Sacramento City Council members had their hands full this year – from balancing the budget to redrawing district lines to a citizen uprising that found its way to the doors of City Hall. Here’s the city government year in review. CITY MANAGER DRAMA The year started off with interim city manager Gus Vina not being promoted to the open city manager spot. Vina replaced previous city manager Ray Kerrige when Kerrige resigned in February 2010. Vina resigned two months later – just a few weeks before the budget was due to the City Council. He later became the city manager of Encinitas. The City Council was criticized for making decisions about the city manager position in closed sessions bef

The potential West Campus/Sacramento High School “swap” is off the table, but the budget and facility use problems that spurred the proposal still exist – leaving open the question, is this really the end of the conversation? “We have serious issues as far as our budget goes,” Sacramento City Unified School District trustee Patrick Kennedy said Monday. “We’ll have to look at all of our facilities. I won’t say there won’t be discussions of (school) closures in the future.” In an effort to save money and make more efficient use of district facilities, the SCUSD board recently considered swapping two school programs – the charter school program at the Sac High campus and the program at the

Decisions can determine destiny. One critical decision regarding education is currently facing the Sacramento City school board. Recently a few groups have thrown around arguments favoring that Sacramento Charter High School and West Campus swap or even co-locate campuses. There are multiple areas in these proposals that are not in the best interests of both high schools. My name is Jessica Brewer and I am a senior at Sac High. Last night, I had a chance to attend the parent meeting at West Campus. It could not be clearer that neither Sac High nor West Campus students have a desire to move or co-locate. So why are the adults, who all claim that they want what is “best for students”, pushi

How do you remember your high school years? Some of us, myself included, would not go back even if our lives depended on it. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with a group of current high school students. I walked away feeling a mixture of exhilaration and inspiration. Despite the gloomy headlines, I felt a glimmer of hope for our nation’s future. The impetus for this little sit-down was a conversation I recently had with my seventeen year-old son and his girlfriend Ebony. I had been fishing for good ideas for an article. In response to my question they both immediately replied, “You need to come to Sac High.” When I asked why, Ebony responded “Because they’re always writing arti

  The 34th Street Dance company put on another high energy performance last Saturday at the Guild Theater. The theme was Fiat Lux, which is Latin for "let there be light.  The show wrapped up with a tribute of dance routines to the late Michael Jackson, along with a heart felt and tearful ceremony to the seniors graduating from the company. “Our mission is to use dance as a tool to build community and develop each dancer as a creative thinker, dance technician, and a leader” said Sheila Coleman, the founder and director of the company.  The company trains in modern, hip-hop, and contemporary movement forms and for seven years, has shared its passion for dance with audiences all over Cali

From the lofty perches of the power players, in their skyboxes and bank towers, the public may look very small, almost antlike. Deal and decision makers are elevated and segregated from the little people, whose lives they influence. On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. The press conference was held 25 floors up, with a hazy overview of the city, extending from the historic rail yards to Cal Expo: two potential sites for a new and lucrative sports/real estate venture. In that same sweeping view, the mayor could look down on the central city neighborhoods. From Downtown, Midtown, East