A lawsuit against the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op has been dismissed at the request of those who filed it, members of the co-op who earlier this year sought to ban the sale of Israeli-made products at the grocery store. “We, the petitioners, chose to dismiss this case,” said Sharon Adams, Berkeley-based attorney for Maggie Coulter and Robin Kristufek. The lawsuit, filed June 30, alleged that the co-op’s board was violating its bylaws by not allowing a ballot initiative to ban Israeli-made products to go to a vote by the full membership. The Sacramento County Superior Court denied a request to expedite the case on July 28, which could have brought a resolution in advance of ballots go

The agency that manages retirement benefits for Sacramento County employees provided in-depth information about retirees’ finances to The Sacramento Bee earlier this week after a lengthy court battle. The Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System released information about retirees on June 13, Richard Stensrud, the chief executive officer of SCERS said Wednesday. Joyce Terhaar, executive editor of the Bee, confirmed in an interview Thursday that the newspaper received retiree information from SCERS after suing for it in 2010.“In general, it should have been available from the beginning,” Terhaar said, referring to the data SCERS submitted. The Bee, which joined with the First Amend

A Sacramento County Superior Court jury decided Friday that Michael Bruce Weisz of Sacramento is not guilty of second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in the death of local security guard Leroy “Pops” Fisher. Instead, the jury decided that Weisz was guilty of felony hit-and-run in the 2009 death. Weisz is expected to appear in court April 15 for sentencing. Judge Maryanne Gilliard ordered that Weisz be kept in jail until the sentencing, citing Weisz’ separate driving-under-the-influence charges. Weisz was arrested on driving-under-the-influence charges Dec. 8, 2010 when he was out on bail for the Fisher case, according to court records. A decision has not been made at this point

The jury assigned to the case of local security guard Leroy “Pops” Fisher’s death is now deliberating, following a day of passionate arguments by both the prosecution and defense attorneys. At stake is the future of Michael Bruce Weisz of Sacramento, who faces charges of second-degree murder and felony hit-and-run with death or injury in the case of Fisher’s 2009 death. The prosecution and defense attorneys made final arguments in Weisz’ trial on Tuesday in Sacramento County Superior Court. Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Sheri Greco contended that Weisz is guilty of both second-degree murder and felony hit-and-run with death. Donald Masuda, the attorney representing Weisz, a

A friend of late Sacramento security guard Leroy “Pops” Fisher is urging the city’s gay community to attend the trial of the man charged with killing Fisher in 2009. The trial involving Fisher’s death started last week in Sacramento County Superior Court. Michael Bruce Weisz of Sacramento faces charges of second-degree murder and felony hit-and-run with death or injury in the case of Fisher’s death.  Steve Thompson, who was a friend of Fisher’s, has already used Facebook and e-mail messages to ask more than 150 people to appear in court to honor Fisher. “I want to bring as many people as can be allowed,” Thompson said. He said he is reaching out to the gay community about the trial bec

Q. I lent my boyfriend my car when things were going good, then I caught him cheating so I cut him off. I would bust the windows out the car if it wasn’t mine! But he’s telling everyone I gave it to him and he’s going to fix it up, sell it, and make a lot of money. A friend of mine told me to go to the DMV and they could fix it so he couldn’t sell the car out from under me. So I went to the DMV, filled out a form, and thought I was good to go but then the fine print on the bottom of the form says “I understand that I must file a complaint or petition with the Superior Court requesting a preliminary injunction with a temporary restraining order to be served upon the Director of the Departme

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong mayor campaign has released a draft of Johnson's proposal and plans to pitch it to the City Council in July. The release of the new report marks a change in tactics for Johnson’s campaign because third-party attorneys — not the city attorney — wrote the draft. For weeks, Johnson’s strong mayor campaign has said that City Attorney Eileen Teichert should write the formal language for the proposal. But the City Council prevented Teichert from writing the draft in a 7-2 vote last month. The first strong mayor initiative was written by Thomas Hiltachk, a third-party attorney. That initiative was struck down by a Sacramento County Superior Court judge in January.

Critics of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson are raising concerns over a consulting firm’s ability to conduct an objective audit of the Community Development Department. But City Auditor Jorge Oseguera said Tuesday that Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting Inc. does not have a conflict of interest. Oseguera will ask the City Council on Thursday to hire Sjoberg to conduct the audit. Some of Johnson’s critics pointed out in comments on The Sacramento Press that Sjoberg has worked with the law group Bell, McAndrews and Hiltachk. That group's managing partner, Thomas Hiltachk, wrote the strong mayor initiative. Johnson would have obtained more authority from the initiative, which was str

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,

A prominent supporter of the strong mayor initiative has appealed a Sacramento County Superior Court judge’s decision to ban the initiative from the June ballot. Thomas Hiltachk, the attorney who wrote the initiative, appealed Judge Loren McMaster’s ruling on Monday to the Third District Court of Appeal. In the strong mayor government outlined in the initiative, the mayor would assume the city manager’s powers and create the city budget. Mayor Kevin Johnson has led efforts to put the measure on the ballot. "We expect that the Appellate Court will side with the people," Hiltachk said in a press release Monday afternoon. In December, Bill Camp challenged the initiative in Sacramento Coun

Developments affecting Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong mayor initiative have been highly controversial and complex. Several entities have weighed in on the initiative, including the Sacramento City Council, the Sacramento County Superior Court and the Sacramento Charter Review Committee. Government officials, attorneys and citizens have interpreted the initiative in a variety of ways. Here’s a road map to make sense of some of the key events in the strong mayor debate: Johnson’s Day One Plan: Before taking office, Johnson promotes a strong mayor form of government in his “Day One” plan. An executive mayor system would mean that one leader would be accountable, Johnson says. “Explore a cha

A lawyer defending the “strong mayor” initiative made arguments Friday in an effort to convince a judge to throw out a draft ruling against the initiative. Judge Loren McMaster heard arguments from lawyers representing the plaintiff and defendants at Sacramento County Superior Court but did not issue a final ruling Friday. McMaster did not announce when he would release his final decision. He issued a tentative ruling Thursday that said the initiative should not be placed on the June ballot. Bill Camp is the plaintiff who is challenging the initiative through a lawsuit. Camp, the executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, filed the lawsuit as an individual.  The defend