The Grassroots Working Group (GWG) will be back before the County Board of Supervisors at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, August 9th, in the supervisor’s chambers at 700 H Street, Sacramento. For Grassroots, this will be the most important Board decision of the year.   The Board is considering whether to sponsor state legislation this year that would give the county the authority to place before the voters a 1/10 % sales tax for parks purposes (one penny for every $10 spent). The county is already authorized to place a sales tax before the voters, but not one this small.  Save the American River Association supports this.   The revenue from a sales tax must to go to a governmental agency. SARA believe

The sun was still shining on the State Capitol at 5:30 p.m. Monday, at the start of the Sacramento Central Labor Council's Candlelight Vigil for Wisconsin Workers. The crowd grew to an estimated 2,000 people, in solidarity with labor and human rights movements in Wisconsin and beyond. The supply of signs for "We Stand With Wisconsin Workers" and flameless vigil candles didn't meet the demand. There were handmade signs, such as: "Labor Rights. Human Rights. Women's Rights. We Are One" and "Serf's Unite."  "We Are One," "It's About Freedom" and other signs from dozens of labor organizations, represented nurses, state workers, educators, fire fighters, law enforcement and skilled trade unio

We call it the Crown Jewel of Sacramento and are stingy about keeping it polished and protected. It generates an estimated $365,000,000 annually and more visits than Yosemite, yet it is underfunded and undervalued as a regional asset. The American River Parkway provides our water, improves our air quality and supports diverse wildlife, including some of the last West Coast salmon runs. We go there to rest, recreate and reflect. The 23 mile stretch from Nimbus Dam to the confluence with the Sacramento River is officially designated as a Wild and Scenic River. It is the most heavily used recreation river in California.  TV news crews try to scare us silly when the river rises "near Flood S

Piped, paved and delivered. Well, almost. Underground work for what proponents call "Alley Activation" is complete. The Urban Design Alliance's Fourth Wednesday dialogue topic was “Delivery of the Midtown Pilot Alley.”  Guest speakers were Julie Young, co-chair of the Alley Activation Committee and Disctrict 3 City Council Member Steve Cohn. Greg Taylor of UDA and Dustin Litrell hosted the free event at the downtown office of the American Institute of Architects. The Alley Activation private/public works project has excavated the alley between 17th, 18th and L streets and Capitol Avenue. City water pipes and sewer lines have been replaced. The next step is application of permeable paver

Victor Zavala will not be a martyr but he will be remembered. The shooting that injured three people and caused his death has been a catalyst for a community discussion of social, cultural and political issues. When we are through discussing our differences, we may discuss what we have in common: our love for the history and beauty of our central city, rivers, climate and region; our pride in our diverse population and our commitment to continue to grow Sacramento into a wonderful place to live, work, play and visit. The recent tragedy and ensuing community conversation has many aspects. Some are contentious and difficult to deal with. An open community meeting has been scheduled to disc

(please note: For the purpose of this overview, "downtown" and "central city" are used in the traditional sense of designating the urban business core AND including the area bound by two rivers and two freeways, which includes Midtown)   Gallery owner Michael Himovitz brought Second Saturday to Sacramento two decades ago, to "educate and connect people through discussing art." He advocated coordinating individual efforts into an event that benefited all the galleries, their customers, local culture and the community. It worked. The synergy resulted in a Second Saturday tradition where art lovers gallery hopped, enjoyed artist receptions and mingled with lively crowds in different parts

The murder of Victor Hugo Perez Zavala, 24, makes it harder for Sacramento to ignore the elephant in the room. Yet there's a defensive reaction, as media mouthpieces argue over what time Second Saturday is officially over and unofficially continues. It's delusion, but a typical effort to save face and project blame. It is time for an intervention. Sacramento city and business leaders have been addicted for several years to unsustainable city management policies. The "Bring People Downtown" mantra was distilled into "Instant Nightlife, Just Add Alcohol." The Midtown oversaturation of bars and nightclubs-pretending-to-be-restaurants created mayhem magnets near residences. This also attrac

On Sunday, August 29th, 2010 at 6:20 p.m., the western sky held an unusual sight. A sheet of cloud was illuminated, with a dazzling refraction on either side of the setting sun. High up in the sky above this display, there was an upside-down rainbow. These photos show the brilliant refraction of the sections of "ring" around the sun, made visible on the cloud sheet.  The rainbow was opposite the sun ring, far above the sun and cloud sheet, with the full spectrum of colors visible. And upside down.

The word may have already gotten out, that Sacramento, California -- halfway between places some would rather be -- has been visited by perfect California Mediterranean weather. Minus a mid-summer furnace blast of heat (so far), we've had near continuous Delta Breezes and mild temperatures, clean air and as one local weathercaster puts it, "good sleepin' weather." The cool weather means that backyard and balcony gardeners may have harvested merely a handful of homegrown tomatoes. Now, residents can pick up good, fresh, cheap tomatoes from local farmers almost any day of the week; as well as nectarines, peaches, flowers, avocados, carrots, potatoes, strawberries, lavender and lavender hone

 "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." -- Marcel Proust "Victim trees are located outside, near to or within a block of bars and nightclubs. The damage consists of twisting, cutting them in half or breaking off at any point newly planted trees of all species, ripping out the stakes and battering the trees and trying to break a tree by bending it over so far that it damaged the root system so much it could not stand straight without city arborists’ attention and help." -- Tree Vandalism, Dale Kooyman http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/27950/Tree_Vandalism Photos: 1. Vandalized tree. 2. Stunted growth of vandalized tree. 3. Grow

 "The information of the people at large can alone make them the safe as they are the sole depositary of our political and religious freedom." --Thomas Jefferson to William Duane, 1810. ME 12:417 "There is no pain you are receding, A distant ship's smoke on the horizon, You are only coming through in waves, Your lips move, But I can't hear what you're saying" -- Pink Floyd   When I moved back to Sacramento -- which so many hometowners do, as we are acclimated to the diversity, the sense of place and continuity, the perfect climate, the confluence of rivers, highways, dreams and history -- I took my childhood friend to an epic concert at Hughes Stadium on the Sacramento City College camp

Midtown residents have been dealing for years with the impacts of a City led campaign to "Bring People Downtown" that ignored the fact that people are already here. Media and Midtown Business Association boosters have contributed by consistently disparaging the existing mixed-use neighborhoods as a desolate, disgusting and scary wasteland; a "dead zone" with invisible/irrelevant residents. Yet, Midtown's now-attractive and lucrative historic neighborhoods ONLY exist, due to the diligent, hard work and determination of residents, preservationists and neighborhoods associations, over the past few decades. Residents met with the MBA and other stakeholders in 2009 as part of MBA's Regional

'Twas two weeks before Christmas, when all through the town Not a citizen was stirred up, because it was unknown That their money was being given away then and there By town leaders pretending that no one would care ..." Happy Holidays, District Three. What's on your wish list this gift giving season? Safe sidewalks glisten and visions of street bumps dance in your heads? A life-saving stop sign, cross walk or street lighting fires the Yuletide dreams? How far would $100,000 go in your neighborhood? To be in on the holiday fun, contact your City Council member before the Tuesday, December 15th Council meeting and tell them how you want $100,000 spent -- or not. Handy contact info is

From the lofty perches of the power players, in their skyboxes and bank towers, the public may look very small, almost antlike. Deal and decision makers are elevated and segregated from the little people, whose lives they influence. On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. The press conference was held 25 floors up, with a hazy overview of the city, extending from the historic rail yards to Cal Expo: two potential sites for a new and lucrative sports/real estate venture. In that same sweeping view, the mayor could look down on the central city neighborhoods. From Downtown, Midtown, East

 Three young women navigated the west sidewalk of 18th Street last Friday evening. The one in front says to her friends behind her, "Last time we were down here, I was thinking I might like to live here." The Friday night scene was crackling, with loud music filling the air and cars filling the streets. "Yeah," says her friend, "but you'd need a place with a driveway. There's actually a lot more of them than I thought." The third woman says, "You wouldn't have much of a back yard." The trio crossed 18th Street at Capitol and stopped to reclaim their car from the valet. The street parking or East End Parking Garage may have been closer to whichever business they were coming from, but the

Sierra II in Curtis Park was the location for the ninth and final Town Hall Meeting of the City of Sacramento Charter Review Committee. The crowd of approximately 45 people was on the Baby Boom-plus end of the generational scale. It included members of the public, neighborhood representatives and former, current and candidate public officials, from the Central City, Curtis/Land Park, Oak Park and the South Area. The City Charter legally and procedurally defines the City of Sacramento and its operations. Kevin Johnson's Strong Mayor Initiative, which would dramatically change the City Charter, will be on the June 2010 ballot. Sacramento was founded with a City Charter in 1858. In 1921, d

 (This comment in response to Suzanne Hunt's "Pilot Alley Project To Get $100,000" is too long for a comment and too important to not bring to immediate attention. If the public is ever to have a voice in this matter and the expenditure of those funds, now is the time). Today ground was broken for Jeremy Drucker's Stitch model project in the 17th/18th/L/Capitol Alley.Today would have been the September Alley Activation meeting, which was inexplicably cancelled. At August's Alley Activation meeting, Steve Cohn announced the availability of the $100,000 CDBG funds. He said the money needed to be spent and projects completed within a year and "Let's have a plan together within the next thre

This was another perfect summer day with good breezes, bright sun and a bonus: the Wednesday Farmers Market at Cesar Chavez Plaza, in front of City Hall. Magnolias are in full bloom, on the walk from Midtown along Capitol Park. A brushstroke of blue agapanthus cuts through the green park and hides the black security fence. Lunchtime walkers pass by with their goodies from the fresh produce market, just blocks away. At Cesar Chavez Plaza, the inner ring around the fountain is full of lunch vendors and stalls selling fresh breads, kettle corn and Italian ices. The outer ring holds the fresh bounty our rich growing season. The smell of strawberries hits before even reaching the table, spre