"There is a black street. The road is black. The houses are black, and there are no lights on of any kind. A black car comes down the road with no lights on. A black dog runs in front of the car. The car swerves and misses the dog. How did the driver see the dog?" (The answer to this riddle will follow later.) I live in Sacramento, a city where politics and greed often overshadow life and freedom for our youth. When I receive literature pertaining to a council seat for the district I reside in, I prefer transparency and truth. The literature I received supporting District 8 candidate Betty Williams is alarming. To use our pain and suffering from youth death and youth arrest as a propaga

I’m not a journalist. I have no desires to be a journalist. And I do have great respect for many journalists. Heck, to be an effective journalist is easier said than done and I won’t pretend I have journalism skills. I do not want to write the news of the day. I want to write how the news, the actions of those within the news, affects our lives. I'll leave journalism to the professional and citizen journalist. I’m proud to say, I am an activist. I have labored long and hard without pay for what I believe in; truth and transparency are among those beliefs. I labor to do my part and try and make life better for many of us in Sacramento who are often overlooked, overshadowed or just plain i

Mayor Kevin Johnson has abandoned his effort to put his latest “strong mayor” proposal on the June ballot, saying there is not enough support from council members. Johnson said he now plans to start campaigning to place the proposal on the November ballot. He also cited the city’s budget deficit as a reason to delay the initiative to November. “There’s not a lot of appetite from council members to put it on the ballot in June,” Johnson said. “Secondly, we had a budget workshop last week on Thursday and we have some significant challenges that we need to deal with going forward.” He said he will ask the City Council at tonight’s meeting to consider placing the proposal on the November ba

December 8, 2009 Interview with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Tonight, I watched the below Youtube clip and felt as though I was watching a Paid Public Service Announcement. Actually, I felt I was watching a Paid Strong Mayor Campaign Advertisement.  Who pays Graswich salary? Hopefully it comes out of the mayor's pocket since it seems Graswich isn't working to get the exclusive for the people of the city of Sacramento. I had high hopes for Graswich after reading the August 20, 2009 Sacramento Press article where he stated, "I'm getting paid by the people. I'm working for the people." http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/12383/RE_Graswich_on_why_he_left_journalism_for_City_Hall Below

A Look Back: Year One: Mayor Johnson's First 12 Months of Propaganda The first of several parts in response to Mayor Johnson's recent evaluation of his first year in office. Part One — Effective Government and Accountability — or Propaganda? Propaganda as described by Wikipedia: Propaganda is a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional ra

As Mayor Kevin Johnson prepared for a Thursday night meeting to discuss new arena options, his chief of staff talked with Sacramento State students about the issues currently facing Sacramento -- namely, the arena, public safety and who’s in charge. Kunal Merchant joined the Mayor’s office in Dec. 2008 and has had a lot to manage in his year of service. Despite the furloughs and layoffs surrounding him, however, he is hopeful about Sacramento’s future. “We feel really optimistic about sacramento's prospects,” he said. “This is a moment in time where we have a chance to get things really right that can have positive consequences for decades.” Getting things right, he said, includes improv