savemidtown comment-28475 2010-05-28T05:05:10Z 2010-05-28T05:05:10Z Nothing says Welcome to Sacramento! like a large wrought iron fence and aggressive panhandlers. The long standing argument for moving the station from 7th & L is the 'transient problem' yet the station is moving to an area with an even bigger issue with homeless and aggressive panhandling. This makes no sense and is a colossal waste of money. The intermodal is moving forward and so we're gonna spend a boatload of cash that we don't have for an interim station? Again, where is the logic and prudent long term planning? Unless the real reason is to vacate the 7th & L location so the property owner can demolish the existing Streamline Moderne terminal to build a shiny new skyscraper - another brilliant idea. Or it is a giveaway of public funds to the private developer friends of policy makers. The existing terminal is one of the few Streamline Moderne buildings left in Sacramento. It's sad appearance and issues with transient activity is an issue of poor upkeep and maintenance and incompetent manangement and is not the buildings fault so moving the problem is just that, shifting, not solving the problem - which isn't the buildings fault to begin with but it does clear the lot for redevelopment at the expense of another potentially viable reuse of existing resources. Way to go Sacramento. savemidtown 2010-05-28T05:05:10Z savemidtown comment-28449 2010-05-28T01:39:35Z 2010-05-28T01:39:35Z i hope it also sparks more interest in the remaining underground spaced under the Central Business District so we can save what's left before development and redevelopment takes this treasure from us forever. savemidtown 2010-05-28T01:39:35Z savemidtown comment-28303 2010-05-27T05:00:30Z 2010-05-27T05:00:30Z yeah he probably bought the whole -get rich as a slumlord - scam early on. Don't ya just hate having to follow rules and keep your properties from falling down? Such a hassle. savemidtown 2010-05-27T05:00:30Z savemidtown comment-28104 2010-05-26T05:13:35Z 2010-05-26T05:13:35Z we are several blocks from a few bars and i have seen two young trees vandalized - essentially small trunks snaped and branches torn off. What kind of loser vandalizes trees? We also saw one tree ripped out entirely. Again - very lame. & most of this vandalism and tagging occurs Thurs through Saturday - no coincidence that it's the nights that draw people here who think of midtown as their playland they can ef up and then leave. It's going to come back and bite the businesses and developers who created this when Midtown is no longer a safe place to be. savemidtown 2010-05-26T05:13:35Z savemidtown comment-27548 2010-05-21T05:40:37Z 2010-05-21T05:40:37Z where are the dumpsters going to be? How will the not pretty yet necessities of daily life be dealt with? savemidtown 2010-05-21T05:40:37Z savemidtown comment-27546 2010-05-21T05:34:42Z 2010-05-21T05:34:42Z an event like this is better suited in an area that is less mixed use and more strictly commercial. As an example, Vallejo's at 11th and O had a cinco de mayo party that was pretty loud but no residences are nearby. Their location at 14th & O next to residences does not do parties like this. Ernesto on the other hand often does big events at Zocalo not necessarily compatible with a mixed use area - as there are many residences nearby so loud street parties are not well suited here - a restaurant is fine but not a full blown street party. What other neighborhoods in this city deal with street closures and block parties as part of their daily routine? Put yourself in our shoes and imagine dealing with this on a regular basis? We have great spaces for this sort of thing like Capitol Mall and parts of K Street yet we aren't using them. Instead we're saturating Midtown and making it barely liveable with an overconcentration / overabundance of street parties. Spread the joy around and branch out to other areas as well. The businesses who profit from the image of Midtown need to show some respect for the people who live here and make it great place to be. savemidtown 2010-05-21T05:34:42Z savemidtown comment-26761 2010-05-12T04:45:06Z 2010-05-12T04:45:06Z and working people like me who don't like being held hostage by safeway unless I want to get in my car and leave Midtown which I don't want to do. Thanks for calling me and my friends hobos. Nice to know that's how you feel about the people who live in Midtown - most of us work for a living. savemidtown 2010-05-12T04:45:06Z savemidtown comment-26760 2010-05-12T04:40:51Z 2010-05-12T04:40:51Z Italian Importing is still there on J at 19th. savemidtown 2010-05-12T04:40:51Z savemidtown comment-26045 2010-05-01T03:44:04Z 2010-05-01T03:44:04Z raise parking meter fees, and charge after 6 pm. Seriously $1.25 / hr is a bargain - a little too much of a bargain for a city our size. We need more 4 hour meters & ten hour meters - this incentivizes paying rather than moving your car every two hours as commuters do now - they park free on residential streets in 2-hour zones. Make residential areas 1 hour only (for non-residents) and enforce residential permit parking up until 8 pm at least and make visitors pay for parking. The city is sitting on an income stream - albiet an unpopular one but i would rather pay for parking than not have police and fire or the essential code enforcement officers. savemidtown 2010-05-01T03:44:04Z savemidtown comment-24334 2010-04-07T00:53:23Z 2010-04-07T00:53:23Z Very glad to hear they have a new home. There is only one residential property on that block and I am troubled by the assumption that residential property owners would 'make things too difficult'. The overwhelming majority of residential property owners in Midtown who live here too like having cool stuff nearby. It's why we live here and chose to invest here. If anything slows them down it will be likely be due to having to repair the extensive damage done over the years to the building by its bad owners not issues with the neighbors. savemidtown 2010-04-07T00:53:23Z savemidtown comment-24126 2010-04-02T03:48:54Z 2010-04-02T03:48:54Z Glad to see efforts to preserve the Art in Art Walk instead of 'come to midtown to get drunk and vandalize property walk' savemidtown 2010-04-02T03:48:54Z savemidtown comment-24071 2010-03-31T23:42:32Z 2010-03-31T23:42:32Z it's too little too late - the community was begging for two years for an investigation while Kerridge and Thomas were still here - can we go after those two as well? savemidtown 2010-03-31T23:42:32Z savemidtown comment-24079 2010-03-31T23:40:11Z 2010-03-31T23:40:11Z Thank you Kathleen for the clarification - it sounded at first like it was as part of a Council meeting. savemidtown 2010-03-31T23:40:11Z savemidtown comment-24069 2010-03-31T19:05:00Z 2010-03-31T19:05:00Z I'm glad Mr. Johnson had a conversation with the CEO of Macy*s. The downtown store is the best one in the region although it might not be the most profitable in the region. Losing Macy*s would be catastrophic for downtown. What better a place to put residential towers than the current downtown plaza minus the Macy*s buildings. Preseve the existing landmarks and rehab the other older structures on the 700 & 800 blocks and use the 500 & 600 blocks for new construction. savemidtown 2010-03-31T19:05:00Z savemidtown comment-23913 2010-03-28T17:12:27Z 2010-03-28T17:12:27Z Well said Jim - well said - i can't believe to agree with you on every point. Good times. savemidtown 2010-03-28T17:12:27Z savemidtown comment-23912 2010-03-28T17:07:43Z 2010-03-28T17:07:43Z agreed- i was pretty upset when I heard about it - went there a few times in recent years and it was a great way to spend an afternoon. I do not want to have to go all the way to Roseville to ice skate - can we turn this tremendous loss for our community into an opportunity and try to get a permanent ice rink downtown? savemidtown 2010-03-28T17:07:43Z savemidtown comment-23717 2010-03-24T06:26:44Z 2010-03-24T06:26:44Z We were walking by last night (Monday) and saw it open and had dinner. The Orange Chicken was fantastic and the service was excellent. We will certainly be going back. savemidtown 2010-03-24T06:26:44Z savemidtown comment-23670 2010-03-23T05:38:30Z 2010-03-23T05:38:30Z the Rubicon proposal is undoable as it asks for too much public money of which there isn't any - but at least two of the proposals are doable and reasonable. It's good to see great ideas at the table. savemidtown 2010-03-23T05:38:30Z savemidtown comment-23633 2010-03-22T05:21:44Z 2010-03-22T05:21:44Z Perhaps the city will be more forthcoming about who is on the selection committee. Thus far they have not disclosed this information. Not disclosing this information does not help them in terms of appearing transparent or impartial in this process. savemidtown 2010-03-22T05:21:44Z savemidtown comment-23290 2010-03-15T01:10:16Z 2010-03-15T01:10:16Z And, customer service and following the law are not mutually exclusive - they go together. Not only is following the law and being responsive to customers possible, it is necessary to ensure everyone is treated fairly and there is no appearance or otherwise of quid pro quo and favoritism to large developers. savemidtown 2010-03-15T01:10:16Z savemidtown comment-23283 2010-03-13T22:40:44Z 2010-03-13T22:40:44Z I am pleased the bar owners also appeared to consider the impact on the surrounding dwellings (apartments, homes, etc) by trying to ensure the noise levels coming off the back smoking area is less than it was before. I am hopeful it will be a cozy place to hang out and not have a detrimental impact on the liveability of the surrounding area. I am hopeful it will be a model for other bars/ restaurants to follow - when you do it right everybody (business and residents) wins. savemidtown 2010-03-13T22:40:44Z savemidtown comment-23236 2010-03-12T21:42:24Z 2010-03-12T21:42:24Z David - I am a bit curious what type of comments you've heard from your neighbors and what part of town they're from? I have heard generally positive feedback from my central city neighbors. And in general, the planning for the intermodal and railyards can shed some light on the complexity of this potential transaction - it has been a complex interaction of city, federal, state and private entities but for the most part, the details are almost worked out. It has taken many years but it is getting done in a way that will satisfy all the parties. In general, these transactions are not easy but...not understanding them does not make them inherently shady. But on the flip side, the public needs to try to understand the process and ask lots of questions and demand answers. savemidtown 2010-03-12T21:42:24Z savemidtown comment-23233 2010-03-12T21:28:56Z 2010-03-12T21:28:56Z the back room is great - it will be more comfortable for patrons than the drafty old patio and the sound coming out the back will likely be reduced so it's quieter for the apartments across the alley. A win-win! savemidtown 2010-03-12T21:28:56Z savemidtown comment-23213 2010-03-12T04:10:44Z 2010-03-12T04:10:44Z Wrigley Field is close to downtown and it works well, whereas in St. Louis the downtown arena doesn't work so well so each city needs to find what works for them. As a long time central city homeowner, the downtown complex is a great concept but it must be designed in a way in which it does not become a wasteland when the arena is not being used and the design must faciliate people getting out and experiencing downtown not just driving in, seeing a game and then leaving. The key is to design it in a way that serve multiple uses so it is constantly used and don't give it a sea of surface parking. My only really big concern is that the arena does not block the view shed of the intermodal and historic rail depot from I street or the freeway. So far the drawings look pretty good but it's only a drawing and plenty of developments never lived up to the artists concept drawing. This arena plan must in no way jeapordize the ten plus years of planning that has gone into the intermodal - that would be a huge setback and our transit infrastructure is critical to a liveable downtown and a higher priority than a sports & entertainment complex. savemidtown 2010-03-12T04:10:44Z savemidtown comment-23200 2010-03-11T21:20:23Z 2010-03-11T21:20:23Z huh? Explain Jim. savemidtown 2010-03-11T21:20:23Z savemidtown comment-22787 2010-03-03T03:17:23Z 2010-03-03T03:17:23Z The Development Oversight Commission is a joke. Developers setting policy for Developers. And no one sees a problem with this? The DOC loved Kerridge because he loved them and let the development community get away with almost total lawlessness for five long and dark years in Sacramento. savemidtown 2010-03-03T03:17:23Z savemidtown comment-22606 2010-02-25T03:17:37Z 2010-02-25T03:17:37Z I think the city should institute a whistleblowers hotline. The state has had one for several years, arbited by a third party, and this has exposed many scandals, mismanagement of funds and cost overruns helping to save the state a lot of money and get at least a few bad apples out of the system. savemidtown 2010-02-25T03:17:37Z savemidtown comment-22605 2010-02-25T03:12:04Z 2010-02-25T03:12:04Z and Kerridge was owned by developers and only speaking for myself, I personally would rather have someone at the helm who actually know his way around a budget. Mr. Vina is also responsible for the operations and budgets for police and fire so maybe the Council is seeing that public safety is job 1 in this city at the moment. He is currently and always has been far more qualified that Mr. Kerridge. savemidtown 2010-02-25T03:12:04Z savemidtown comment-22604 2010-02-25T03:08:28Z 2010-02-25T03:08:28Z Fortunately you landed in Midtown - enjoy savemidtown 2010-02-25T03:08:28Z savemidtown comment-22476 2010-02-20T17:20:39Z 2010-02-20T17:20:39Z As i understand it the City Council has approved bikes on K but you'll have to wait for all the crap they're doing now to be complete before you can actually ride your bike on K Street. savemidtown 2010-02-20T17:20:39Z savemidtown comment-22474 2010-02-20T17:16:56Z 2010-02-20T17:16:56Z & who says the anchor needs to be a gimmicky chain eatery. That space used to be an upscale dept store (I.Maginin) and could be a retail store again. I read some bee comments that said a target would be horrible for downtown - not so - a moderately priced dept store would be super. Another full service grocery store would be good too. The Safeway in SF next to the Caltrain station is a perfect example of blending neighborhood needs all together. The urban Target designs are decent & Downtown needs neighborhood serving retail if it wants to actually attract residents. The daytime workforce would certainly patronize such a place as well. As a longtime grid resident i am not sad to see Hard Rock go. savemidtown 2010-02-20T17:16:56Z savemidtown comment-22426 2010-02-19T17:33:17Z 2010-02-19T17:33:17Z Naturally - this city has no interest in actually capitalizing on what makes it special -its architectural history and underground city - because they're too busy trying to be like everyone else. Isn't this like the 20th time they've done "streetscape enhancement"? Now we have lost forever a huge resource and potential for heritage toursim dollars. It's like the Winchester House - keep adding on and adding on items that have no rhyme or reason to keep the crazy away. savemidtown 2010-02-19T17:33:17Z savemidtown comment-22425 2010-02-19T17:26:44Z 2010-02-19T17:26:44Z Prior to KJ's arrival the atmoshphere was much less venemous whether you like it or not. savemidtown 2010-02-19T17:26:44Z savemidtown comment-22416 2010-02-19T05:42:00Z 2010-02-19T05:42:00Z Pot meet kettle. It is KJ and Kerridege in cahoots that brought the devisiveness. savemidtown 2010-02-19T05:42:00Z savemidtown comment-22373 2010-02-18T06:54:04Z 2010-02-18T06:54:04Z A qualified city manager would be a good place to start. I too wish him well far far away from Sacramento. Bill Thomas is likely to be next but it probably won't be publicized. Agreed the Council leaves a lot to be desired but cogent and competent city management goes a long way to mitigate that. Now...let's hope we get a city manager who can actually do the job. savemidtown 2010-02-18T06:54:04Z savemidtown comment-22332 2010-02-17T02:52:01Z 2010-02-17T02:52:01Z you have good reason not to trust it - same garbage in a different package. The good news is the longer the Mayor has to put this off the more steam they lose. savemidtown 2010-02-17T02:52:01Z savemidtown comment-22069 2010-02-12T05:17:55Z 2010-02-12T05:17:55Z Rules - Schmules, building Code - building Schmode - your rules don't apply to me!! that is Old Souls view in Midtown so why would they do business any differently in Oak Park? savemidtown 2010-02-12T05:17:55Z savemidtown comment-22068 2010-02-12T05:12:41Z 2010-02-12T05:12:41Z And apparently our mayor is just as guilty of being a vampire squid just trying to squeeze money out of the dried husk of what is left of Sacramento. savemidtown 2010-02-12T05:12:41Z savemidtown comment-21899 2010-02-09T03:55:43Z 2010-02-09T03:55:43Z the art and decor is nice but the food is sadly only mediocre. The food at 15th & S is much better. We really don't need any more places in Midtown like this - a defacto nightclub immediately adjacent to residences. If Zocalo was not a quasi-nightclub it might be much better. savemidtown 2010-02-09T03:55:43Z savemidtown comment-21343 2010-01-27T05:55:29Z 2010-01-27T05:55:29Z Mr. Thomas did cultivate a culture of customer service if you consider circumventing most if not all of the city and federal rules and bilking the city out of millions of dollars in developer fees by waiving, and not charging fees to many many large developers to be customer service. For the rest of us it means what one commenter said above - when a homeowner goes for a building permit or any kind of service, no one knows what to do because two-thirds of the staff are no longer employed and there is zero institutional knowledge. That is the legacy of Mr. Thomas and by default Mr. Kerridge. savemidtown 2010-01-27T05:55:29Z savemidtown comment-20004 2009-12-30T03:43:55Z 2009-12-30T03:43:55Z It is not the buildings fault that a badly run business is or was there - don't punish the building - rebuild it. And seriously what kind of mean spirited people thumbs down efforts to save historic buidlings? savemidtown 2009-12-30T03:43:55Z savemidtown comment-19719 2009-12-22T05:29:31Z 2009-12-22T05:29:31Z The rink is supposed to return to downtown next year and while it is ok in Midtown, Downtown is really better suited - more space for the rink itself and much better parking infrastructure. In Midtown resident s have to deal with this parking nightmare daily and search high a low for parking each and every day - not three times in a six week period at non-peak times. It's a totally different deal and non -comparable situations. savemidtown 2009-12-22T05:29:31Z savemidtown comment-19696 2009-12-21T05:05:30Z 2009-12-21T05:05:30Z bad side - parking nightmare for residents - good side -many midtown businesses looked busy yesterday with holiday shoppers & i saw a lot of kids and that is a good thing. Anything we can do to promote midtown as a multi-generational destination not just an animal house bar centric destination is a good thing. savemidtown 2009-12-21T05:05:30Z savemidtown comment-19695 2009-12-21T05:02:26Z 2009-12-21T05:02:26Z The metro chamber is really good at hosting parties and buying access to electeds - usually through hosting really good parties. But I can't say I can name off any accomplishments that have benefitted the community. It would be interesting to hear from them what they consider their accomplishments. savemidtown 2009-12-21T05:02:26Z savemidtown comment-19694 2009-12-21T04:55:03Z 2009-12-21T04:55:03Z There is more to Sacramento than just the city. What about the region? I'm still hearing assertions but no facts or details on how our region is unfriendly to business. There is much more to business than just the development community. But ...exactly how is our development process more cumbersome? Higher fees? The city waives most fees on infill as an incentive for infill projects. Oh you have to go through design reivew? Well yes...and just because Roseville doesn't have design reivew (& it's sadly obvious) doesn't mean Sacramento doesn't need it. & Yes, Sacramento has weathered past recessions better than other parts of the state. In the early 1990's the Los Angeles area was his especially hard due to the offshoring of jobs in advanced manufacturing and aerospace. In the late 1990's and early 2000's it was the bay area whose bubble burst during the dot com bust. This one is more widespread but again, the states total unemployment rate has been around 12 % and the four county Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of Yolo, Placer, El Dorado and Sacramento counties has been hovering about 10% - very high yes but when compared to the rest of the state - we are still faring ok. Not great - but OK. And don't forget the obvious, when you take away 15% of pay from 18% of the regions workforce through furloughs, everyone is going to suffer. And again - following rules and having regulatory mechanisms in place does NOT make a region unfriendly to business - it means we think highly enough of ourselves to demand some respect from those who choose to do business here. savemidtown 2009-12-21T04:55:03Z savemidtown comment-19607 2009-12-20T00:41:11Z 2009-12-20T00:41:11Z In Chicago the city did just that - mitigate the noise from Ohare & Midway. Several years ago the city settled citizen litigation and paid for noise abatement for many thousands of homes and businesses impacted by the ever increasing traffic at Ohare and Midway. A family member had that done and you cannot hear the planes overhead from inside their home and they live about two miles from Ohare under a major flight path. Noise in cities can be abated and reasonble if the will is there. Living with unreasonable noise is not an inherent ill or evil of city life. savemidtown 2009-12-20T00:41:11Z savemidtown comment-19618 2009-12-20T00:34:58Z 2009-12-20T00:34:58Z You are probably right Jim. savemidtown 2009-12-20T00:34:58Z savemidtown comment-19606 2009-12-19T20:32:16Z 2009-12-19T20:32:16Z I remember the fight in the 90's and was sad to see neighbors (us) not win that one and how the city has let us all down by not enforcing and following up on complaints. Perhaps it is time to restart the fight to ban gas powered leaf blowers and redo the garbage truck rules under a blankent of new noise rules to maintain the quality of life in our neighborhoods. savemidtown 2009-12-19T20:32:16Z savemidtown comment-19605 2009-12-19T20:20:25Z 2009-12-19T20:20:25Z Paid time off no less. As insulting as paid time off is, it is probably still better than having them wreak their chaos at work. In an ideal world - the city would be ordered to deconstruct the partially built homes and levy a steep fine on the developer. Then let Housing and Dangerous Buildings use the fine monies and deconstructed building materials to shore up homes built legally that need shoring and stabilization work. savemidtown 2009-12-19T20:20:25Z savemidtown comment-19604 2009-12-19T20:15:09Z 2009-12-19T20:15:09Z No, West Sacramento and other areas are not on the radar because the Kings Largess (Mr. Johnson & pals - not the team) will not allow for regional cooperation on this one. He wants his name all over it just like Mayor Willie Brown got his name on (and took all the credit for) the Ferry Building re-do in San Francisco. savemidtown 2009-12-19T20:15:09Z savemidtown comment-19603 2009-12-19T20:06:30Z 2009-12-19T20:06:30Z Precisely - and indeed downtowners & many Midtowners feel exactly the same way because it will destroy our neighborhoods. People will not take light rail they will drive. They will not stick around to eat outside of the arena they will cram down fast food inside the complex as people do in every other sports/ entertainment complex around the country. We are foolish to think we will be any different. Even the tiny ice rink has been a parking nightmare. Have you been on the 110 in Downtown LA on game day? It is absurd - seriously we do not want it. savemidtown 2009-12-19T20:06:30Z savemidtown comment-19595 2009-12-19T18:17:39Z 2009-12-19T18:17:39Z It's a nice theory Matt but those ideas of feedback and multiplier effects back into the economy have not been the reality for at least two decades. Globalization has made this argument that the larger business community reinvests in the community irrelevant as we continue to cycle out of the goods producing era in the United States. Sacramento has a pretty good diversified economy with a decent balance of goods producing, service producing and private eduational and health services balanced with a large public sector as the State Govt HQ. This reasonable balance has allowed Sacramento to weather the past three recessions better than other parts of the state. The ongoing argument that government is antithetical to business is just absurd. Anti-trust policies enforced by government keep competition open, and regulation that protects citizens is a good thing. Citizens poisioned by effulents don't make good consumers. And every time the mimimum wage is raised business screams about how it will run them out well...hasn't happened so far. Some in the business community are like a black hole, no matter how much they are given it is never enough. This notion that Sacramento is unfriendly to business is just an absurd assertion not backed up with any facts. Mr. Mahood can you provide sustantive and quantifiable facts as to how Sacramento (city/ county/ region) is unfriendly to business? Not anecdotes as it is a fact that anecdotes are biased and not representative of the population. Just because your buddies got some resistance on Nestle and the fact that you don't have enough cash to buy off everyone doesn't mean the region is unfriendly to business. savemidtown 2009-12-19T18:17:39Z savemidtown comment-19594 2009-12-19T17:56:09Z 2009-12-19T17:56:09Z This is just the tip of the iceberg - what we see is only a small portion of the bad behavior of the Department under Mr. Thomas. We can hope the investigation is casting a larger net to investigate more than just this incident but sadly it probably isn't. The Feds need to say NO!! We broke your rules but hey give us a break? No way. savemidtown 2009-12-19T17:56:09Z savemidtown comment-19562 2009-12-18T23:55:06Z 2009-12-18T23:55:06Z Downtown needs housing and the services and retail that supports residents. Sports and entertainment complexes do not do that - & where in the downtown core would the powers that be put it? Most central city residents don't want it anywhere near them - how about the edge of South Land Park near the zoo? It's downtown adjacent or East Sacramento, also downtown adjacent. Oh right not there cause many of the chamber and development community live there and they don't want it near them either. savemidtown 2009-12-18T23:55:06Z savemidtown comment-19560 2009-12-18T23:33:03Z 2009-12-18T23:33:03Z My NY comment was based on experience in Manhattan - no personal experience in Brooklyn - i would urge Brooklynites to do what people in Manhattan did and ensure the laws are consistent and enforced. savemidtown 2009-12-18T23:33:03Z savemidtown comment-19484 2009-12-18T07:46:59Z 2009-12-18T07:46:59Z City code says the private companies can pick up as early as 4 AM and they are usually picking up large dumpsters that crash to the ground, the truck and crashing dumpsters can exceed 100 decibles and if it's outside your window i assure you it sucks. If you don't live with this mayhem you do not understand at all and have no baseline from which to criticize anyone. It is a huge quality of life issue in the central city. The city trucks come after 8 AM. Why not be consistent and make all of them 8 am or later? New York City does not allow any trash pick up between 8 PM and 8 AM and they have been doing this whole city thing a lot longer than us. For the residents, I recommend talking to other central city neighborhood associations, I even recall at one time this was an issue for the Midtown Business Association- they might be able to help too. I know from talking to my neighbors that there are many residents across the central city who feel the same way - strength in numbers. savemidtown 2009-12-18T07:46:59Z savemidtown comment-19486 2009-12-18T07:46:00Z 2009-12-18T07:46:00Z Don't forget we are also handing over 100k to developers Heller and Kolokatronis (sp?) and businesses (Ernesto) and Old Soul as their buildings are on the alleys to be 'activated' while many blocks stay dark. Oh the Irony - this is 'left over' street light money. When neighbors demand minimal safety infrastructure like crosswalks and streetlight s they're told there isn't any money, yet 100k magically appeared for this. Alley activation is worthwhile but not at the expense of other much more desperately needed infrastructure. There are huge swaths of Midtown heavily traveled by pedestrians (P Street, 21st Street, etc) that desperately need lights. This money could have leveraged lights for many dark blocks. This is a total insult and slap in the face to all residents of this city. savemidtown 2009-12-18T07:46:00Z savemidtown comment-19488 2009-12-18T05:41:12Z 2009-12-18T05:41:12Z Staples is at the end of the Fig corridor at a huge intersection that bifurcates downtown LA and the area around it is not so lovely - skid row is just a few blocks away and the streets look torn up even though that's how they always are and I never saw any businesses open or any people nearby even during events so there isn't really a neighborhood nearby just a wasteland. Maybe we should look at Wrigley field - it is in the middle of a thriving neighborhood. If Staples is our model we are in trouble. Can we at least try to do something unique to Sacramento? Instead of continually trying to plop down a copy of something that worked somewhere else (ie: Downtown Plaza as a pseudo Horton Plaza) just to see it fail here. savemidtown 2009-12-18T05:41:12Z savemidtown comment-19074 2009-12-10T06:48:24Z 2009-12-10T06:48:24Z Make no mistake, even under the council-manager form of governance which we have today, the city manager is the top dog. He sets the council agenda and is the gatekeeper for what council does or does not hear from city staff. Therefore it is critical that the community remains vigilant and remain in direct contact with their councilmembers. Kerridge despises the press, and community input. He has single handedly undone many of the small but hard fought battles between residents and developers, won slowly over many years and has let it slip once or twice that the neighbors don't matter. So it's no surprise he doesn't want to be 'caught on camera' or quoted in the press as it allows him to keep up his sleazy backroom deals with developers. If you really want to know about Ray Kerridge, ask around up in Portland. He was a half-wit building inspector run out on a rail who somehow snowed the hiring committee and landed in Sacramento. savemidtown 2009-12-10T06:48:24Z savemidtown comment-19073 2009-12-10T06:36:51Z 2009-12-10T06:36:51Z The Mills Act is a big reason for the sucess of the Gaslamp in San Diego as SD has the largest Mills Act program in CA. Why we have not implemented Mills as an economic development strategy on K street is totally beyond me. Seriously? What is wrong with our electeds and city staff that they don't get it. savemidtown 2009-12-10T06:36:51Z savemidtown comment-18916 2009-12-08T06:25:15Z 2009-12-08T06:25:15Z Now if only they could turn down the volume in the rest of the place. Seriously the music playing outside is super loud and on at 8 AM. Is that really necessary? savemidtown 2009-12-08T06:25:15Z savemidtown comment-18915 2009-12-08T06:17:22Z 2009-12-08T06:17:22Z That block has not been a draw for locals for a long time. Mr. Kerth and his friends at MBA might want to take note of this closing. It used to be good but the quality of food and service declined over time. In addition, Zocalo has driven off almost all local patrons as the ick factor thanks to Zocalo keeps many nearby residents away. I'm surprised Paesanos is still doing well - their food is good and the Virga family knows the restaurant business and are good neighbors. I went to Dragonfly a few times when they were new but as the block got more popular with non-locals the less fun it became. As a midtown resident, I go out of my way to avoid 18th & Capitol. savemidtown 2009-12-08T06:17:22Z savemidtown comment-18402 2009-11-28T18:19:27Z 2009-11-28T18:19:27Z A food drive is not a bad thing - it's just that Old Soul has not engendered many friends or respect from their current Midtown neighbors by their continual disregard for the neighbors and any city rules about noise, parking, etc. They talk a good talk but don't follow the rules and don't walk the walk. we're kinda hoping business goes so well in Oak Park they decide to vacate 17th & L. We can only hope. savemidtown 2009-11-28T18:19:27Z savemidtown comment-18401 2009-11-28T18:12:09Z 2009-11-28T18:12:09Z Thanks to the first commenter for the real story on how Midtown Business Assn continues to treat the residents who make up 60% of their customer base like garbage. I guess MBA doesn't have to follow long standing city ordinances re: construction noise to not begin before 7:30 AM. MBA is not known for thier outreach - in fact they're well known for not giving any regard to the people who live here. It is residents & businesses together that make Midtown great, not just them. The current city manager gives no regard for the people who actually live here either so sadly none of this is any surprise. MBA has done no parking mitigation. We walked by yesterday and saw the huge mess - thank MBA & City of Sacramento for continuing to treat Midtown residents like refuse. MBA member businesses need to know their board of directors is not winning them any favors from the residents who support their businesses. For the $250,000 price tag, the rink is small and utterly unimpressive and hopefully the large expense means it will return to downtown next year. St. Rose is a much better venue with plenty of parking and fewer residents in the immediate vicinity. East Sacramento has many blocks near the commercial parts of J Street and around Mercy that are resident only parking 24 hr and 1 hour in some area until 10 PM. It is time for Midtown residents to take a stand and Demand the same. savemidtown 2009-11-28T18:12:09Z savemidtown comment-18146 2009-11-23T06:02:53Z 2009-11-23T06:02:53Z People are lame - certainly keep checking craigs list and ebay & best wishes of luck to getting him back home safely. savemidtown 2009-11-23T06:02:53Z savemidtown comment-18119 2009-11-23T02:46:23Z 2009-11-23T02:46:23Z This is fantastic and a great way to get people engaged in their neighborhoods. savemidtown 2009-11-23T02:46:23Z savemidtown comment-18111 2009-11-22T17:54:06Z 2009-11-22T17:54:06Z Another winning strategy for any businessis to contribute time or $ or at least a space for a community bulletin board and advocate for causes they beleive in that complement the neighborhoods in which they do business. For example, In the central city, almost 2/3 of patrons are also neighbors so getting involved in neighborhood liveability issues is a huge bonus and doing really simple things like keeping the outside of your business free of litter and graffiti and keeping a few exterior lights on overnight make a huge difference. I am much more likely to patronize a business if I know they are also a good neighbor. As an example, I no longer patronize any businesses owned by a particular popular restauranteur because they are very disrespectful to the surrounding neighbors, and many of my neighbors feel the same way. Wheras I go out of my way to patronize a particular boutique on 19th because the owners are excellent neighbors. Being a good neighbor goes a long way. savemidtown 2009-11-22T17:54:06Z savemidtown comment-18074 2009-11-21T05:06:54Z 2009-11-21T05:06:54Z I was in the area last week before the opening and parking was already a nightmare - MBA's parking mitigation plans are insufficient. Lack of parking will frustrate potential patrons, residents and business owners. Again - residents are very supportive of the rink being here - don't misunderstand, but it needs to be well managed and from what we saw even before opening - that wasn't happening. savemidtown 2009-11-21T05:06:54Z savemidtown comment-18014 2009-11-20T04:58:25Z 2009-11-20T04:58:25Z Can the city do more outreach in the form of signs in the areas parking is free? Maybe the city could hit up the Midtown Business Association as it directly benefits them. MBA has done ZERO parking mitigation for the Ice Rink at 20th & K. While many residents support the rink, the parking around it is absurd. I was in the area of the rink a few days ago and it was mayhem. Non-residents were circling around and taking up all the street spaces on non-metered streets in residential areas. I'm amazed that people think nothing of spending money on the rink and/ or dinner but refuse to pay and are offended if they have to pay $1.25 / hr. for a meter. I live in Midtown and on the rare occasion I need to drive to another part of Midtown I suck it up and spend a dollar to park my car at a meter. It's really OK to pay for parking if you don't live in the neighborhood. savemidtown 2009-11-20T04:58:25Z savemidtown comment-18013 2009-11-20T04:49:05Z 2009-11-20T04:49:05Z This is such a postive development for Midtown. Schools are integral to healthy neighborhoods and we are so lucky to have Country Day School here. Now...let's get to work on getting another public high school in addition to the Met in Southside, into Midtown. savemidtown 2009-11-20T04:49:05Z savemidtown comment-18012 2009-11-20T04:43:12Z 2009-11-20T04:43:12Z If the author of this story is characterizing the consultants study correctly, City of Sac Economic Development staff will use it as justification to demolish what few historic structures are left leaving us a barren boring uninspired urban landscape. I attended the Urban Design Alliance Dialogue on K Street in October and one of the primary consultants who contributed to the report cited in this article was one of the presenters. She was very misguided in her assessment of what K Street needs. She cited it needs more quasi-big box stores. Please NO! She is based in DC and makes her living selling snake oil masked as original research. She used a model (ie: insert city name here) based approach - a formula if you will. Anyone familiar with economic models knows that models are only approximations of reality not actual reality & always fall short. savemidtown 2009-11-20T04:43:12Z savemidtown comment-17845 2009-11-17T03:23:26Z 2009-11-17T03:23:26Z Check out the nightmare that is the downtown arena in St. Louis - a total eyesore and scar on the downtown skyline. St. Louis and Sacramento have so much in common it's eerie. Study their history and urban design failures for some insight into where we are headed if we actually do build a downtown arena. What is so bad about a downtown adjacent arena like Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles? I have been pleasantly surprised to see Downtown kind of lively on the weekends. The Crocker is pretty busy and Downtown Plaza is not a ghost town. The financial district is SF and downtown LA and Chicago are quiet on weekends too. I don't see a bit of respite from the busy work week to be a bad thing necessarily for those who choose to live in the core. savemidtown 2009-11-17T03:23:26Z savemidtown comment-17803 2009-11-16T03:44:45Z 2009-11-16T03:44:45Z Thank you Mr. Burg for giving this some good insight and perspective and facts. savemidtown 2009-11-16T03:44:45Z savemidtown comment-17596 2009-11-10T21:08:03Z 2009-11-10T21:08:03Z The city has been trying for years to do bins in the central city and owners have not volunteered because it is completely ineffective on the grid. Our trees and yardwaste is so massive a container wouldn't work much of year. When you factor in multi-unit dwellings, the lack of off street parking and storage (we are a dense neighborhood) it is the wrong solution. I get the claw costs more money because it takes two staff instead of one but still what good is cost savings when the unintended consequences are far worse? savemidtown 2009-11-10T21:08:03Z savemidtown comment-17594 2009-11-10T21:03:45Z 2009-11-10T21:03:45Z I would much rather have Bill Thomas out of the office until until he is hopefully fired. Agreed, he shouldn't get his pay but that is how the system works - innocent until proven guilty so for now his guilt is only alleged. I do hope this is resolved soon and we have a new director of development services / community development.. savemidtown 2009-11-10T21:03:45Z savemidtown comment-17277 2009-11-05T05:34:34Z 2009-11-05T05:34:34Z Seriously - having the central city treated like the rest of the city is not practical - as a central city property owner - the claw makes sense - savemidtown 2009-11-05T05:34:34Z savemidtown comment-17276 2009-11-05T05:30:40Z 2009-11-05T05:30:40Z KJ's tantrum last night was pathetic. And his comments about the Constitution that demonstrate his complete lack of knowledge is frightening. Thanks all here for thoughtful and insightful comments. The corruption in this city runs deep, and KJ is another shining example of that. Seriously - Kerridge, Thomas and KJ all need to go! savemidtown 2009-11-05T05:30:40Z savemidtown comment-17275 2009-11-05T05:25:40Z 2009-11-05T05:25:40Z Has anyone done seismic tests to see if this will impact the historic shops? Sutter Hospital could not do pile driving because of its proximity to several historic buildings. When the Marriott at 15th & L was going in, the pile driving cracked plaster and damaged foundations eight blocks away. Seriously....has the city considered this? If they damage these buildings we (the city) will be in huge trouble and be on the hook for fixing them. savemidtown 2009-11-05T05:25:40Z savemidtown comment-16863 2009-10-31T06:00:00Z 2009-10-31T06:00:00Z Downtown adjacent arenas are ok - it works in Chicago, SF, & LA but in the middle of downtown? St. Louis did this and the area around the arena is a total dead zone. Arenas do not activate an area they essentially make it single purpose. I personally don't want a downtown where only tourists are welcome. savemidtown 2009-10-31T06:00:00Z savemidtown comment-16862 2009-10-31T05:52:20Z 2009-10-31T05:52:20Z The LA times ran a piece on Sacramento in their travel section last year that got it 'right' as well - i just wish our own leaders would 'get it right - maybe they should read the papers from other real ciities. Thanks for the link. savemidtown 2009-10-31T05:52:20Z savemidtown comment-16780 2009-10-30T02:49:28Z 2009-10-30T02:49:28Z While i agree we need traditional high schools too downtown, this is in my view a catalyst to make that happen. If / when SCUSD sees it works here maybe they will come back and not abandon us as they have now. Please come to Midtown or Downtown. There are several sites that might work well like the Washington School at 17th & N. savemidtown 2009-10-30T02:49:28Z savemidtown comment-16779 2009-10-30T02:46:01Z 2009-10-30T02:46:01Z It is this same complete incompetence and mismanagement that lost them Sac High to St. Hope. I suspect it's much more sinister - like an offer for the land from a developer. Seriously what else could it be because there is no other plausible explanation other than they got a better offer. savemidtown 2009-10-30T02:46:01Z savemidtown comment-16778 2009-10-30T02:41:49Z 2009-10-30T02:41:49Z SCUSD probably got an offer from a developer to replace this City Landmark with condos. There is clearly something amiss about this whole thing. Quacks like a duck...And yes - where are our schools downtown? How can we have a liveable city without decent schools? savemidtown 2009-10-30T02:41:49Z savemidtown comment-16459 2009-10-27T04:45:12Z 2009-10-27T04:45:12Z Maybe with Mr. Thomas gone we will see actual leadership. Thank You! Mr. Kwong, I do hope this Council has your back. savemidtown 2009-10-27T04:45:12Z savemidtown comment-16446 2009-10-27T02:36:41Z 2009-10-27T02:36:41Z I understand we have some POP officers left - do we have any Community Service Officers left? Very good resources that worked. savemidtown 2009-10-27T02:36:41Z savemidtown comment-16445 2009-10-27T02:26:03Z 2009-10-27T02:26:03Z Thank you Councilmember McCarty. savemidtown 2009-10-27T02:26:03Z savemidtown comment-16341 2009-10-26T04:17:22Z 2009-10-26T04:17:22Z Great piece - I agree with most of what you say here, but I think well managed Valet parking is part of the solution. Yes it's convenient because street parking shouldn't be if residents have priority. Valet parking must be used in in conjunction with evening enforcement of the Residential Permit program, more widespread use of resident only parking in highly impacted parts of Midtown, and paying to park on most residential streets for non-residents into the late evening hours. The cumulative effect of parking waivers has been a nightmare for Midtown residents and businesses alike. Waivers do a disservice to business owners too as their employees and customers are left with few parking options. It's bad for everyone, especially residents. Like the zoing map, a parking map would be equally complex. It's hard which is why it has not yet been done. The Valet ordinance going to council this week makes it illegal for Valet parking operators to use street parking and gives parking services some teeth to enforce the ordinance. Alleys are the buffer - the alley I live on has a few alley fronting apartments which is why my alley is one of the better ones in midtown - but in commercial areas alleys are even more important because their dumsters are very smelly and the very loud trash trucks come several times a week - that is no quality of life for a residential tentant. savemidtown 2009-10-26T04:17:22Z savemidtown comment-16328 2009-10-26T01:31:58Z 2009-10-26T01:31:58Z when you call non-emergency dispatch it is also very important you ask for the "Call Number". Because our city police force is understaffed and totally overworked, they often cannot get to non-emergency calls. I was told by dispatch, if PD aren't there in 30 minutes they close the call and you need to call again - hence the reason for the original call number. I would also suggest asking for the contact information for either the Problem Oriented Policing officers assigned to your area or the Community Service Officer for your area - if we have any of these people left - I'm not sure we do. We used to have several POP officers for different areas of the city but budget cuts affected them too. It's sad really - we need more police period. It's not their fault they can't get out there - there are just too many incidents and not enough police officers to respond to everything goin on in this city. savemidtown 2009-10-26T01:31:58Z savemidtown comment-16271 2009-10-25T02:33:05Z 2009-10-25T02:33:05Z Agreed bbbmmer - lots of infill in Midtown is crap but there are some well done projects. To another commenter, at no point was it said they have to match early 20th Century architecture but compatibility with the existing architecture is a huge issue. Many cities have figured out how to do pretty well. Why can't we? I have seen the renderings and some are ok, but as with most infill, it is uninspired. Because these structures are likely going up in traditional neighborhoods and in some cases historic districts, we deserve better. savemidtown 2009-10-25T02:33:05Z savemidtown comment-16213 2009-10-24T05:19:43Z 2009-10-24T05:19:43Z Thanks State of CA for demolishing four city blocks of housing and local retail including a favorite greasy spoop the Camelia Cafe for the moonscape that is the East End. It's only a few years old and now they're gonna sell it. No - I think the state should have to hang on to it and and suffer the consequences for repeating their pattern of destroying wide swaths of our city like they did with Capitol Mall which used to be a vibrant neighborhood known as the West End - and a major reason for the decline of K Street. savemidtown 2009-10-24T05:19:43Z savemidtown comment-16214 2009-10-24T03:23:59Z 2009-10-24T03:23:59Z these aren't so pretty - you probably don't want to know what these will look like. savemidtown 2009-10-24T03:23:59Z savemidtown comment-16211 2009-10-24T02:54:04Z 2009-10-24T02:54:04Z Sounds like Steve is a bit of a whiner and maybe even a bully. Bullys use loaded language and scare tactics to get people to agree with them. I doubt Steve thought any of this through. Classic spatula strategy - stir it up and see what happens. savemidtown 2009-10-24T02:54:04Z savemidtown comment-15739 2009-10-17T22:27:37Z 2009-10-17T22:27:37Z With more locations they might very well need more space for their baking, coffee roasting, and wholesale operations currently housed in the alley at 18th & Capitol. It would be great for everyone if they have the space in the Oak Park location to relocate some of the operations not well suited to the alley location. They have excellent coffee and baked goods but I wasn't impressed with the Weatherstone location. Every time i went there and ordered off the menu they were out of whatever I ordered. Their service was friendly but slow at the Weatherstone location. Still my eventual order was good and coffee and pasteries are first rate. I hope they are very sucessful at this new location. savemidtown 2009-10-17T22:27:37Z savemidtown comment-15324 2009-10-12T05:26:48Z 2009-10-12T05:26:48Z The administrators of the school did their research and indeed, there is a market here for this school. Take a look at the income and demographic breakdown of the central city today not 30 years ago. This perception of Midtown as only poor people is dead wrong. And besides what is wrong with diverse income levels in an area? savemidtown 2009-10-12T05:26:48Z savemidtown comment-15323 2009-10-12T05:21:55Z 2009-10-12T05:21:55Z Our crime stats tell the real story. Certain pockets of Midtown consistently have higher rates of assualts and car break-ins than many percieved "bad neighborhoods" in the city. And as expected these pockets are often within 500 feet of certain bars. I take issue with those who say "well it's a high crime area anyway" Midtown has it's fair share of crime but the bad actor bars and the crowd they attract have made it much worse in recent years. I guess it's good that people who visit still think it's safe but really, it is not. - fortunately for residents - we know better and stay out of the 'high-value target' areas. savemidtown 2009-10-12T05:21:55Z savemidtown comment-15322 2009-10-12T05:09:10Z 2009-10-12T05:09:10Z Wow! This is truly an enlightening look at K Street. Our city's history is our strength. We have what no one else in the region has yet city leaders continue to view it as an obstacle instead of the huge asset it is. It always baffles me why our city leaders don't get that and see the real and practical solutions, both inexpensive and complex to make this a huge regional draw. Thank you for this really excellent view of the "how" to fixing K Street. savemidtown 2009-10-12T05:09:10Z savemidtown comment-15146 2009-10-09T02:58:31Z 2009-10-09T02:58:31Z That pit we see at 8th & K is our meal ticket. Sacramento's underground or raised streets are the reason we are all here. Without this early and frankly innovative flood control measure the State Capitol would probably have moved elsewhere. The underground needs to be protected and frankly exploited as the huge tourist attraction it can be. Agreed, fix what is here, don't demolish it on speculation. Rehab the exisiting historic treasures and culitvate local talent instead of endlessly craving for a little bit o' Roseville or Elk Grove downtown. savemidtown 2009-10-09T02:58:31Z savemidtown comment-15079 2009-10-08T01:29:02Z 2009-10-08T01:29:02Z Because Economic Development will never get "it" or figure out how to do downtown development. A good first step would be to stop treating K Street like our very own Winchester Mystery House. savemidtown 2009-10-08T01:29:02Z savemidtown comment-14837 2009-10-02T05:02:08Z 2009-10-02T05:02:08Z Unfortunately the discussion got sidetracked by the cars on K issue - Sacramento needs to play to its strengths - yes, the river, but what we have that no one else in the region has is an inventory of historic buildings ripe for adaptive reuse. That is our sense of place and key to K Streets future. Housing is key as well as a dynamic retail and entertainment mix. None will work without the other. The neighborhoods destroyed by the creation of Capitol Mall are a huge part of K Streets decline. Vibrant downtowns have many many residential options. Chicago works because tens of thousands live there and have options in all price ranges from SRO to luxury penthouse- in addition to being the nexus of a large population center. While we will need to also draw visitors from nearby communities to sustain a vibrant downtown, more residential is key. Westfield needs to go. We are being outdone by Redding - they did a similar concept on Market Street in the 60's enclosing two city blocks - today it has been reopened - to the sky but not to cars, it is still a pedestrian mall but its historic buildings have been restored and it is a whole new place where people want to be - as a pedestrian and bike friendly place. It's sort of pathetic that Redding is three steps ahead. The panelists also referenced the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Yeah it helps when you have a beach boardwalk nextdoor to draw visitors - so the comparisons are apples and oranges. I also agree with just about everything Mr. Burg said - restoration of K Street will happen one building and storefront at a time - small shops, and reasonably scaled restoration projects not our absurd quest for 'bigger is better'. When will the City (Economic Development) get a clue? How many more failures must we suffer before they figure it out? savemidtown 2009-10-02T05:02:08Z savemidtown comment-14328 2009-09-25T04:31:05Z 2009-09-25T04:31:05Z Target rich near the bars. Safer days existed in Midtown about four years ago. Crime stats and conversations with our patrol officers don't lie. There is a very real and present escalation of violent crime in Midtown and there is a source. We are backsliding and fast. In LA and SF (I have lived in both) we had 14 foot wrought iron fences around our buildings. Every home in mixed use areas in SF has a super secure security gate. Is this what we want for Midtown? Is this our future? If we keep going down the current path it is. Is this how you want to live? I don't. savemidtown 2009-09-25T04:31:05Z