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

With four council districts and the mayor’s seat up for grabs in 2012, the upcoming elections may bring new faces to City Council and – potentially – significant changes to the way Sacramento’s government operates. Although there is still time for new candidates to emerge, here’s a look at the election landscape for Sacramento, so far. When Mayor Kevin Johnson announced in September that he is running for reelection, he had no opponents and enjoyed the endorsement of both Region Builders – a building industry coalition – and the Sac Metro Chamber political action committee. In November, local tax preparer and community activist Edgar Hilbert announced his candidacy for mayor and a desir

Additional efforts will be made by the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Sheriff's Department to prevent youth involvement in gangs by promoting interactions between police officers and the youth. The mayor is calling this approach a paradigm shift, and it will be part of Sacramento's first comprehensive plan for gang prevention, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Club on Lemon Hill Avenue. The emphasis of the program will be heavy on prevention and intervention instead of just enforcement and incarceration, according to the mayor. Johnson said the program will focus on school literacy enrichment, strengthening the relationship between the Sacramento com

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

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

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Wednesday at the Capitol Heights Academy that he is running for re-election. “I am thrilled to announce – after much deliberation, prayer, conversation and discussion with many of you out there today – I have decided to run for another term (as) the mayor of Sacramento,” Johnson said before a crowd of more than 200 supporters. Johnson said he plans to approach his campaign for re-election by working harder and longer than anyone else to earn votes. He emphasized community involvement as the most important means for his success in the election. Johnson will be holding listening sessions throughout the city, and town hall meetings will be held in October, Nov

Mayor Kevin Johnson is currently in the process of visiting Sacramento’s six major counties to discuss the benefits of a future entertainment and sports complex along the stretch of what used to be the old Southern Pacific railyards downtown. At the mayor’s weekly press conference Tuesday, Johnson, who had just visited El Dorado County and the city of Folsom the day before, called his visits “authentic outreach.” Johnson is going on a bus tour Thursday to visit regions of El Dorado County, Davis, Roseville and Rancho Cordova to seek input from the communities there, he said. This city-to-city outreach is part of the the mayor’s Think Big Coalition. Johnson said the four guiding principl

About 250 formally and historically dressed guests gathered at the L Street Dock on Front Street in support of the preservation and exploration of Sacramento’s historical legacy Friday evening. Under the guidance of the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation, party-goers traveled through the 1850s, 1960s and back to the present on the Empress Hornblower along the Sacramento River for the hour-long cruise Casino Royale on the River: Where Old Sacramento Meets Monte Carlo. This was the second year HOSF had hosted the event to raise funds for its educational and interpretive programs, including the historical exhibitions in the Sacramento History Museum on I Street. Last year the event was held

Despite reports of the city’s proposals to lay off more than 350 jobs, including 80 sworn police officers, during Tuesday’s press conference, Mayor Kevin Johnson said that avoiding such layoffs will be a priority. Throughout the conference, Johnson said he wanted Sacramento to remain a full-service city and that he hopes to alleviate any distrust between police officers and the city by playing a more active role in addressing the interests of both parties. “We’re trying to preserve as many jobs as we can and keep public safety at the top of our priorities,” he added. “We’re about to pass and adopt a budget in about three weeks or so, and we do not want to be in a position where our comm

The original Squeeze Inn on Power Inn Road was made famous by Food Network’s Guy Fieri, who raved about their infamous cheese “skirt,” the restaurant’s twist on the classic cheeseburger.  Since then it has opened up restaurants in Roseville and Galt. Tuesday morning, the Squeeze Inn’s fourth location – at 1350 Harbor Blvd. in West Sacramento – officially opened its doors at 10 a.m. The newest addition to the Squeeze Inn line is the biggest location so far, seating up to 80 people, according to West Sacramento Squeeze Inn’s publicist, Heather Atherton. The Squeeze Inn has been a regular on the burger scene in Sacramento for at least 30 years according to co-owner Dave Chambers. “We’ve a

I attended the last game 41 Lakers/Kings and asked fans - Do you think the Kings are moving to Anaheim?   Check out my video - http://youtu.be/wWJWqiO3Kgs Order of appearance: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Phil Jackson - Lakers Coach Carmichael Dave - Radio Sports Personality Julie Neamann Mike Provost Christian Barry, Adam McIntyre, Derrick Matheson Tyrel English Stacey Petit, Kenneth Williams George Styles Doug Johnston Michael Streeval Armondo Vialobos The National Basketball Association (NBA) Board of Governors is the management body that oversees the operations of the National Basketball Association. They meet today in NYC and the Sacramento Mayor, Kevin Johnson is there

Paul Connett PhD will be in Sacramento Febuary 23~24th to discuss his new book The Case Against Fluoride: How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There. Learn how this relates to Sacramento, as new found dangers of water fluoridation continue coming to light. There will be two events in Sacramento: ARCADE LIBRARY  - Wednesday Feb 23rd 7:00-9:00pm  2443 Marconi Ave Sacramento. It is a free event. For more info go to  FluorideFreeSsacramento.org WHOLE FOODS - Thurs. Feb. 24th 7:00-9:00pm  4315 Arden Way (Eastern and Arden Way) Seating is limited at this event. For reservations at Whole Food call (916) 483-1155 For more info

We keep hearing about our greenness. Here in Sacramento we have a tree program, various recycling programs, and other earth friendly initiatives. But can one policy trump all this? Can a city be truly green when it knowingly adds toxic chemicals imported from China to its drinking water? And to top it all, 99.99% of it is wasted. Lets look at the facts as the Sacramento Department of Utilities has presented them. Questions came up at a June 22, 2010 Sacramento City Council budget hearing. This resulted in a request for additional information regarding the city's water fluoridation program. On July 1st Marty Hanneman, Director of Utilities sent the Mayor & City Council members a memorandum

Plans were announced at the Mayor's press conference Tuesday to construct a running track and community garden at Will C. Woods Middle School where U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius spoke to mark the one year anniversary of the “Let's Move” campaign. Initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama on Feb. 8, 2010, “Let’s Move” is a healthy lifestyle campaign to address childhood obesity. Sacramento City Unified School District was chosen as one of the 14 community sites in California, to receive a grant from the California Endowment with help through local partners The Sacramento Kings and UC Davis Health Services. California Endowment spokeswoman Marley Klaus said SC

With his security detail watching the surroundings, Mayor Kevin Johnson answers a question about an earlier incident that involved a reported threat to his safety. To accommodate the media, the Mayor took a momentary break in a day-long series of meetings with the mayors of eight other California cities and several State officials, including Governor Jerry Brown. The "Big 10 Mayors" were in Sacramento in an attempt to keep redevelopment funds from being completely absorbed back into the State budget.

Nine mayors representing California’s largest cities met with Gov. Jerry Brown in a closed session Wednesday to urge him not to eliminate redevelopment agency funding. Speaking to reporters after the meeting on the West Steps of the Capitol, mayors from Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Anaheim, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Ana, Fresno and San Diego explained their reasons for wanting to keep redevelopment agency dollars in the city budgets. “Every one of us understand the magnitude of the budget challenges we face in the state,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He added that all mayors understand the need to shoulder their share of the budget cuts necessitated by the rece

In addition to breaking the news that former Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee would base her education group in Sacramento at Thursday’s State of the City address, Mayor Kevin Johnson also laid out his agenda for the environment, education and downtown development. Johnson’s speech was the key draw of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 19th annual event, held at the Sacramento Convention Center. The chamber’s communications director, Hal Silliman, said this year’s turnout of about 950 people set a record. In remarks before Johnson’s speech, Metro Chamber Board Chair Gregory Eldridge commented on the poor economic environment in Sacramento, saying “many of our members contin

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Sacramento City Council members on Tuesday discussed their opposition to Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to de-fund local redevelopment agencies. Johnson said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday morning that Brown’s proposal could interfere with $108 million in local redevelopment funds that have not yet been spent on projects. He said he wanted to examine the option of fast-tracking redevelopment projects in light of Brown’s proposal. “At the end of the day, we’re going to fight like crazy to try to prevent redevelopment agencies from being cut,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to salvage and preserve the dollars that we do have by almost any means necessary.” Counci