Sacramento light rail riders will soon have real-time information on train schedules and delays as a new electronic sign program is implemented. In an effort to improve its communication with riders, Sacramento Regional Transit is installing 36 signs at 22 stations in the first phase of a project that will eventually see signs at all stations, said Alane Masui, Sacramento Regional Transit spokeswoman. “They need the information so they can make the decision that best fits their needs,” she said. Signs will inform riders about train delays and scheduling issues, Masui said, adding that the information is currently posted to the website,  but transit officials wanted to make the informati

Sacramento has probably never seen a foreclosure auction like the one that may take place here Friday. The 203-acre Railyards property is scheduled to be sold for cash on the spot to the highest bidder on the Sacramento County courthouse steps at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Poised for the auction block: Most of the historic former Southern Pacific railyards, where railroad shops more than a century old mark one end of the first transcontinental railroad. Adjacent to downtown, the site's been approved for a $6 billion mixed-use project reported to be the country's largest infill development. Current plans call for a regional transportation center to be built there, along with housing, office, reta

The Sacramento Press is getting bigger digs. The home of the unique daily news website will more than double in size with its expansion in the historic Railway Express Agency Building, next to the downtown train station. Construction work began a week ago to link the existing 2,300-square-foot space to two adjoining groundfloor suites. Set in an industrial-vibe loft, the newsroom and supporting departments will fill roughly 5,500 square feet when finished. On Thursday, staff began moving desks and equipment to make way for the renovation. The Sacramento Press is an evolving experiment with community journalism. The online paper uses a small professional editorial staff, interns and a la

Helping to save $20 million in local federal stimulus money, the state of California on Thursday ponied up $31 million in Prop. 1B funding for projects connected to Sacramento's future regional transportation center. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments and the city of Sacramento told the California Transportation Commission this week that the city would lose the federal stimulus funds unless the agency paid out the Prop. 1B money as promised, said Erik Johnson, SACOG spokesman. The bulk of the $31 million will be used for a $60 million railroad track relocation, the first phase of the train station and public transit center being built in the 244-acre historic railyards adjacent t

Anthony and Tracy Palombo say the place they're opening in two weeks will be more than just a restaurant. Husband and wife want 5th and H Café to be a place for friends and family to gather around good food and a glass of wine — a space like his uncle's café in Italy, where Anthony first started out in the restaurant business one summer when he was 24. His uncle's trattoria sits in Montepertuso, a small town hidden in the cliffs above Positano on the Amalfi Coast. The name of his uncle's restaurant: Il Ritrovo. "That means in Italian, 'Where Friends Meet,' " Anthony Palombo said. "It's the most beautiful place on earth." Palombo worked at the restaurant for a year and a half. He did ev

 Caleb Cabrera, 21, uses his preferred mode of transport at the Sacramento train station Tuesday. Cabrera took the train from San Francisco to visit a friend for a couple days. "Always a major contrast from SF downtown to Sacramento downtown," said the San Francisco State film student, who just finished school for the year.