A Perspective: 2011 City Management Academy's Class #2: Mayor Johnson Presents with his Initiatives’ Pep Rally Squad The second session of the 2011 City Management Academy (CMA) 12-week classroom for neighborhood association and other community & business leaders began with a 4-minute, professionally-produced video presentation complete w/ pulsing background music and splashy visual edits which highlighted some of Mayor Johnson’s accomplishments while in office. As the video ended, Wednesday evening’s first speaker, the mayor (waiting in the wings -- poised in the doorway shadows of a 5th floor New City Hall conference room, standing very still & quiet, head bowed, anticipating the roo

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson asked city staff Tuesday night to present new ideas on a sports and entertainment complex in mid-January. Johnson also said he would reconvene his Sacramento First task force, which has analyzed several arena plans in recent months. At their weekly meeting, council members briefly discussed pitfalls with efforts to build a new sports and entertainment center. A complex plan for a new downtown arena spearheaded by developers Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor recently failed. The plan called on Cal Expo to be a major partner, but Cal Expo decided not to join the effort.  Marni Leger, speaking on behalf of the Natomas Chamber of Commerce, urged the council to co

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force on Thursday continued its second session of challenging proposals presented by prospective developers of a new arena in Sacramento. The 12-member task force heard presentations from Thomas Enterprises, the Kamilos Group, Natomas ESC Partners and Tripp Development. The prospective developers explained their financing plans, among other issues. Task force member Mike Kvarme asked how much of Thomas Enterprises’ project financing would rely on obtaining federal funding. “It’s a large part of it,” said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Totah also commented on the site’s location at the railyards in Downtown. Thomas Enterprises is

The Natomas Chamber of Commerce today criticized the NBA and Maloofs for backing an arena plan weeks before the Sacramento First task force is scheduled to make its recommendations to Mayor Kevin Johnson and the public. In a statment released today, chamber officials announced plans to launch a "Keep The Arena In Natomas" campaign during a press conference set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Five Star Way and Del Paso Road. The chamber is a partner in the Natomas ESC group which presented a proposal at City Hall yesterday for an arena and entertainment complex on 100 city-owned acres located north of Arco Arena.   "Natomas needs representation in the discussion about where a new sports complex

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s “Sacramento First” task force announced Tuesday it received seven new proposals from the private sector for a new sports and entertainment center. Prospective developers were required to turn in their proposals to the 12-member task force by Dec. 24. Johnson announced Nov. 10 that the task force would consider proposals. Members of the task force are not paid. The proposed locations for the sports complex from the private sector include the Railyards, Westfield Downtown Plaza, the Docks area, Cal Expo and the site of Arco Arena in Natomas. Descriptions of the proposals are posted at the end of this article. The seven private sector proposals will be analyzed along

Do not build a big shed. That was the advice sports facility designer Dan Meis gave to a task force that is exploring ideas for an arena and entertainment center in Sacramento. Meis, who designed Los Angeles’ Staples Center, is on Mayor Kevin Johnson’s 12-member voluntary “Sacramento First” task force, which includes real estate, finance and communications executives. Meis does not hold the design of Sacramento’s Arco Arena in high regard, calling it a “shed in the parking lot.” The task force listened to Meis and other presentations Thursday morning at the South Natomas Community Center. About 20 people attended the meeting, which focused on thriving sports and entertainment in other

 About 80 people turned out for a town hall meeting Thursday night to weigh in on plans for a new entertainment and sports complex. Business leaders and residents presented their ideas to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s "Sacramento First" arena task force at the Sacramento Public Library downtown. The task force is assigned to analyze developers’ ideas for the complex. The 12-member group includes real estate, finance and communications executives. Task force members are not paid. Johnson told the audience a new complex needs to generate jobs. “We’ve got to create jobs; we’ve got a down economy,” he said. Chris Lehane, the task force’s co-chairman, echoed that point. “This is about economic devel