Ali Mackani has made a career out of developing potential. As a computer science engineer at Intel, people came to him with ideas and asked how to make them work. Mackani usually found a way. In 2002, the Folsom resident and partners brought Sacramento a bit of high-tech fame by creating the first large-scale outdoor wireless fidelity or "wi-fi" network. He created a buzz on Capitol Mall, where he opened his first restaurant, 55 Degrees. He then opened a bar, Lounge on 20, that anchors one of the trendiest corners in Midtown, 20th and K streets. Now a team led by this ambitious 40-year-old entrepreneur is a top contender to develop a new arena in Sacramento. That possibility has left s

Sacramento’s city auditor is exploring the idea of creating a whistle-blower hotline for City Hall. City Auditor Jorge Oseguera told the city’s audit committee on Tuesday that he was talking to City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office about the idea. The audit committee is composed of City Council members Lauren Hammond, Robbie Waters, Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn. Whistle-blower hotlines are “a common topic right now in the auditing community,” Oseguera said on Wednesday. The plan is in its early stages, Oseguera said, and no details have been established yet on how the hotline would work or when it would start operating. In a Tuesday e-mail, Teichert said she could say only that the pl

Led by California State University, Sacramento, junior Erin Kirby, who racked up a match-high 16 kills and a career-high .500 hitting percentage, the Hornets easily swept the San Jose State Spartans (25-20, 25-15, 25-17) in non-conference play Tuesday evening at Colberg Court. The win makes three straight for the Hornets, and they improve to an overall 5-3 record. The Spartans are off to a slow start this season, dropping to 1-6. Faced with consistent serving, passing and defense from a determined Sac State team, the Spartans started with a promising first set but were unable to hit their stride. The Hornets posted 10 service aces and a season-high hitting percentage (.378), and San Jose

Mayor Kevin Johnson and three City Council members said Tuesday they were not aware that Sacramento’s new deputy city auditor had been fired from his previous auditor job. Gerald Silva, a deputy city auditor in Sacramento, resigned from his position Monday after The Sacramento Press asked him to comment on a case that ended his career in San Jose. Silva worked as the city auditor for San Jose for 22 years. The San Jose City Council unanimously fired him in 2007 in the wake of a sexual harassment lawsuit. Asked about the past allegations Monday, Silva said he didn’t want to be a source of embarrassment to Jorge Oseguera, the city auditor. Oseguera hired Silva in March; the two had work

The city of Sacramento’s new deputy city auditor, Gerald Silva, resigned from his position Monday afternoon after The Sacramento Press asked him to comment on a lawsuit that affected his previous work in the city of San Jose. Silva was fired from his previous job as city auditor of San Jose in 2007 in the aftermath of a sexual harassment case. Silva worked with Sacramento City Auditor Jorge Oseguera in San Jose. Oseguera hired Silva as a deputy city auditor for Sacramento in March. The San Jose Mercury News wrote multiple stories in 2007 about a sexual harassment lawsuit that had been filed by Jennifer Callaway, an auditor in Silva’s department. The June 2007 sexual harassment lawsuit w

The city auditor’s office — vacant for nearly a year — has been brought back to life. Mayor Kevin Johnson and three council members announced at a Tuesday morning press conference that Jorge Oseguera is the city's new internal auditor. Most recently, Oseguera was a senior program performance auditor for the city of San Jose. He began work at the city of Sacramento Monday. “I think the audit function is an essential element of the public’s accountability, and I look forward to meeting my objectives in meeting the public’s accountability,” Oseguera said. He also said he would participate in preparations for an upcoming audit of the Community Development Department. The investigation will

 Saturday night, the San Jose Sharks beat the LA Kings at the HP Pavilion. The sharks now have two wins and 0 losses.