I realize this isn't the site to get business news in the area, but there must be more to Sacramento small business than listing restaurant turnover. We actually had a great year as a manufacturer, expanded our operations, and nearly doubled our employees to 60. We're looking forward to a robust 2012!

The City Clerk's site is a great resource for voters. I hope everyone will examine where money will be flowing into the city council races. Keep an eye on developers, unions, and even other officeholders. Good luck!

The report and scorecard given to the city council concerning moving the old depot building was very complete and left little doubt that leaving the structure in place was the best option. The only surprise was that there was one vote to move the depot after the report laid out the $17M moving cost, the jeopardization of millions in federal funding, and the potential delay to the development. When my daughter was in sixth grade I took her to see the city's presentation of the plans for the Intermodal project at the civic center. She's now 21 years old and there has been little tangible progress for the city's intermodal transportation hub. It looks like the tracks might actually begin to be moved this fall!

Our city parks are the most intimate and continuous contact between the city government and residents. Go to a playground or ball field or running track or city pool and you will find every strata of Sacramento using these parks - families, dog walkers, sports teams, seniors, high-income, low-income, and most particularly kids. If our city parks aren’t decent, where does a city kid go to run or climb around or just play outside? Like all municipal departments and services, there must be drastic cuts when city revenues have fallen so dramatically. The Park Maintenance Services actual spending for FY 07/08 was $13.9M and cut to $11.8M this year. The proposed budget cuts another $2M out to $9.7M. I can’t accept that the city department can’t maintain our parks for $9.7M without the draconian service cuts that have been proposed. Close some restrooms, stagger some mowing schedules, but these cuts should not stop effective park maintenance. There are hard decisions to be made in this budget and it is unfortunate that the 4th R and START fall under this department. The mixing of funding clouds the picture when residents try to understand where the money is being spent and the city's priorities. Clarify how the funding sources correspond to spending for the items that really aren’t “parks & rec”. There are 525 FTE under the budget line items of Children, Teens, & Community Recreation, while the department total if only 679. Don’t decimate the maintenance of the city’s parks, although make some reasoned service sacrifices. Also, clearly explain how money is spent for the items that don’t relate to park services.

I do appreciate the ACLU's protection of our privacy rights and I wouldn't have predicted any other stand than opposition to cameras in the public space. But, the mayor and police are taking a reasonable approach to use technology for safety in public areas. I foresee the benefits of video monitoring outweighing any perceived intrusion of privacy. I can't envision a group of sinister government agents pouring over hours of footage to invade my privacy. If public cameras can offer some crime deterrence and investigative tools in the city center then it would be a worthwhile use of Homeland Security dollars.

One thing to consider is that a stoplight at U Street will back up traffic into the busy 3-way intersection at W St. and 16th. That intersection has traffic feeding off the elevated freeway, in addition to three lanes each of one-way traffic on W and 16th. I hope a sensational building vs. auto accident doesn't create a reactionary response that isn't well thought out.

I also sat through the city council meeting last night and the finance director's presentation of the future was economically bleak, but probably accurate. The key message was that the city can not bridge future budget deficits without making very hard spending cuts. The state government is also likely to swoop in and appropriate more of the city's revenue, further aggravating whatever budget plans are approved. Difficult choices are ahead for city government.