Several residents in the Alkali Flat and Mansion Flats neighborhoods downtown are tired of being awakened at odd hours. They’re asking a local solid waste agency to tighten the rules for the operating hours of private garbage trucks. About 20 people in the neighborhood want private trash haulers to start work later in the morning. The Sacramento Regional Solid Waste Authority, which oversees private waste haulers in both the city and county, allows trucks to travel through neighborhoods starting at 6 a.m. Alkali Flat and Mansion Flats residents want to change the rules so that private waste trucks would not operate until “full daylight hours” or 7:30 a.m. "[Noise from the trucks] wakes

Syringes on the ground. People emerging from boarded-up homes that don’t have water or gas. Vacant homes with human feces on the floor. You probably don’t associate the term “code enforcement” with drama, grime and social work. Yet, a day in the life of a Sacramento code enforcement officer makes for a gripping tale. The Sacramento Press observed Supervising Code Enforcement officer Bill Hutcheon, Ron O'Connor, department operations manager, and other officers during a three-hour ride-along on Sept. 14. The first stop on the list was a filthy vacant lot at 38th Street and 7th Avenue in Oak Park. Hutcheon scoped out the site, pointing out a syringe on the ground and a makeshift sleeping a