East Sacramento residents and businesses succeeded in preventing the closure of the Clunie Center at McKinley Park, which was scheduled for later this year, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday. The center was slated for closure in June because of budget shortfalls, with the McKinley library likely to follow.The Friends of East Sacramento, a nonprofit organization, set forth a plan to take over management of the facility three years ago, Johnson said. He added that under nonprofit management, the facility will save $20,000 in operating costs each year. “Sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand and not let something you truly value disappear,” said Cecily Hastings, publisher of Insi

San Francisco Giants President and CEO Larry Baer compared Sacramento’s efforts to build a new arena to the campaign to build Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, telling a collection of businesspeople and government officials that there is “tremendous opportunity” for Sacramento going forward. Baer’s remarks were part of the 2012 State of Downtown address at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday morning, in which Mayor Kevin Johnson, State Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg and other officials stressed the “why” of building a downtown entertainment and sports complex. Baer said efforts to build the downtown ballpark in San Francisco were under way as early as the 1960s, with four attempts at u

On January 7, 2012, Sacramento city staff held a public meeting about the newest proposal to change the city charter, the “Checks and Balances Act of 2012.” However, this public meeting was not announced to the general public—instead it was directed at a small group of neighborhood leaders. I found out about the meeting via the chair of the Midtown Neighborhood Association, who received an email on December 27: From: Raihane Dalvi Date: December 27, 2011 2:19:11 PM PST To: Raihane Dalvi Subject: Checks and Balances Act of 2012 Dear Neighborhood Leader, I'm writing to request your participation in an important discussion before the city of Sacramento. As you may know, a broad coaliti

The City Council selected a new vice mayor Thursday: City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby will be running the show this year when the mayor is unavailable. City Councilman Steve Cohn nominated Ashby for vice mayor, saying it has been the council’s tradition to have the most senior council member who has not already served as vice mayor hold the position. Ashby was elected to the District 1 council seat in 2010. She has just one week seniority over Councilman Jay Schenirer. “There are more good reasons to nominate her than just tradition,” Cohn added. “She always smiles, and she’ll do a good job of running the meetings.” Ashby said she’s honored to hold the vice mayor’s seat, regardless of

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s 2011 New Year’s resolutions included bringing labor and business together, keeping the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento and – as Johnson sees it – his final scorecard tallies seven successes, one fail and two goals “still in progress.” In a blog post from Dec. 31, Johnson listed 10 resolutions for 2011. At a press conference Tuesday, Johnson tallied up his successes and his not-quites: 1. Bring business and labor together to create jobs and grow the economy – Johnson said his commitment to “work with business and labor to improve the economy” was realized in 2011 in the way that representatives from both sides were “front and center” in teams working on developing a n

On Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program on Tuesday, host David Watts Barton and I talked about new laws in effect for the new year, businesses scheduled to open in the near future, the upcoming elections and other local issues. The beginning of the year typically brings in a number of new laws, and 2012 is no different. Some of the notable changes include mandatory child booster seats in cars for kids under age 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches, the banning of openly carrying unloaded handguns and a new law that states police can no longer impound a vehicle at a DUI checkpoint if the only offense is the driver not having a license. Click here to read about those and other laws that w

As the song goes, Santa’s making his list, checking it twice and deciding who gets cool goodies and who gets lumps of coal. Between the budget, redistricting and facing dissatisfied citizens who took over a city park in protest, the City Council has been busy this year, so The Sacramento Press made its own “naughty or nice” list. If you were Santa, how would City Council fare? Here’s our list for 2011. Mayor Kevin Johnson: NAUGHTY Sure, he led the way to advancing green technology in the city and supported a citizens advisory committee’s effort to redistrict the city. But being absent for 10 City Council meetings in a single year? Tsk, tsk, Mr. Mayor. (And we’re not bitter about not b

Tonight the Governor and First Lady Anne Gust Brown joined Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson for the 80th Annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the West Steps of the State Capitol. The  40-foot-tall white fir tree is decorated with 900 hand-crafted ornaments created by children and adults with developmental disabilities who receive services and support from the state’s development centers and 21 nonprofit regional centers. It's illuminated by 10,000 ultra-low wattage LED lights. Six-year-old Makayla Jones, of Visalia, assisted the Governor and First Lady in lighting the Capitol Christmas tree. Kitty O'Neal, of KFBK Radio, was emcee of the ceremony. There were performances by

City Council election drama, a potential swap of high school campuses, new businesses and two Sacramento Press contests were all topics I discussed with Jeffrey Callison Tuesday morning on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program. Elections are quite a ways away, but the District 2 City Council race is already heating up as some accuse candidate Kim Mack of using an email list from her time working on the Obama campaign to push for a Strong Mayor initiative for Mayor Kevin Johnson. Mack denies sharing the email list with the Strong Mayor backers. Read more by clicking here. Another contentious issue in the city right now has to do with education – more specifically education facilities.

The Sacramento City Unified School District board is considering a potential campus “swap” for two central city schools – a move that has stirred up a storm of criticism from parents, students and education advocates in the city. The proposed swap would move the West Campus High School program from its current 58th Street location to the old Sacramento High School facility and replace it with the Sacramento Charter High School program, which is currently at the old Sac High campus. Proponents of the swap say the move will allow the popular West Campus program to expand and will create an opportunity to establish a non-college preparatory high school program for students in central city n

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday that with the NBA lockout over – and the Sacramento Kings resuming their season – more than 700 workers at the Power Balance Pavilion will be able to return to their jobs. “We are excited. With the lockout ended you will see people returning to work,” Johnson said. Since the lockout began, Power Balance Pavilion employees have lost a significant amount of work, and businesses that rely on the traffic that NBA games bring in have suffered financially. With the four-plus month lockout and all pre-season games cancelled and a shortened season ahead, employees have missed out on a substantial amount of work. On Del Paso Boulevard, businesses have repor

It’s Thanksgiving again – a day filled with food and family and, for some, football. Everyone has their own traditions and routines for Thanksgiving, even members of the City Council. The Sacramento Press checked in with some council members to find out what their holiday will look like this year. Here’s what they had to say: “I’m starting the day off by leading the Run to Feed the Hungry,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson at his press conference Tuesday. Johnson said the race, which typically hosts more than 30,000 runners and walkers, is a “cool way to get families together.” After the race, Johnson said he plans to spend the day at home with his family. “I’m always here in Sacramento for T

The 2012 election cycle is ramping up in Sacramento, and one topic that is sure to be on the table is a strong mayor initiative. Mayor Kevin Johnson brought the topic to the fore during his 2008 campaign for mayor shortly after his 2008 election win in his race against then-mayor Heather Fargo, but the idea didn’t fly with members of the City Council, and the initiative never got off the ground. With another mayoral race coming up in 2012, Johnson said he believes the idea of a strong mayor initiative is ripe for ballot consideration once again. “This is a topic that people are ready to take on,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “There are many people involved and interested

The 2012 race for Sacramento mayor just gained another candidate: Edgar Hilbert. Hilbert, a tax preparer in Oak Park, said Wednesday that he was motivated to run for office by a desire to serve the Sacramento community in a meaningful way. “It will be my duty and goal to not just protect the quality of life in Sacramento, but to improve it,” he said in a press release Tuesday. Hilbert, 45, is married and has three children. He was born in Mexico City and moved to the United States in 1993. He has lived in Sacramento since 2001. Hilbert’s wife, Leticia, ran for City Council District 5 in the 2010 election, and Hilbert acted as his wife’s campaign manager. One of the biggest issues that

Sacramento performance artist, David Garibaldi, it was a sobering moment to sell out the Crest Theater on October 27, 2011. Starting out as a local graffiti artist, the now famous performance painter travels worldwide sharing his creativity and ultimately his passion. Debuting his newest show, “Garibaldi Live: A Live Music and Color Experience”, he surely did not disappoint. Lines filled the streets up well into the next block. Many onlookers were hoping to get tickets at the last minute, but the show was completely sold out. Fans of all ages poured into the theater with delight as many shared their personal favorites like his portrait of Albert Einstein and his ever touching portrait of J

The City Council unanimously gave the go-ahead for a feasibility study of seven potential river crossing locations Tuesday and accepted a definition for “neighborhood-friendly bridge” that will set the parameters for design of those bridges. “This has been a long time coming for both communities,” West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon said at the Sacramento City Council meeting. “We obsess about the boundaries between the two cities, but the economic vitality, cultural vitality and the urban agenda for both of our communities will be enhanced by being better connected.” Location details of potential river crossings can be found here. There are currently three major bridges crossing the r

During The Sacramento Press’ spot on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” Tuesday morning, host Jeffrey Callison and I discussed the Occupy Sacramento movement, early turns in the upcoming City Council elections, a design competition for Capitol Mall and the arrival of a sailing vessel in Old Sacramento. With the Occupy Sacramento demonstration well into its second week, protesters are upset that Cesar Chavez Plaza is closed from 11 p.m. - 5 a.m. due to a city ordinance. Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman Laura Peck said Monday that 58 arrests have been made, and the City Council plans to decide whether to allow the protesters to stay in the park after hours, after they went to City Hal

Sacramento, CA | The momentum is building. That was the message that Stand Up, the Sacramento based non-profit organization devoted to reforming education, touted in front of a packed house at the Guild Theater on Monday night. The event was part of a series of monthly meetings organized by Stand Up to spotlight education improvement efforts in Sacramento. Previous events have brought in former California State Senator Gloria Romero to discuss the “parent trigger” law, the founder of Teach for America Wendy Kopp, and the co-founder of the Knowledge is Power Program, Mike Feinberg. Local high school students acted as ushers alongside staffers from a variety of organizations including Sa

A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections. “New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.” On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has u

Sacramento city and county were awarded a total of $19.4 million in federal funding grants Wednesday – enough to put 25 police officers and 25 sheriff’s deputies back to work for the next three years. The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program is a competitive grant program through the U.S. Department of Justice that provides funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to hire, rehire, or retain police officers. This year, 2,712 law enforcement agencies requesting more than $2 billion to fund the hiring of 8,999 officers were considered for COPS Hiring Program funding, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Selection for awards was based on an applicant