T04:54:26Z

A number of city employees received pink slips Monday that said their last day of work would be June 19. Though 168 workers received the layoff letters, city officials said the number of potential layoffs would go down if unions make concessions.

The city is planning layoffs and cuts to services to address a budget deficit of more than $43 million.

Sacramento began its budget planning for the 2009/2010 fiscal year with a $50 million deficit. The deficit figure dropped to $43.6 million in March after the Sacramento Police Officers Association made concessions on pay increases, said Gus Vina, an assistant city manager.

The firefighters’ union, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, made a tentative deal with the city on Friday. Union members will vote this week to decide whether to approve the deal, which would cut their scheduled pay increases. The city plans to slash 50 positions in the fire department if the union does not accept the agreement.

Another major union, Stationary Engineers Local 39, is in negotiations with the city.

“We have not cracked that wide open,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday, referring to the status of the city’s negotiations with Local 39. He said that if the firefighters’ agreement is approved, the city would be in “much stronger position” with Local 39.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Recession played role in Jazz Festival's sales, organizers say

2009-06-02T02:54:19Z

The 36th annual Sacramento Jazz Festival pulled in about the same amount of money as it did last year -- an estimated $1.2 million -- but more people may have attended the festival this year than last year, according to a festival official.

Gene Berthelsen, the executive director of the festival, said the troubled economy affected this year's festival.

“The poor economy was a factor in why we didn’t do better,” Berthelsen said.

The festival staffers will continue to crunch numbers for weeks to come, but preliminary estimates show that this year’s festival drew somewhere between 65,000 and 70,000 people, Berthelsen said. Festival-goers paid an estimated $1.2 million to the festival for tickets, as well as for other purchases such as alcoholic beverages, clothing and beads, he noted.

Last year’s event attracted 65,000 people and yielded about $1.1 million in sales to the festival, according to Berthelsen.

It was unclear Monday how much money this year’s festival generated in sales to the Sacramento economy through visits to hotels, restaurants and other businesses. Mike Testa, spokesman for the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, said last week that the bureau was waiting to hear from hotels on their attendance figures during the festival weekend.

Visitors and locals during last year’s festival spent about $8 million total on hotels meals, retail, parking, gas and other expenses. Testa didn’t return phone calls Monday afternoon for an update.

Berthelsen noted that rainy weather was the cause of last year’s relatively low attendance at the festival. This year’s warm and pleasant weather means that the attendance count is probably higher than last year’s, he said.

But even though more people may have attended this year than last year, that didn’t mean they spent a lot of money at the festival.

Festival attendees were “hanging pretty tight onto their purse strings,” Berthelsen said.

City/County budget crisis: The weekly roundup

2009-05-31T19:15:07Z

If State Demands City Funds, City Will Have the Money

Schwarzenegger’s recent proposal to borrow $2 billion from local governments has angered cities and counties, including the city of Sacramento. The proposal aims to help the state cope with its budget deficit -- the latest number for the state’s deficit is $24.3 billion.

At first, Sacramento reacted to the state proposal with alarm. But Mayor Kevin Johnson’s recent comments indicate that the city’s fears have somewhat dissipated. The city has a way to pay up if the state asks to borrow its money.

The city can use up to $12 million in its “risk funds” to pay the state, Johnson said Friday. A May 22 report by city staffers explained that these funds “are reserved to cover city liability settlements over the life of a claimant.”

While the city’s fears have calmed a bit, city officials note they are still worried. Johnson said it would be a bad precedent for the state to borrow money from cities. He also said Friday that he was worried about the possibility of the state taking a long time to pay back the city of Sacramento.

“Sacramento can tap into our risk funds...but what concerns me more so is that when the state borrows money, they don’t have a good history of paying back the full amounts in a timely manner,” Johnson said.

The city is working to resolve its $50 million deficit.

County Budget On the Way

The county will release its proposed budget Friday, June 5, said county spokesman Zeke Holst. The proposed budget will tackle the county’s $180 million projected deficit.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Send your tips about local politics to kathleen@sacramentopress.com.

Sacramento housing: putting a lid on the grid

2009-05-29T05:33:50Z

Special to Sacramento Press

By Dena Kouremetis

It may seem like an anomaly, but it really comes as no surprise to REO expert and Re/Max agent Ray Ponce. Housing in Sacramento’s ‘grid’ – surrounded by freeways in all directions, has simply not become a casualty of foreclosure crisis.

“It’s just a matter of supply and demand,” says Ponce. “There has always been, and will continue to be a demand for housing in this area. Most of the homes in this area were built during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s during a period of time when quality of craftsmanship and individual style were important for homeowners. These homes are built well and possess charm and character that today’s modern homes simply do not have.”

Ponce adds, “Since there is no more open space for builders to come in and throw up massive subdivisions of homogenous tract houses, the supply has remained relatively stable, even in these hard times. You may have noticed that the areas of Sacramento with the largest number of foreclosures are the areas that grew the fastest during the boom years -- places like Elk Grove, Natomas, and Lincoln. Most of this was caused from over-building and over-pricing.”

Another factor protecting grid homes from the foreclosure glut is the fact that many of the homeowners in East Sac and downtown are original owners or are heirs of original owners, according to Ponce, making them debt-free and lien-free as well. Fewer liens mean fewer foreclosures.

A snapshot of foreclosure activity, in mid April from Foreclosure Radar,for example, reveals approximately 115 active foreclosures in the Elk Grove area as compared to only four in the grid area. The contrast has not changed significantly since then.

According to Ponce, other types of home owners in the grid tend to be young professionals; doctors, attorneys, and business owners, who could afford to put 20-50% down when they bought these homes. “They purchased homes within their means and probably took out fixed rate loans. The buyers who purchased in the new subdivisions may have been the victims of variable rate loans, since homebuilders’ in-house lenders tended to make qualifying easier for cash-strapped buyers.”

The grid area holding its own is consistent, judging by a story reported several years ago in the Sacramento Business Journal. In it, staff writer Michael Shaw found that homes in East Sacramento were selling handily while homes in other areas three times the size of the diminutive East Sac footprints were sitting on the market for at least six months at the time. “Homes located in East Sacramento, one of the city's venerable neighborhoods, along with others such as midtown, Land Park and Curtis Park have in many ways resisted the ravages of the housing downturn,” reported Shaw.

Rapid growth areas are traditionally hit hardest, reminiscent of the saying, ‘the bigger they come, the harder they fall ‘ The 2007 Sacramento Business Journal investigation revealed that Sacramento's strongest neighborhoods, however, have been landlocked for years, resulting in little new construction. This makes them a smaller commodity, forcing prices to stay stable or even increase over time when other areas suffer.

The beauty of downtown-close neighborhoods isn’t all about economics, however. The proximity to the downtown job core is a big draw for buyers, along with the area’s tree-lined streets, neighborhood shops and eateries and entertainment venues.

Instead of three car garages, you get charm,, instead of strip malls you get sophisticated Downtown Plaza, and instead of freeway gridlock, you get light rail, a few bus stops or a 10-minute drive.

Even though the grid area is resilient, however, it is certainly not immune. “Just as in Sacramento as a whole, the inventory of homes for sale in core neighborhoods has crept up over the past two years,” reported Shaw, adding that multiple offers are not commonplace. But homes within Sacramento’s coveted grid have been and always will be a draw, no matter how you slice it.

Residents continue campaign against budget cuts to parks

2009-05-28T03:07:40Z

A group of residents is continuing a campaign against proposed budget cuts to local parks after city staffers this week did not support the group’s proposals.

The group, called Rescue Sacramento Parks, has pitched the City Council several proposals to sustain parks services as the city addresses its projected $50 million deficit for the 2009/2010 fiscal year.

Among many other proposed budget cuts, the city is proposing to slash about $8.3 million and 145 positions from its Department of Parks and Recreation. Rescue Sacramento Parks is worried the proposed cuts to parks will lead to blight and public health and safety problems.

Craig Powell, the group’s chairman, said some of the group’s members will meet Thursday with Parks and Recreation staff “in an effort to find a solution.”

Rescue Sacramento Parks also plans to spread its message to more neighborhood associations, according to Powell. The group’s members participate in neighborhood groups.

Among other suggestions, the group asked City Council to work with the private sector for park maintenance and study whether the city can make more cuts to recreation programs. The group argues that more reductions to recreation programs could lessen the damage to park maintenance services. The City Council last week asked city staffers to analyze the group’s proposals.

In a report to the City Council this week, city staff agreed with residents that privatization of services would save money, but also pointed out drawbacks to the group’s idea.

Moving park maintenance services to the private sector would save an amount of money “estimated to be in excess of 40 percent,” the city staff report notes.

But the cost savings would have downsides, according to the report. “However, the service level would be minimal and response to customers would be reduced,” the report states. “Privatization of basic park maintenance would continue to require city staff to provide contract management and inspection, and more specialized services including irrigation system oversight and emergency repair and oversight of park facilities such as playgrounds, tot lots, all-weather fields, sports courts, picnic and seating areas.”

City staff also wrote that recreation programs should not face cuts on top of the reductions already planned. The department “does not agree that park maintenance should be fully restored at the expense of recreation programs and services; park planning, design and development; grant administration; and other crucial administrative and fiscal services,” the report states.

Rescue Sacramento Parks appreciated the City Council’s decision last week to ask city staff to study the group’s proposals, according to Powell.

But the group is upset that the City Council is not moving on the idea to work with the private sector on park maintenance services. The group is “very disappointed at the Council’s unwillingness to seize the opportunity to save millions of taxpayer dollars while simultaneously restoring basic park maintenance through privatization of park maintenance,” Powell said.

The group had suggested that the city use privatization as a bargaining chip with one of the city’s major unions, Stationary Engineers Local 39. Rescue Sacramento Parks proposed that the city work with the private sector for park maintenance services if Local 39, which includes parks workers, does not make concessions.

Local 39 is currently in negotiations with the city. Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Local 39, was not immediately available to return phone calls Wednesday afternoon.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Jazz Festival dollars may make a difference in local recession

2009-05-27T05:36:02Z

Catherine Baird has attended the Sacramento Jazz Festival in years past, but her experience at the festival this year was different.

Though Baird was enjoying the jazz party atmosphere in Old Town Friday afternoon, she didn’t buy passes to this year’s festival because she wanted to save money. Still, Baird and her friend Cynthia Garcia, who are both from Sacramento, participated in the Jazz Fest scene and contributed to local businesses.

“We spent because we wanted to,” Garcia said, noting that she didn’t feel pressured to buy anything.

The Sacramento Jazz Festival, also known as the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, brought in about $8 million last year to the local economy, according to the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau. This year, with the city's budget in a deficit of $50 million, the millions of dollars that may have come in through visits to restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses is more important than ever.

Right now, the public must endure a waiting game before learning the final tally from this year’s festival. The Jazz Festival is still crunching its attendance numbers and likely won’t have any sales totals until the end of this week, said Eric Hokom, who works on the festival’s marketing committee. The Convention and Visitors Bureau won’t receive figures from hotels for another two or three weeks, bureau spokesman Mike Testa said.

The $8 million figure for last year’s sales from the Jazz Festival accounts for spending on hotels, meals, retail, parking, gas and other expenses by both tourists and locals, Testa explained.

But if the experience of Steamers Coffee and Tea Exchange in Old Sacramento is any indication, the local economy may have received a significant boost from this year’s Jazz Fest. Steamers Manager Maddy Spitz said the café took in about $10,000 in revenue over the weekend, which is about three times as much revenue as a normal weekend for the restaurant.

About 10 years ago, Spitz recalls that more customers packed into the café during the Jazz Fest weekend. Business was not as busy at this year’s event as it was about a decade ago, but it was still better than an average weekend, she said.

Last year, the festival drew 65,000 people. Festival organizers attribute the dip in attendance last year to the rainy weather. In 2007, 70,000 people turned out for the event, according to festival organizers.

Hokum said Friday that pre-sale tickets for the festival were down a little bit from past years. However, festival organizers anticipated the troubled economy would cause a decline in pre-sale tickets, he said.

Despite the recession, John and Danielle McNamara are proof that the festival still has its regulars. The father and daughter from Citrus Heights lunched on paninis at Steamers Coffee and Tea Exchange in Old Sacramento Friday. The McNamara family has come to the festival for more than 10 years, John McNamara said.

Danielle McNamara, 30, wore the festival’s signature beads.

“We get beads every year,” her father said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City predicts $30 million deficit for 2010/2011

2009-05-20T06:00:58Z

The Sacramento City Council discussed its 2009/2010 budget Tuesday, but the news of the night was the city’s forecast that it will have a $30 million projected deficit in the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

Sacramento’s proposed budget for the 2009/2010 fiscal year would resolve the city’s current project $50 million deficit, but a new deficit is on the horizon.

Leyne Milstein, the city’s finance director, said the city is balancing its books for the 2009/2010 fiscal year in part by using $8.3 million in one-time funds. She predicts the $8.3 million projected deficit already expected for 2010/2011 will jump to $30 million.

“Gap will grow to $30 million as revenues continue to decline and expenses increase in FY 2010/2011,” according to Milstein’s report.

Milstein’s forecast also pointed out that low sales tax, property tax returns, and unemployment will continue to plague the city over the next five years.

She also noted that there is consumer confidence in Sacramento, but the city is not seeing it result in sales tax returns.

The city council Tuesday approved an “intent motion,” which is a step in its process of approving the budget. Councilmembers are scheduled to vote on the proposed budget June 16.

The city’s general fund for the 2009/2010 fiscal year is $385.9 million.

Council member Sandy Sheedy was the only one on the council who voted against the “intent” step Tuesday. She said she needed more information about the budget before she could approve it.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said he would spend the next two to three weeks learning the details of the budget.

World War II veteran urges county to fund veteran's center

2009-05-18T00:20:52Z

John Canfield is a World War II veteran who values Sacramento County’s contributions toward a veteran’s center on Stockton Boulevard.

But the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 67, of which Canfield is a member, faces difficult economic times.

The county, too, is in a financial crisis and faces a projected $180 million deficit. One of its numerous proposed cuts would halt $16, 476 in funding for VFW Post 67 during the 2009/2010 fiscal year.

Canfield, 85, told the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Thursday that the VFW post’s revenues have declined “drastically.” Many of the post’s members served in World War II and the Korean War, Canfield said, and these veterans are reaching the end of their lives.

“Most of us are, like me, 85-years-old,” Canfield said. “And death is taking its toll.”

Canfield also said that if the county drops funding for the VFW post, it sends the message that the county “does not appreciate the effort” of the young men and women serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and in other locations throughout the world.

He said he didn’t know the solution to the county’s situation, but he urged the county to consider the VFW post and “seriously consider what can be done.”

The veteran’s code requires that the county provide a meeting-place for veterans, Canfield noted.

The audience at Thursday’s county budget workshop -- estimated to be 250 people seated inside the Board of Supervisors’ chambers -- applauded Canfield’s remarks.

Canfield told The Sacramento Press that he served as a paratrooper with 82nd Airborne Division in World War II and has lived in Sacramento for more than 50 years.

The county’s budget is tentatively scheduled to be released June 5. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to evaluate and adopt the budget June 15, June 17 and June 18.

Sacramento Office Space Rates Decline

2009-03-30T23:49:53Z

The Sacramento office market experienced a year-over-year decline of up to 13 percent for key submarkets as landlords began lowering prices and offering incentives in order to attract tenants. In addition with businesses downsizing or closing offices altogether, more space has come on the market which has helped to drive down prices even further.

The following section shows the year-over-year declines for the average price of space in key Sacramento submarkets. (The price range factors in specific location and class of space) :

Downtown - 2009 rates are 8 to 11 percent lower

El Dorado Hills - 2009 rates are 7 to 11 percent lower

Elk Grove - 2009 rates are 8 to 11 percent lower

Highway 80 Area - 2009 rates are 6 to 10 percent lower

Roseville/Rocklin - 2009 rates are 10 to 13 percent lower

While none of the major submarkets posted a gain in average price between 2008 and 2009, there is a silver lining for businesses that signed leases at higher rates. Depending on their individual lease situation, they may be able to negotiate for a lower rate if they are willing to renew their lease. However with the current market situation, many Sacramento businesses are apprehensive about making long-term commitments until the economy begins to turn around. Until that happens, prices for office space in Sacramento will likely go even lower.

Data Source: Synergy Real Estate Group

Learn to love the “F” word - Failure

2009-03-11T22:06:54Z

Ever heard the term “mash-potato manipulator?” Or would you ever believe you could learn to love the “F” word, failure? And what exactly does mash potatoes and failure have in common? They are surprising and irreverent ideas expressed in a fun, new workshop developed by the co-authors of the book Second Bloom: 10 Steps to Reinvent, Rejuvenate and Realize a New Life.

Along with creative and interesting stories about women who took bold and daring steps to reinvent their lives, the three-hour interactive workshop guides, helps and supports women as they develop a plan for change.

“We like to have fun and explore seemingly offbeat but actually common women’s issues during our workshops,” said Michelle Gamble-Risley, co-author. “We designed this workshop to pull back the curtain and take a closer look at common problems (e.g., mashed-potato manipulation) and walk women through the 10-step planning process to help set a new direction toward personal transformation, joy and happiness.”

The Second Bloom Workshop sponsored by the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce will be held March 27, 2009, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the American River Room. In this interactive workshop you will learn to:

• Identify the change you want to make in your life
• Create a bold and daring vision that electrifies and motivates you
• Smash through obstacles clearing the path to your vision
• Craft a plan of action that empowers you to move from hoping and wishing to living and loving your dream

“Yes, we poke fun and laugh together at ourselves but at the end of the day, each woman has a serious, personalized plan for change,” explained Anne Marie Smith, co-author. “We’re excited to work with the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce to bring women together, discuss and explore the process, and help women reinvent their lives.”

Rancho Cordova is underwriting some of the workshop costs, which enables the authors to provide a Recession-Buster fee of $19.95 for members and $29.95 for non-members. Snacks and refreshments will be provided along with a Second Bloom planning template sheet. Second Bloom will also be on sale for a one-time fee of $14.95 available the day of the workshop.

Recession swamps small shops - Sacramento's boutiques and the economic downturn

2009-02-16T05:11:41Z

Over the past fall, the nationwide economic downturn has definitely been felt in Sacramento's small boutiques. While some have gone out of business completely, and others have been forced to close some locations, many shops are adapting to leaner economic times by diversifying and changing their businesses. Recently, the Sacramento Press talked to Liz Liles, owner of 21st street's Buffcastle boutique, asking her about the recession's effect on her business and others.

Was it hard opening in this economic climate?

Well, we opened in about July, during the summer, so all the kids were out and about. It wasn't bad when we opened at all, actually suprisingly good. So we were excited about it, but the past three months have been not that great, and this month in particular has been really bad. So yeah, we're feeling the economy.

You say that there's been a lot of difficulty lately - is that just the fact that there's not as many customers?

Yeah, it's pretty much just the streets have been dead. I've talked with a lot of other business owenrs and they're all feeling the economy. My parents actually own their own business in Sacramento, and they're having a really bad time as well.

Dara Denim has closed its Granite Bay location, Blush Boutique is shifting to an internet-based business plan, are there any changes you'll be making with Buffcastle?

We're going to be doing a lot more intenet based work, because that's where more of a profit is. We're still going to keep the shop open, but also try to do more online. We also put an advertisement in midtown monthly - People could get 20% off when they brought in the ad, which is a lot. We're just trying to make people come and buy stuff. Since we don't have that much money right now, we havent' been able to advertise as much as we want.

Have you heard anything from other boutiques around town?

Yeah, I've talked with the owners from the other boutiques that are similar to me, the vintage clothing stores, and they all have been experiencing really slow business as well. I think we're feeling it the more than others because we're still so new, and there's a lot of people who don't even know we exist. I'm pretty sure everyone is feeling it, but retail shops have definitely been feeling. And there's actually been robberies in boutiques because people are desperate. You know United State, on 24th street? They just got robbed like, really badly by these two women.

So given all these unpleasant things and the general downturn, what do you think your business will be doing in the near future?

Well, like I said, we'll be focusing on internet sales. We're going to try to host more events at the store. Second Saturday is when we make the most money, because we have bands come from out of town, and they play, and we have fun. A bunch of kids come from all over, they see the store, and they buy stuff. We always count on Second Saturday. Last Second Saturday we had about three hundred people here, it was crazy.

Buffcastle is located at 1115 21st street, in between K and L streets.