The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is asking the public's help in finding a teenage girl who has been missing since Thursday morning. The family of 15-year-old Daria Clarke – the Rio Americano High School freshman known as "Dasha" who was last seen near the school about 10 a.m. Thursday – thinks she may have been lured away by someone she met online, her mother, Margie Clarke, said. On Sunday, friends and family members gathered at the Clarke home in a show of support. On Thursday, Daria Clarke went to algebra class and was also seen on campus about 10 a.m. But when her mother arrived back at school to pick her up at 12:30 p.m., she was nowhere to be found, her mother said. The

New film releases – the good-bad and the ugly January can be an odd time at the movies, with some of the most varied releases showing up. On the one hand you have the serious award contenders slowly rolling out across the country, having had Christmas releases in Los Angeles and New York City in order to qualify for various competition deadlines. While on the other hand you tend to see the flotsam and jetsam of projects with low expectations and those that haven’t lived up to studio hopes for release at busier times of the year. Looking at two of this week’s new releases shows us more about the latter categories than the former. Broken City Directed by Allen Hughes On paper, a film abo

The Sacramento Sheriff's K9 Association held a fundraiser and demonstration Sunday at Pet Food Express on Fair Oaks Blvd. Along with meeting the K9's, getting to rub a K9 belly and meet their handlers, goers had the opportunity to purchase the new 2012 SSDK9 calendar loaded with dynamic images of the dogs and their handlers by XSiGHT Photography and Video. Ike, one of twelve active K9’s in the unit, has seen his fair share of rough and tumble, part of the job as a K9. Deputy Pomerson, Ike’s partner and handler, related how Ike went over a fence after a bad guy and punctured a lung. With the punctured lung, Ike still latched on to the bad guy until deputies apprehended the perp. Ike’s ch

Additional efforts will be made by the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Sheriff's Department to prevent youth involvement in gangs by promoting interactions between police officers and the youth. The mayor is calling this approach a paradigm shift, and it will be part of Sacramento's first comprehensive plan for gang prevention, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Club on Lemon Hill Avenue. The emphasis of the program will be heavy on prevention and intervention instead of just enforcement and incarceration, according to the mayor. Johnson said the program will focus on school literacy enrichment, strengthening the relationship between the Sacramento com

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said Monday that he will ask faith and business groups to advise him on public safety issues. At a briefing with reporters at the Sheriff’s Department building downtown, Jones said he will create two new advisory boards with representatives from religious, community and business groups within the next three months. Jones had pitched his plan to establish the two new advisory groups during his political campaign for sheriff last fall. These groups will help the department connect with youth and improve the county’s business climate, he said. Jones has not yet named anyone to the new advisory groups, according to the Sheriff’s Department press office.

District 7 City Council As election results continue to trickle in, District 7 City Council candidate Ryan Chin is feeling less confident about his prospects for a win. “It’s obviously not going in my direction,” Chin said. In the District 7 race, Fong was leading with 52 percent of the vote Thursday night. Chin followed with 47 percent. In the Nov. 3 results release, Fong had 51 percent to Chin’s 48 percent. Chin said he might “reach out” to opponent Darrell Fong. But it was unclear Friday if or when Chin will concede the race. “We’re happy that our numbers held and that our numbers went up,” Fong said Friday. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Race Both Sheriff Capt. Scott Jones and Capt

The two candidates for Sacramento County sheriff are reading the results of a close race in opposite ways. Sheriff Capt. Scott Jones said he is so confident with the results that he’s planning to discuss his vision soon with outgoing Sheriff John McGinness. But Jones’ opponent, Sheriff Capt. Jim Cooper, said the county has so many more ballots to count that the outcome is unknown. By the latest count, Jones leads with 50.8 percent of the vote, and Cooper follows with 48.8 percent. Sacramento County’s elections department has a total of 120,000 ballots left to count, according to the department’s website. Of the remaining ballots, 108,000 are vote-by-mail and 12,000 are provisional. Jone

Two Sacramento County sheriff’s captains are in their final weekend of campaigning for sheriff. Voters will decide on Tuesday whether Sheriff Capt. Scott Jones or Sheriff Capt. Jim Cooper should replace outgoing Sheriff John McGinness. Jones sat down with The Sacramento Press on Friday morning in Carmichael to discuss his ideas and qualifications. Read The Sacramento Press’ interview with Cooper here. SP: In your view, what are a few of the most pressing public safety issues in the county? SJ: We have a lot of pressing problems. Of course, everything is overarched by the budget. It’s not just a question of what I would like to do, it’s a question of what we can do within our budgetary

At least 725 county employees will be laid off as a result of the county budget approved by the Board of Supervisors Thursday in a 3-2 vote.  The board has now balanced its the county's budget, which had a $181 million gap. The total budget for the 2010/2011 fiscal year is $3.5 billion. Of that amount, $1.9 billion makes up the county’s general fund. Supervisors held lengthy meetings on the budget over the course of four days this week. Supervisors Roberta MacGlashan and Roger Dickinson voted against the budget’s general fund allocations, offering different reasons for why they disagreed with the budget. Supervisors Don Nottoli, Susan Peters and Jimmie Yee voted in support of passing th

While the June 8 election will arrive in just six weeks, there's no need to fret if you're not yet familiar with all the local candidates. Two organizations are offering a full day of candidate forums so residents can learn about the candidates and issues. The forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County and the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission, will be held Saturday, May 1. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will end after 5 p.m. “It’s an educational opportunity that we like to provide to the voting public,” said Cheryll Moore, voter services director for the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County. The League and Metro Cable have invited all cand