Natomas Unified School District officials probably know better than any other in California the importance of Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax extensions. Voter approval in June has the power to pull this small Sacramento-area district of 10,000+ students back from the brink of bankruptcy. If the proposition fails, state funding to K-12 education could be cut 6 percent – or more – and two local legislators are poised to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would empower the state to take over the cash-strapped school district in Natomas. While school districts statewide will be equally impacted if Gov. Brown's propositions fail to pass, Natomas Unified will financially be out of

If there's one thing Sacramento needs more than anything right now, it's optimism. OK, perhaps there's one thing we need even more than optimism: Realism. The two are often seen as contradictory, but there is at least one place where they converge: in City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby's mind. Ashby, 35, who just started her new gig as a member of the Sacramento City Council, took city hall reporter Kathleen Haley and me on a 90-minute tour of her sprawling District 1 on Monday. It was an eye-opener. Kathleen's report on Ashby's guided tour is informative regarding the issues the councilwoman addressed, but I wanted to add just a little color and optimism of my own. We drove around Na

New Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby hosted a driving tour of North and South Natomas and the Gardenland/Northgate neighborhood for The Sacramento Press on Monday. Throughout the tour, Ashby commented on a range of issues affecting Natomas, including plans for a new basketball arena and her views on the city’s low-income housing ordinance. Ashby’s district includes the downtown Railyards and Natomas — two spots discussed in recent months as potential homes for a new arena. As she drove by Arco Arena, she said she wants to ensure that site in Natomas is factored into any development plans for a new sports and entertainment complex. “But if the consensus is that if an arena bes

Supporters of outgoing Sacramento Councilman Ray Tretheway gathered in North Natomas on Monday night to celebrate Tretheway’s nine consecutive years on the City Council. Tretheway, who was first elected in 2001, lost the District 1 re-election race in June to his opponent Angelique Ashby. He will leave his City Council seat in late November, but will keep his position as executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation. More than 100 people turned out for Monday night’s event held at the North Natomas Library. District 1 includes North and South Natomas and downtown’s Alkali Flat. “We are knitted as a community,” Tretheway told his supporters and constituents Monday night. “There’s

The waiting game for the District 1 City Council race continues. The Sacramento County elections office released new vote tallies Friday afternoon, and has counted about 35,000 of the roughly 86,000 that remained after Election Day. However, the new ballots still don’t definitively show whether Natomas activist Angelique Ashby has won the District 1 seat, or if she will compete in a runoff in November with incumbent City Councilman Ray Tretheway. The county elections staff still needs to count more than 51,000 ballots. Voters cast ballots for many state and local candidates Tuesday, so it’s unknown how many of the 51,000 ballots include votes for the City Council races. With 5,405 votes

The hotly debated District 1 Sacramento City Council race could wind up in a runoff, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said Wednesday morning. With all precincts counted, Natomas neighborhood activist Angelique Ashby had just under 51 percent of the vote. Incumbent City Councilman Ray Tretheway followed with 41.5 percent of the votes cast. Mizuno said she would be hesitant to say that Ashby holds a clear majority. The city will need “to wait and see what the final results are,” according to Mizuno. Ashby had 4,310 votes, while Tretheway’s count was 3,513. One of many controversies in the District 1 race involved a youtube video that showed Corin Choppin of Tretheway’s campaign remo

Special interest groups for and against Sacramento City Council candidate Angelique Ashby have spent large sums on mailers blasting or lauding her campaign. While business interests poured about $36,000 into campaign mailers backing Ashby, a major local union paid $23,577 on mailers attacking her.  The Sacramento Building Trades Council Political Action Committee spent $23,577 on anti-Ashby mailers, according to statements filed with the California Secretary of State’s Office and the Sacramento city clerk’s office.    Mailers from the committee depicted Mayor Kevin Johnson as a king with a crown and Ashby as a puppet. In response to questions about the attack mailers, Matt Kelly, an of

Years ago, driving home from ARCO Arena used to be like driving through a vast rural land of fields, sometimes through thick fog and orange overhead lights. Now this land is the thriving community commonly known as North Natomas filled with homes, businesses, restaurants, a high school, and a brand new library. That’s all located north of Interstate-80. South of Interstate-80 is the established communities of South Natomas, Gardenland, and Northgate. Calls to serve both areas equally were made at the District 1 City Council Candidates Forum, moderated by Brandy Boyd, publisher of the Natomas Buzz. “Come on down Northgate Boulevard” said Candidate Efren Guttierrez in response to how to s

Regional Transit wrapped up their talks about service cuts earlier this week, though there was still plenty of room for finger pointing and analysis at the District 1 Candidates Debate. "Natomas is losing all routes on the weekends as my understanding," said candidate Angelique Ashby. "That means people have jobs elsewhere on the weekends and they are going to ride the bus, they can't do that anymore." Ashby said she didn't understand why current District 1 Councilmember Ray Tretheway, who is on Regional Transit's Board of Directors, did not fight to keep a route in Natomas. "I don't understand how he can let them all go," said Ashby. "We certainily pay into that tax system that provide

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