Prospective developers for a new sports and entertainment complex were questioned by Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force Wednesday night. The 12-member task force, which includes real estate, finance and communications executives, asked numerous follow-up questions after listening to presentations by Matt Haines, Doug Tatara and Ali Mackani. Haines, who owns Bistro 33 in Midtown, told the task force about his proposal to build the complex in downtown’s Docks Area. “This would be a direct front-door” to Old Sacramento, he said. Old Sacramento is north of the proposed area. Task force project coordinator Matt Massari wrote earlier that Haines’ Docks Area project would be “adjacent

Sacramento retailers are still feeling the bitter sting of the recession this holiday season. Local merchants selling everything from kids' snowshoes to William Shatner's first album are mostly reporting decreased sales — although some say 2009 holiday sales haven't been as dire as predicted. "I think the holiday season will be a disappointment to most merchants," said Ed Castro, who owns Ed's Threads at 1125 21st St. "I'm not shooting for the moon, so I'm not going to be disappointed." With the country's economy in its third year of recession, retailers operating downtown and throughout the central city are struggling the same as retailers elsewhere. Industry-wide, holiday retail sale

A worker uses a plumb line to make sure Westfield Downtown Plaza's  Christmas tree stands straight. It was delivered by crane early this morning.  The tall tree was lowered into a hole in the concrete in front of the plaza.   Huge planks of wood are used as shims to straighten the trunk. This worker walked the circumference of the tree, using his plumb line from all angles, to ensure the tree stands upright.   This year will be a brighter holiday for Sacramento. The first-ever Carnival of Lights will delight visitors with a dazzling display of lights throughout the Central City from the waterfront through Midtown starting the week of Thanksgiving through January 3. The Carniv

Westfield Downtown Plaza and a citizens' group lost legal challenges against the Railyards development, developer Thomas Enterprises and the city announced Monday. The lawsuits against the city of Sacramento, the city's Redevelopment Agency and developer Thomas Enterprises argued that the poject's two environmental impact reports (EIRs) were inadequate and did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act known as CEQA. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly ruled in favor of the city and developer on all points raised by the Downtown Plaza and three people represented by attorney Bill Kopper. Those individuals — Robert Castro Jr., Linda Powers and Chris Rich —

Mayor Kevin Johnson has changed his tune on the Westfield Group’s handling of its downtown plaza. After voicing harsh criticism of the company in recent weeks, Johnson told reporters that Westfield worked with the city on Monday. At his press conference on Tuesday, Johnson noted that the company flew four of its representatives from Los Angeles to spend the entire day in Sacramento. During their visit to Sacramento, the company’s representatives attended a community meeting on revamping the Westfield Downtown Plaza and the K Street Mall, Johnson pointed out. The representatives expressed the message that the company is “more committed and focused on Sacramento” than ever before, Johnson

Mayor Kevin Johnson has put it to the owners of the troubled Westfield Downtown Plaza: Either you're in or you're out. The company, Westfield Group, has only another month or so to tell the city whether it will invest in its downtown Sacramento mall the way it's investing in Westfield Galleria at Roseville, Johnson told Westfield representatives and downtown business owners Monday. "If not, we need you to not hold our city hostage anymore. We need you to sell and let the city move forward," he said. "In November or so, we need you to realize if you're in, you're in. If you're not, you're not." For at least 11 years, the city has been negotiating over Downtown Plaza with Westfield, perha

Mayor Kevin Johnson on Tuesday announced two community meetings to exchange ideas on reviving K Street Mall and Westfield Downtown Plaza, shortly before an independent analysis comes out. The mayor will meet with business and property owners next Monday, and then with the rest of the public on Oct. 19, as a way to involve the community in the ongoing effort to develop a new strategy for K Street and the rest of the J-K-L corridor, the core of downtown. "We want to create a new vision," Johnson said in his weekly press conference inside city hall. “We need to re-imagine what downtown looks like.” The issue has vexed other mayors and city councils. The meetings will be the first such comm

The above photo is of another dance team, the Eastern Ways Lion Dance Team It had reached 100 degrees by 4:30 Sunday afternoon, and seven-year-old Caleb Mai disappeared beneath a massive red and black lion headdress the size of his body. Moments later the drums began, and a line of lion dancers appeared on the stage, leaping and shaking beneath their bright costumes. They then each hopped onto the ground and scattered into the audience, standing on chairs and bobbing their oversized lion headdresses up and down. One lady laughed uncontrollably as a dancer shook its grinning masked face in front of her's. Every now and again Mai could be seen as he held the weight of the lion head high ab