To all staff, collaborators and readers of The Sacramento Press. I would like to briefly introduce our new Editor in Chief, Colleen Belcher. For most of you, Colleen needs no introduction because she has personally worked with literally hundreds of contributors and everyone on our small staff. You all know her glowing smile and her indefatigable spirit. Colleen started working as an intern at The Sacramento Press even before there was a live website. I remember how instrumental she was at setting the tone with that first group of interns and staff. She created a sense of camaraderie with her fellow interns while setting a very hardworking pace for all of us continue to follow. We hired

A couple of days ago, something noteworthy happened on The Sacramento Press: We passed 10,000 articles on the site. These are all original works, and they are all local news and information about Sacramento. Some are of no real consequence. Some are even factually incorrect. But they are written by more than 1,000 different people with unique and valuable perspectives on our region (some professional, most amateur). Not only that, many of these stories are of major civic importance. All one has to do is visit our front page any day, and the laid-out portion across the top will be filled with stories that affect our daily lives. Some people don’t like our experiment for one reason or anot

I'm proud to announce that The Sacramento Press hit a major milestone. In two and a half years we have published work from over 1,000 unique authors. A few are employees here and many are interns, but the vast majority are community contributors. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all of our contributors! What does this number really mean? There are a lot of big numbers flying around these days. AOL probably has plans for more Patches than we have had unique authors. Facebook just hit 750 million users. Compared to that 1,000 seems so small. But "small" is precisely the point. Our small team has worked diligently to foster a deeply informed and engaged community. We know many

During the debate on a “strong mayor” system of government, each side battled over which form of government allowed for the greatest accountability to the public, democratic ideals in decision making and open debate of policy. After a fateful 5-4 vote not to promote Gus Vina to full-time city manager and his subsequent resignation, I know that the council system we currently have is seriously broken. Why? Not because of the vote itself or Vina’s decision. But because the debate and vote were conducted behind closed doors in a closed session. I have no idea why the council decided not to promote Vina. Council members refuse to talk with our reporters about the decision. Wait, what? Yes, y

There are not a lot of solid rules for starting up a hyper-local site fueled by community contribution. We think, rethink and question just about every policy and design choice for The Sacramento Press. We strive to act with integrity as individuals and as an organization. Our highest principles at The Sacramento Press are openness and transparency. Our policy is to allow anyone to publish. Then we and our community read, rate, flag, comment and add to the story. We ask our contributors to use their real names. We ask them to stay local and to disclose their affiliation with the issues they write about. Recently there was considerable debate here and elsewhere on the Web about our polic

Introducing Sacramento's next Poet Laureate: Bob Stanley. Last month The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC) voted to ratify Stanley as Sacramento’s fourth Poet Laureate. Yesterday, he was officially introduced to the SMAC as Poet Laureate. In a charming introduction speech and reading, Stanley promised to see through his vision of increased awareness of poetry in our region. He also believes poetry can reach a broad audience. He said, “Poetry is something everybody can get into.” Stanley added, “I like it when it’s just right there on the page. You read it and you know it’s poetry, but you don’t exactly know why. But you get something from it, and you feel like you’ve learne

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: You or someone you know may be interested in this new program the City is offering. Please keep in mind that this program may not be available in certain areas of the city, such as historic districts or design review areas. The City of Sacramento has recently launched its revamped Infill House Plan Program aimed to promote quality residential development on vacant lots within the City. The new and improved program - which provides pre-approved construction drawings at a reduced price, streamlined application process and reduced fees - includes recent updates to the house drawings to reduce construction costs and achiev

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: Are you ready to start your garden? Is your yard in need of a make over? Then good news: Neighborhood Services is sponsoring free green gardening classes! They'll take place in April and May and will cover a range of topics, from improving soil to selecting drought-tolerant plants, as well as City landscaping regulations. Call Neighborhood Services at 808-6789 if you have any questions. City of Sacramento, Neighborhood Services Department is proud to present FREE Green Gardening Classes SAVE THE DATES! Saturday, April 18, 2009 9 a.m. - Noon Ethel McLeod Hart Senior Center 915 27th Street Wednesday, April 29, 2009

We have made a significant change to our contributor agreement. This is the agreement between The Sacramento Press and volunteer contributors who write articles. The major change is that originally our agreement was structured like a newspaper or magazine. It gave The Sacramento Press an exclusive right to the articles published on The Sacramento Press. Now we share a nonexclusive right with all of our writers. They can remix, use, or even sell their work as they wish. Original: In consideration of the availability of the website to post your contribution, you hereby grant to us the sole and exclusive right (including any moral rights) and license throughout the world to produce, adapt,

Representatives of local media outlets and community members came together Thursday night to discuss how to make local media better and more reflective of the community. The meeting was organized by the Sacramento Media Group, California Common Cause and Access Sacramento. There was discussion and debate about the role and responsibility of our local media. Ron Cooper, executive director of Access Sacramento, summed it up when he said, “Media and your influence over media is really a local issue.” The event was well attended by a diverse mix of community activists, students, and stakeholders. There were representatives of local broadcast stations, newspapers and online ventures. The deb

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: Please be aware that from April through July, Census workers will be in your neighborhood. Please see the attached documents or simply read on: 2010 CENSUS ADDRESS CANVASSING OPERATION UNDER WAY IN OUR COMMUNITY In preparation for the 2010 Census, the US Census Bureau will be sending out census workers, called Listers, to verify, add or delete addresses with hand-held computers. The operation begins on April 6 and may run until July 19, 2009. Address Canvassing is an operation in which Census workers will be seen throughout our community with hand-held computers to update the information electronically, via the Globa

Jill Duman's column "My View: We need more than Facebook 'friendship'" in The Sacramento Bee today is scary. However, the online comments below the story are encouraging. Link here. I am having trouble actually putting together a proper response, but I will try. The thrust of the column is that Facebook cannot replace real friendships and community. That could have made for a fine column. Unfortunately, she uses most of her column to demean those who participate in social networks while dismissing the community these networks foster. Hint: facebook does not replace friendship, it supplements. Facebook is a tool. Here are a few choice cuts with some of my responses: "[Facebook] apparent

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: The Sacramento Police Department is developing a Law Enforcement Youth Development Program (YDP). They are seeking a diversified group of young adults between the ages of 13 – 18 years old. These selected students must meet minimum requirements, such as a 2.0 GPA, leadership skills, school attendance, citizenship, and be interested in a possible career in law enforcement. Potential candidates must fill out an application, receive permission from their parents (if under age 18), and pass an interview. Upon acceptance into the program, students will be assigned a law enforcement employee to help guide them through the pr

I recieved this article by email from Martha Damjanovic: On Wednesday January 21, 2009 there will be a meeting at the Washington Elementary School located at: 520 18th street from 6pm to 8pm This school has been placed on a hit list to be closed. The down/midtown neighbourhoods cannot afford for this to happen. How can we become a 24hr family city if we do not have schools for our children to attend. We need to really take stock and find out why the enrollment is down at this school and why at other schools parents are standing in 30 degree weather to get their children enrolled? This school has received several academic awards. The new principal at the school Marilyn Collins has reache

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: Good Neighborhoods = A Great City The City of Sacramento's Neighborhood Services Department is proud to present the Neighborhood Summit 2009, a first of its kind here in Sacramento! When: Friday, March 6, 2009 Time: 8:30-4:00 PM (Continental Breakfast/Lunch Provided) Where: Sacramento Convention Center - 1400 J Street Purpose: The mission of the City of Sacramento Neighborhood Summit is to promote communication and partnership between city staff, residents, neighborhood associations, and business owners to help maintain, revitalize, and promote healthy communities. Free Admission: There will be no cost to attend the

The other day I was talking with some friends who were concerned about new nightclubs being planned in Sacramento. One of us remarked that we may crossed a line with too many "top 40 playing" nightclubs and not enough patrons. Many current restaurant and nightclub owners are already concerned that we have reached our limit. On The Sacramento Press there has been plenty of discussion about nightlife in the central city: here, here, and here. Many local residents in conversations on the site point out that diversity is the real problem. Nightlife should not mean the same club, the same music, more and more alcohol. Perhaps we have reached the limit for one kind of nightlife but not anothe

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: In light of budget difficulties, the Sacramento City Unified School District has been investigating options for school sites that are closed or underutilized. SCUSD would like to hear from the community. Meetings have been scheduled in January and February before the school board evaluates options in spring 2009. Tuesday, January 13, 2009 A.M. Winn Elementary School 3351 Explorer Drive Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Freeport Elementary School 2118 Meadowview Road Tuesday, January 20, 2009 John F. Kennedy High School 6715 Gloria Drive Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Washington Elementary School 520 18th Street Monday, Janu

Over the weekend I posted my thoughts from my experience at 10th and K. Now I want to know how we can make New Year's Downtown better. To get things started I want to propose a change of venue for the ball drop from 10th and K to either Cesar Chavez Plaza or the capitol mall. I think the mall would be better as the crowd could see the ball drop, the Christmas Tree at the capitol and the two fireworks shows over the river. Oh, and a bigger ball with a longer drop would be nice. Those are just a couple thoughts from me. What do you think about next year's celebration?

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: The City of Sacramento Neighborhood Services Department wants to help you prepare for the digital conversion. We will be assisting with the online application for a T.V. Converter box discount coupon. What’s happening? The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires full-power television stations to cease analog broadcasts and switch to digital after February 17, 2009. WHEN: Saturday, January 17, 2009 TIME: 10:00 AM -12:30 PM WHERE: South Natomas Community Center, 2921 Truxel Road Who will be affected? Anyone using a television set that is not connected to cable, satellite or other pay telev

On New Year’s Eve a few friends and I went to Social nightclub to see the ball drop on 10th and K. The place was packed, the streets were packed (12,000 to 20,000 people) and there was a seriously festive atmosphere. But the ball was small. And it wasn’t really a ball, more of a diamond inside a round cage. The ball didn’t drop very far. It dropped maybe ten feet. The whole thing got plenty of media coverage. There were complaints the day after about all sorts of minor incidents. But really who could have expected a crowd of 20,000 people to show up to 10th and K? I started thinking, without any tradition or expectations all it took to get 20,000 Sacramentans to go party in the streets