The Sacramento River Cats organization is hiring for about 200 stadium jobs starting next week, and unlike previous years, this year’s jobs are being filled online – not at a job fair. “There’s a wide variety of positions we’re hiring for,” said River Cats spokesman Nick Lozito. “They’re all positions that involve interaction with our fans, so we’re looking for people who are friendly and people who can help maintain what we’ve created here.” Positions include grounds crew, ticket sales, in-game promotions crew, kid’s corner attendants and parking attendants. Applicants don’t need to be experts on baseball, but they must be at least 18 years old, Lozito said. Before hiring, applicants w

On any given night in Sacramento 2,400 people are homeless in our County. According to the 2011 Sacramento Homeless Count, 955 of our neighbors are sleeping on the streets. As winter rapidly approaches, Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) is seeking creative solutions to house those families and individuals who are forced to sleep outside due to overburdened resources. This harsh reality poses a dual risk to both the safety and health of those sleeping outside. Notably, Sacramento has been successful in reducing chronic homelessness by 50% in the last 3 years. However, family homelessness is on the rise; this year’s Homeless Count data shows an 11% increase. Loaves and Fishes, which serves mea

Sacramento, CA | Tim Mason, CEO of California based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, with Mayor Kevin Johnson, Councilman Jay Schenirer and other community memberrs broke ground Wednesday morning in a well attended ceremony in Oak Park.  The market will be built on the north west corner of Broadway and 34th Street. Mayor Kevin Johnson stated that when he came back from college he said "what can we do with this piece of property? As a year or two went by, you realize that properites this size get into the wrong hands."  Johnson bought the land in 2002 and just held it "till the right person came in or the right company said 'we want to do something that will be an assest to the community.

The city of Sacramento sent out pink slips to about 90 employees Wednesday because city management and two unions have not yet found common ground in their contract negotiations. However, Interim Assistant City Manager Patti Bisharat said city officials have not given up on efforts to resolve their differences with the unions. In June, the city closed a $43 million budget gap for the 2011 fiscal year. The two unions that have not made concessions are Stationary Engineers Local 39 and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447. Local 39 represents employees in numerous city departments, including Utilities, Transportation and Community Development. Bisharat said Tuesday that the city was still

"Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs," said Kunal Merchant, Mayor Kevin Johnson's chief of staff. "One issue everyone is focused on is jobs." Merchant, speaking to the group of 20 at the new Valley Hi - North Laguna Library Wednesday night, gave an update on the mayor's top four priorities, which included central city revitalization, specifically on K Street; the city's new green initiative; a new sports arena and charter reform of City Hall. Each priority comes with the intention of creating jobs and creating a stronger city, Merchant said. He spoke of the need to make the downtown mall stronger to attract and retain business and help local businesses on K Street thrive. He also explained the holdup

Jay Schenirer’s City Council campaign has brought him face-to-face with Sacramento’s unemployed population. Joblessness in District 5, which includes Oak Park and Colonial Heights, is “horrific,” Schenirer said. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Schenirer (sha-NEER-ur), 53, is competing against four other candidates for Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s seat. Hammond is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones' seat against Kevin McCarty, her colleague on the City Council. Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento County Supervisor, is also running for the seat. Schenirer is an education policy consultant who has lived in Sacramento since 1981. H

It is not hard to find someone struggling during these tough economic times. Take, for instance, Devon Lee. He and his wife have two children, but both are unemployed. “We need food, clothing, resources,” said Lee. “Money is a big issue.” But some relief came to Lee in a big way. He was one of more than 3,000 families to receive food assistance from a distribution organized by Feed The Children, the international hunger relief organization. Feed The Children distributed eight semi tractor-trailers full of food items at Cal Expo on February 24. Salvation Army-Sacramento was a partner agency of Feed The Children and pre-identified the recipient families. The boxes are designed to help a f

The Pursuit of Happyness, a movie based on true events,  tells the story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco man left to fend for himself and care for his pre-school son when his wife leaves them both and moves to New York.  They get evicted from their apartment, sleep in homeless shelters on good nights, and a BART station restroom on the nights that aren't so good.   It's a story of perserverance,  the strength of human spirit, faith in oneself and conquering insurmountable odds. In the end, Gardner achieves success beyond his wildest dreams.   It's the kind of movie where the entire theater claps as the credits roll, an honest-to-goodness feel-good flick. There's just one thing missing: a

As I drove aimlessly through the streets of Midtown, my final check gripped tightly in my fist, I slowly digested it:  I was once again unemployed. I tried to think rationally, but I kept coming back to that come Monday, I'd get up, and have no where to go---AGAIN.  I guess I'm more a creature of habit than I'd imagined.  As much as I thought I hated it, I now believe I liked the crazy schedules, the structure that my days of gainful employment held.  In hindsight, there was something comforting about knowing where I needed to be at 8:30 on a Thursday morning.  It was at this point I decided I had a few options set before me:  throw up                            drive to the Wells Fargo

When one has the sad misfortune of being victim to 2 lay-offs in 6 months, friends, family and nosy neighbors can rightfully assume the financial consequences to be devastating.  I hadn't even begun to 'catch up' with the hit to my savings, the car maintenance I'd put off, the all-important professional root touch-ups at my favorite salon, when layoff #2  knocked the wind out of me for the second time that year. A point that escapes many though, when analyzing such a situation is the irrevocable damage to the psyche, to one's self-esteem and feelings of self-worth, or lack there-of.  I was dazed, shaken to the core; if there'd been photographic evidence of this period of my life, (and tha

Grrrrr.....just.....one.....more......inch....and....I've......got it!  I thought the days of lying down to zip my jeans were over years ago.  Ugh.  An unexpected by-product of 13 months of unemployment has made it's presence known, unfortunately, in a really BIG way.  At 11.6%. there are countless stories of unemployment in the big city;  the pounding of the pavement;  the plethora of interviews; hours of staring deeply into the 'eyes' of an lcd screen, peering at one job search engine after another.  I'm here to touch on those, but to clue you in on a lesser known side-effect of the unemployment scene.  Sacramento is a terrific place to live.  Great weather, a booming arts scene, hip