Sacramentans should be enjoying a sigh of relief today, and a swell of pride. After months, years, even a decade of back and forth, conflict and aimlessness, there is finally some movement forward on a sports and entertainment complex. Yes, forward. Thursday morning's decision by the Sacramento First Task Force to recommend - if just recommend - the complicated but far-reaching "land swap" proposed by Gerry Kamilos' and David Taylor's organizations, and supported by the NBA and other crucial organizations, means that we are moving forward. Finally. There will be a lot of arguing about this for some time. As an assistant to Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is to be praised for making progress on

Gus Vina, already serving as acting city manager, has been selected to be the interim city manager for the following nine-to-12 months. City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned last month and will leave his post Friday. Kerridge has said he’s taking a private sector position, but has not yet announced where that position will be. Mayor Kevin Johnson and several council members held a press conference Wednesday to announce Vina’s new position. “And I think it’s very clear to all of us that (Kerridge) has very big shoes that we need to fill,” Johnson said. “And we feel that we found the right person to fill his shoes in a very short timeframe.” Johnson and the council members unanimously chose

Efren Guttierrez wants to bring his focus on social justice to City Hall. The 54-year-old real estate broker and community activist is running for a seat on the Sacramento City Council. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June election. Guttierrez is running in District 1, now represented by Ray Tretheway. The district includes North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat. Guttierrez has worked in real estate for 28 years and is co-owner of New West Realtors in Natomas. He noted that his career pays the bills, but activism is his passion. “My love has always been social justice advocacy,” he said. Guttierrez was born in Stockton and has lived in S

For the past six years, $300,000 in city funds has remained untouched. The city currently has that amount in its public financing pot for City Council and mayoral candidates to use in their campaigns, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. But Rick Bettis, an active member of the Sacramento County League of Women Voters, said he thinks that many people don’t know the city’s public financing money exists. “It doesn’t really jump out at you,” Bettis said. Since the public fund was set up in 2003, only one candidate has used the money, according to Mizuno. In 2004, Craig DeLuz, a City Council candidate in District 2, used about $17,000 in public campaign funds, Mizuno said. I

The Sacramento Press wants to know if your neighborhood association or community group is hosting debates for City Council candidates. The Didion/Lewis Park Recreational Center Committee will hold a March 18 forum for District 7 City Council candidates. The event will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the recreational center, 6490 Harmon Drive. The Sacramento Press will cover the forum, and wants to report on other neighborhood-level City Council election events. Contact Staff Reporter Kathleen Haley at kathleen@sacramentopress.com with information about your neighborhood's City Council election event.

The Sacramento City Council has backed away from a proposed rule stating that city employees could be fired for leaking confidential information. Instead, the City Council approved a new policy Tuesday that would apply only to council members. City Attorney Eileen Teichert wrote both proposals. The Feb. 2 version of the rule stated that an “employee disclosing or causing to be disclosed confidential information to any unauthorized person may be subject to appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination.” But the City Council decided Tuesday to restrict the scope of the policy to council members. Council members who leak confidential information can face punishment, accord

Assistant City Manager Gus Vina has been named the acting city manager of the city of Sacramento. Departing City Manager Ray Kerridge is leaving March 12. Mayor Kevin Johnson and the other members of the City Council made the announcement after Tuesday night’s council meeting. The City Council unanimously decided to choose Vina for the assignment. Vina will be the acting city manager for 30 days, Mayor Kevin Johnson said. He assumes the role at noon on Friday. Johnson said Vina “stepped up.” After Vina serves his term as acting city manager, the City Council will appoint an interim city manager. This means there will be two phases before the City Council appoints a permanent replacem

Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Robbie Waters praised City Manager Ray Kerridge, who announced yesterday that he was resigning on March 12, at a joint press conference Thursday. Without naming anyone in particular, Johnson and Waters both blamed other council members for the negative atmosphere at City Hall. The other council members did not attend the press conference. However, Joann Cummins, district director for Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, attended the event. “I think the divisiveness has certainly played a role (in Kerridge’s decision),” Johnson said. He said he was concerned that the work environment could cause “great talent” to leave. Johnson also faulted himself for his

Prospective developers for a new sports and entertainment complex were questioned by Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force Wednesday night. The 12-member task force, which includes real estate, finance and communications executives, asked numerous follow-up questions after listening to presentations by Matt Haines, Doug Tatara and Ali Mackani. Haines, who owns Bistro 33 in Midtown, told the task force about his proposal to build the complex in downtown’s Docks Area. “This would be a direct front-door” to Old Sacramento, he said. Old Sacramento is north of the proposed area. Task force project coordinator Matt Massari wrote earlier that Haines’ Docks Area project would be “adjacent

Campaign contributions to City Council candidates are not a secret. Citizens can access information about contributions online at the city of Sacramento’s Electronic Filing System. The city has published campaign contributions online since 2002, said Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. In a Nov. 5 story, The Sacramento Press provided a guide to the city’s online system. Since then, the city clerk’s office has changed its website. “The navigation is a little bit different,” Mizuno said. To help the public understand the changes, The Sacramento Press is publishing the following updated guide to the online system. The city clerk’s website now has two separate links that connect you to

The Sacramento Press is reviewing campaign contributions for the candidates in June's City Council race. Here is a breakdown of the main contributions to the candidates in Districts 5 and 7 from July to December 2009. Read our guide to campaign contributions for Districts 1 and 3 here.  The June 8 election covers four City Council seats for Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. The July to December figures provide the most recent information on campaign contributions for City Council candidates. The next deadline for candidates to submit statements listing their contributions is March 17, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. Those statements will list contributions from Jan. 1 to March

Mayor Kevin Johnson has abandoned his effort to put his latest “strong mayor” proposal on the June ballot, saying there is not enough support from council members. Johnson said he now plans to start campaigning to place the proposal on the November ballot. He also cited the city’s budget deficit as a reason to delay the initiative to November. “There’s not a lot of appetite from council members to put it on the ballot in June,” Johnson said. “Secondly, we had a budget workshop last week on Thursday and we have some significant challenges that we need to deal with going forward.” He said he will ask the City Council at tonight’s meeting to consider placing the proposal on the November ba

The Sacramento Press is reviewing campaign contributions for the candidates in June's City Council race. Here is a breakdown of the main contributions to the candidates in Districts 1 and 3 from July to December 2009. The July to December figures provide the most recent information on campaign contributions for City Council candidates. Look for the list of key contributors for Districts 5 and 7 on Tuesday in The Sacramento Press. DISTRICT 1 Angelique Ashby, City Council candidate Total monetary contributions for 2009: $26,452 Top five contributors, July to December 2009: Sacramento Police Officers Association: $2,550 Ken Stevenson, auditor: $1,500 Molly Fling, retiree: $1,500 Sha

A consultant for the National Basketball Association pressed the City Council earlier this week to back its proposal for a new arena in Sacramento. The NBA, developer Gerry Kamilos and the Maloofs are working together on the proposal, which is led by Kamilos. John Moag, a consultant for the National Basketball Association, expressed his preference for the NBA/Kamilos plan in a Feb. 9 letter sent to Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Council members. “We expect the City of Sacramento will be the lead agency on the convergence project with a major role being played by the state of California,” Moag wrote. “We urge you to make the review and consideration of the convergence plan a priority of th

A major international bank that has generated controversy on the national level is being welcomed to Sacramento by the city’s mayor. At the same time, Goldman Sachs is being sued by a city councilman. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer arena task force has applauded Goldman for volunteering to work with task force members to analyze proposals for a new entertainment and sports complex. Meanwhile, City Councilman Steve Cohn is suing Goldman as part of his day job. Cohn is the Chief Assistant General Counsel for the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, which is fighting Goldman in federal court in New York. SMUD alleges that Goldman and 46 other financial companies together ch

Utilities Department Director Marty Hanneman said Thursday that a new ballot proposal would hurt the city’s ability to provide utilities services. The Sacramento Taxpayers League has proposed a ballot measure that aims to block a 9.2 percent city utilities rate increase. Hanneman did not comment on the proposal Wednesday, saying through a spokeswoman that he had not yet read it. However, he sent a lengthy e-mailed response to The Sacramento Press Thursday. Read Hanneman’s response to the ballot proposal below: The Department of Utilities has the following response based upon an initial review of the proposed language. The City Attorney's Office and others are conducting additional revie

SACRAMENTO – Declaring “my only special interests are people,” civil rights activist Efren Guttierrez today (Feb. 9) officially announced his candidacy for Sacramento City Council, District 1 – and he didn’t’ waste anytime slamming big special interest money that dominates local campaign races. “I will only have one special interest: The People. I will not accept contributions from large developers and similar special interests because ‘It’s About Time’ the grip of those special interests on the city is broken,” pledged Guttierrez, 54, a local real estate broker and community activist as he stood outside Sacramento City Hall with dozens of supporters. Guttierrez is the executive direct

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has not been deterred by two court rulings that prevent his strong mayor initiative from being placed on the June ballot. His latest strategy is to ask the City Council to place a new strong mayor proposal on the ballot. But Johnson’s new plan, which he announced on his blog Monday afternoon, cannot include the existing strong mayor initiative. That's because Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster struck down the initiative last month, saying it broke state law. Johnson's blog entry does not explain the components of his new proposal. He described his new plan as a "collaborative executive mayor reform package." Joaquin McPeek, Johnson's spokesman,

Councilman Ray Tretheway’s key goals for 2010 are in response to problems caused by the poor economy. He said he plans to concentrate on public safety, jobs and foreclosure. Tretheway’s priorities are listed here as part of a series of stories on council members’ top three goals for 2010. Links to the stories are at the end of this article. The Sacramento Press made repeated requests to interview Councilman Rob Fong, but he was unavailable. Tretheway represents District 1, which includes North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat. He is running for re-election in June against Efren Guttierrez, a real estate broker, and Angelique Ashby, a partner in a consulting firm that contracts with gov

The Sacramento City Council is eyeing a proposed rule stating that city employees could be fired for leaking confidential information. What are city officials considering 'confidential' information? And what do the definitions mean? City Attorney Eileen Teichert has drafted language for the proposed rule. The City Council postponed a decision on the proposed rule Tuesday but is expected to take up the issue again at an upcoming meeting. Leaked information from City Hall has become big news lately. In October, the Sacramento Bee used a leaked memo to report that the Community Development Department's approval of 35 building permits in Natomas may have broken federal rules. The offices of