"What's going on Sacramento" Chit-Chat [Archive] - Page 7

Phillip

Oct 8, 2008, 5:28 AM

I've been to Washington Park in Portland and Washington Park in Portland is under 130 acres (http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=841)not 4000. Where did you get the 4000 acre figures from

My post was probably confusing because I used "Washington Park" and "Forest Park" interchangably, and they're not the same thing. Washington Park, with hundreds of acres, is just one small part of Forest Park, which is thousands of acres. I should have said Forest Park is about 4,000 acres, not Washington Park.

Washington Park and the zoo are the areas of Forest Park that people know best because they're the most developed areas, with the Rose Garden, statues, gift shops, tennis courts, train ride, and paved parking lots. Most people never visit the other 90% of Forest Park, which is largely raw forest.

From wikipedia's Forest Park entry:

Forest Park is a municipal and public park in the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills) west of downtown Portland, Oregon. It is the largest urban forest reserve in the United States. The park covers more than 5,100 acres (21 km2) of mostly second-growth forest with a few patches of old growth and is threaded by more than 70 miles (110 km) of recreational trails. Forest Park stretches for more than 8 miles (13 km) on hillsides overlooking the Willamette River.

Forest Park is among the largest city parks in the United States. In 2007, The Trust for Public Land put the park in 19th place with 4,317 acres (17 km2), slightly smaller than its 2008 total of about 5,100 acres (21 km2). The trust’s list included state parks, national parks, county parks, regional parks, national wildlife refuges, as well as municipally-owned parks as long as they were in cities. Chugach State Park in Anchorage, Alaska, was in first place with 495,996 acres (2,007 km2). The 15 biggest parks on the list all had more than 5,500 acres (22 km2).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Park_(Portland)

Even if there wasn't another tree anywhere else in Portland I think Forest Park's 4,000-5,000 almost uninterrupted acres of dense pine might give Portland more trees per capita than Sacramento.

Now tomato bushes are another story. There Sacramento beats Portland, hands down.

wburg

Oct 8, 2008, 5:37 AM

I'm not necessarily saying that the "more trees per capita" thing *can't* be true--it could. But we don't know, because nobody has counted the trees yet!

Of course, considering how many trees we have lost in the central city in recent years, such a count would be lower now than if it had been conducted a decade or so ago.

Suffice to say, we've got a whole lot of trees. And they're actually trees in the city, not in country areas outside the city. And these trees perform a real, practical function, aside from being pretty and turning CO2 into oxygen: they provide shade that makes our sidewalks a heck of a lot more comfortable in this climate. In San Francisco or Portland, there is less reason for shade because the cities are cooler. A nice tree canopy turns a walk on a 90-100 degree day from something unbearable (like crossing a mall parking lot) into something pretty comfortable. That adds more to "walkability" than another ultra lounge!

One of my favorite things about the central city is looking down the streets in mid-summer and not being able to see the sky because there's a total green canopy over the street.

econgrad

Oct 8, 2008, 9:40 PM

^ I hope that in the Railyards they put in wider sidewalks, so there is enough room for trees and people.

wburg

Oct 8, 2008, 9:45 PM

econgrad:

How wide do you think the sidewalks should be?

Phillip

Oct 9, 2008, 3:23 AM

Suffice to say, we've got a whole lot of trees.

Yes. It doesn't really matter what city has the most trees per capita. I seriously doubt it's Sacramento, but there's no prize for having the most trees anyhow.

There's plenty of room for trees in the Railyards but don't the planted saplings take many years to get tall enough to shade buildings? That's one reason I usually favor 70's and 80's apartment complexes over newly built ones; the landscaping is mature. The grounds at most of the newest apartment complexes just look barren.

Fusey

Oct 14, 2008, 2:02 PM

What's with the new Sac Bee website? It looks almost exactly like the Sacramento Business Journal's.

Grimnebulin

Oct 14, 2008, 3:18 PM

What's with the new Sac Bee website? It looks almost exactly like the Sacramento Business Journal's.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1311769.html

They did some surveys a while back and it was rated one of the worst newspaper sites out there. And it was horrible! Definitely an improvement...to the design. Now if they could only improve the content...:haha:

Fusey

Oct 14, 2008, 4:09 PM

Now if they could only improve the content...:haha:

True! :haha:

Not that I'm complaining, but the new design caught me off guard and I thought my bookmarks were out of whack at first.

TowerDistrict

Oct 14, 2008, 4:30 PM

Now that their content area is wider, maybe they'll stop writing in one sentence paragraphs. When i paste their stories here, I change the paragraph breaks in their stories because it's unreadable. I don't even speak that choppy, let alone write that way.

econgrad

Oct 14, 2008, 8:33 PM

econgrad:

How wide do you think the sidewalks should be?

9 feet wide would be a start, with wider areas for street venders and street entertainers in many areas. Just like areas in downtown Santa Cruz like you and I debated about before. 12 feet would be great...

wburg

Oct 14, 2008, 9:36 PM

Downtown Sacramento's sidewalks are already that wide, econgrad--generally they're around 10 feet from the curb to the buildings, even wider in some spots, like K Street and Capitol Mall or anyplace with a set-back public plaza. I'm pretty sure the Railyards specific plan outlines sidewalk width, and since they're trying to model downtown Sacramento in general form, those widths will be similar.

Phillip

Oct 29, 2008, 7:01 AM

We were talking about Sacramento's trees a few weeks ago. I took these pics last January (so no leaves) at the South Natomas apartment where I was staying then. This was what I saw out my bedroom and living room windows.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll48/PhilipsPics/El%20Centro%20Weeds/trees1-1.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll48/PhilipsPics/El%20Centro%20Weeds/271birds-1.jpg

Majin

Oct 29, 2008, 7:41 PM

Is The Sacramento Union a conservative paper? I noticed they endorsed McCain... Looks like I'm never reading that garbage again and not shopping at places that carry that paper.

ozone

Oct 29, 2008, 11:26 PM

The Sacramento Union was specifically created to promote right-wing views and not as a serious news-paper. Much like Fox News was created as a media tool of the Republican Party.

travis bickle

Oct 30, 2008, 3:31 PM

The Sacramento Union was specifically created to promote right-wing views and not as a serious news-paper. Much like Fox News was created as a media tool of the Republican Party.

double post

jsf8278

Oct 30, 2008, 4:25 PM

Or like how taxpayer-funded PBS has become a "media tool" of the far left going so far as pulling from the air documentaries that don't follow a left agenda. Or how CNN has repeatedly been caught in mistakes/agendas reflecting liberal politics. Or how MSNBC had to finally remove their two lead anchors during the conventions because they were so clearly biased toward the democratic party. Tell you what ozone... please name some specific examples where Fox News carried water for the republican party. Otherwise just shut up...

If you think PBS, CNN, and MSNBC are basis, but don't see the basis in Fox News, you should open your eyes...or clean the shit out of your ears.

travis bickle

Oct 30, 2008, 5:13 PM

If you think PBS, CNN, and MSNBC are basis, but don't see the basis in Fox News, you should open your eyes...or clean the shit out of your ears.

Name some specifics my friend... I certainly can. But here's a better suggestion. Let's leave the sweeping political generalities off these boards. When politics affects a specific project or discretionary decision, fine. Otherwise, it just generates this kind of stuff (probably the reason Majin posted the question...).

ozone

Oct 30, 2008, 5:58 PM

- another angry and delusional *_*hole. By the way, what is the topic at hand? Aw yes trees. I think that I shall never see a strip mall or a housing tract as lovely as a tree. :notacrook: Tree-huggers '08

austinjfox

Oct 30, 2008, 5:58 PM

just because the SU is pro-republican doesn't mean its garbage. I think that all our media sources are biased one way or the other. There is no reliable source. All political views should be equally encouraged and unbiased by the views of the media.

travis bickle

Oct 30, 2008, 6:37 PM

ozone

Oct 30, 2008, 9:06 PM

This gem must be read in a pompous tone ala Bill O’ Reilly: “And even a cursory review of your posts suggests significant anger management issues. Finally, those who know me on this board know I am neither angry nor delusional. Your reputation, such as it is, is well established. PM me if you have anything further”

.... golly I never knew had a reputation....I’m all a twitter.

How can anyone deny that FOX news is biased when the owner Rupert Murdock is on record (I’ve seen the video) saying that he fully supports President Bush and in particular the war in Iraq and that he has tried to sway public opinion towards support of the war. Humm.. I wonder how a media mogul would try to sway public opinion?

I’ve had enough of the willfully ill-informed people (who chose to listen to Rush and Hannity all day and think you know what’s going on in the real world) then get mad when someone like me -a self-defeating socialist-liberal-commie businessman points outs that maybe they don’t know what the hell their talking about.

And since I’m not a closet case I will not be PM-ing you Travis.

Back to trees... I like trees very much.

Majin

Oct 30, 2008, 9:55 PM

please name some specific examples where Fox News carried water for the republican party. Otherwise just shut up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJox3lZGNgg

travis bickle

Oct 30, 2008, 10:11 PM

[QUOTE=ozone;3883640]

double post

ltsmotorsport

Oct 31, 2008, 2:51 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJox3lZGNgg

The end all. There is no debate. Game over.

innov8

Oct 31, 2008, 5:08 AM

If you think PBS, CNN, and MSNBC are basis, but don't see the basis in Fox News, you should open your eyes...or clean the shit out of your ears.

This is a ridiculous argument… so there are 6 bias TV networks that push
their liberal agenda and only 1 that push a conservative agenda and this is okay?
We should be pissed that any news network covers news this way at all; news
was not reported this way 40 years ago. The only place conservative views
dominate are on talk radio; where as newspaper and TV are controlled by liberal views.

jsf8278, I did not mean to direct this at you... its mainly for our buddy ozone
who knows how to fan the flames with nut job talking points.

jsf8278

Oct 31, 2008, 3:56 PM

This is a ridiculous argument… so there are 6 bias TV networks that push
their liberal agenda and only 1 that push a conservative agenda and this is okay?
We should be pissed that any news network covers news this way at all; news
was not reported this way 40 years ago. The only place conservative views
dominate are on talk radio; where as newspaper and TV are controlled by liberal views.

jsf8278, I did not mean to direct this at you... its mainly for our buddy ozone
who knows how to fan the flames with nut job talking points.

I agree that we should be pissed about any bias news networks. I think the problem is that individually we tend to watch the channels that have an ideological bend in the direction in which we favor. I personally only watch PBS, and I don't see it as bias, but maybe that's b/c I agree with whatever bias they might have. This same proposition may hold true for a conservative who watches Fox News.

innov8

Nov 14, 2008, 3:04 AM

Another midrise building built by the State in downtown that's making people
sick... the BOE headquarters at 450 N St also has been dealing with a mold problem.

Last gasps?
The air at a downtown Sacramento apartment complex may be making some residents sick

By Seth Sandronsky

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7883/news26499hz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Wilma Cabral, 78, says living at Riverview Plaza is making her sick. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency says otherwise.
PHOTO BY DOMINICK PORRAS
Seth Sandronsky is a longtime SN&R contributor. Check out his work in the alphabetized archives.

Wilma Cabral, 78, is homesick. Literally. Both her doctor and a local environmental consultant agree that conditions at the Riverview Plaza apartments where Cabral lives are undoubtedly contributing to her allergies and the dramatic decline of her respiratory health.

Riverview Plaza is a 15-story apartment building located at 600 I Street, where the view includes Interstate 5 and the downtown Sacramento rail yards. The building is owned and operated by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and provides 123 affordable apartments to low-income seniors, including Cabral.

A retired cocktail server, Cabral has voiced complaint with the SHRA, to little avail. Her city councilman and the mayor have so far ignored her pleas. Meanwhile, her health continues to worsen.

“Living at Riverview takes my energy away,” she said. “Every evening I have to put on nasal strips to improve my breathing. My throat stays as dry as cotton.”

Dr. Kay Nelsen, of UC Davis Medical Center, has been treating Cabral for three years. Nelsen wrote this June that “there is a reasonable degree of medical certainty that her current environment has markedly contributed to her current medical state.”

Riverview was built with local, state and federal funds and opened in 1988. According to Nelsen, there are associations between Cabral’s allergies and respiratory problems, the building’s age, and previous water damage.

Cabral claims that water has overflowed from a pool on the building’s top floor more than once since she has lived there.

But Nick Chhotu, SHRA’s assistant director, said that there have been no leaks from the Riverview pool the past five years. The leaks were a result of “standard” wearing out of caulk on windows and of seals on outside tiles.

Water intrusion creates building dampness and the conditions for building mold to thrive and to harm Riverview’s residents, according to Roseville-based environmental consultant Douglas Haney, author of Toxic Mold! Toxic Enemy!.

“Mold impairs the body’s chemical function by weakening its cells,” Haney said. He learned of Cabral’s case from a friend at Riverview, Bill Grant, a World War II veteran.

Haney, who’s representing Cabral pro bono, believes that diesel exhaust from I-5 and dust from the Southern Pacific rail yard may be blowing into the building and mixing in the humid conditions.

In fact, Haney believes this potential toxic stew may already be causing respiratory health problems, perhaps even deaths, among other low-income seniors at the 15-story building. While low-income residents are reluctant to raise the issue in public, Cabral provided a list of 14 tenants who have suffered respiratory ailments, including four seniors who succumbed to their ailments.

“I am not in this for me only,” Cabral said.

She has contacted Sacramento City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who represents Natomas and the central downtown area, to discuss the possible existence of building mold at Riverview.

He never replied. Tretheway’s staff did not return a call from SN&R.

At a Sacramento City Council meeting in August 2007, Cabral voiced concerns about Riverview and its 100-plus senior residents. The complaint went nowhere.

This January, Haney urged Chhotu, without success, to test the entire building for mold. Chhotu maintained the building has been cleared by previous testing.

This June, Haney delivered Cabral’s formal complaint on the conditions at Riverview to the office of former Mayor Heather Fargo. She did not reply. Haney filed an elder-abuse complaint with the state this July.

SHRA’s Chhotu would not address Cabral’s specific complaints, citing privacy issues. He said Turner Construction began a $5 million building rehabilitation project at the senior apartment complex last month. The scope of this “routine maintenance” includes resealing the entire building, painting and upgrading the emergency and fire systems. The work is set for completion next March.

Before Turner began the rehab, National Analytical Laboratories, based in Rancho Cordova, tested Riverview’s air quality twice, Chhotu said. “Nothing irregular” turned up in the testing for mold and other airborne contaminants.

Asked about the laboratory’s testing at Riverview, executive director Paula Lee said, “We’ve been out there this year but did not inspect the whole complex.”

Buildingwide testing for mold is what Cabral and Haney want. They maintain that testing the air in Cabral’s 600-square-foot apartment, where no mold spores were found, is insufficient.

Cabral says her health is deteriorating. Thus she wants SHRA to move her from Riverview into a “nice place” and pay for the first six months’ rent.

According to Chhotu, the type of housing voucher Cabral seeks must conform with regulations set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which require applicants to get on a waiting list. The SHRA Web site states:

“The waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program is currently closed and applications are not being accepted at this time.”

Cabral’s doctor Nelsen said, “It would greatly benefit her health conditions if she were to move into another apartment complex. Her disease processes have gotten progressively worse and a new environment would be a key element in treating her symptoms.”

Cabral lives on a monthly Social Security check of $890, paying one-quarter of it for rent at Riverview. She is upset but undeterred in demanding relief from SHRA.

“It’s a fight,” she said.

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=879563

Phillip

Nov 14, 2008, 4:14 AM

A retired cocktail server, Cabral has voiced complaint with the SHRA, to little avail.

I wonder how much of her breathing troubles come from decades of working in smoke-filled bars? And living in the polluted Central Valley?

While low-income residents are reluctant to raise the issue in public, Cabral provided a list of 14 tenants who have suffered respiratory ailments, including four seniors who succumbed to their ailments.

Only 14 tenants out of 123 have respiratory ailments? That sounds pretty good for a senior citizen building.

I don't wish breathing troubles on anyone but with three negative air tests and no positives Wilma hasn't convinced me yet that her breathing problems come from the building. That said, if I was a senior citizen I don't think 6th and I is the location I'd most prefer either and I'd try to move somewhere else if I could.

innov8

Nov 14, 2008, 4:57 AM

Only 14 tenants out of 123 have respiratory ailments? That sounds pretty good for a senior citizen building.

Being that it's a senior apartment complex, there could be have been others
but they have passed away. Depending on the turn over there, there could
have been many other who also felt way but figured it was a normal feeling when getting
old... not even considering that the building could also be contributing to their poor health.

econgrad

Nov 14, 2008, 6:21 AM

The Sacramento Union was specifically created to promote right-wing views and not as a serious news-paper. Much like Fox News was created as a media tool of the Republican Party.

So Mark Twain was a republican right wing conspirator?

innov8

Nov 22, 2008, 10:21 PM

I found this intresting, back in 1991 a sky diver jumped from the under
construction Wells Fargo tower 34 times... ending up in the hospital on the last leap.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/1047/skydiverbreaksbonsindroqi4.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/2826/5wellsfargobuilding1991sb8.jpg

innov8

Dec 5, 2008, 3:47 AM

City plans to attack our trees
by Dale Kooyman, published on December 3, 2008 at 9:57PM
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/1164/City_plans_to_attack_our_trees

I've just learned that city management is planning to move the appeal process to cut down trees from the Parks and Recreation Commission to the Planning Commission on all development related issues!!! This would apply to ALL developer projects.

Why is this bad? This change will enable Development Services Manager and staff (who have no expertise in trees) to order removal of healthy shade trees any time a developer wants them removed. The public would have to appeal to the Planning Commission instead of the Parks and Recreation Commission. A tree would not have to be in the way of construction. It could be that the developer wants all new or fewer trees bordering the new buidling. Check out SW corner of 20th & Capitol. The big healthy shade Elm tree would have been cut down had it not been for people's oppositon.

Please attend Urban Forest Sub Committee Agenda for December 8, 2008 5:30 PM. The meeting to discuss and decide this change of policy will be held in Conference Room 2121 - 2nd floor, DOT offices at City Hall.

Our Tree representative, George Raya, will be there on our behalf but he needs our heip. We need to call, email or mail our new Mayor, and councilmembers Loren Hammond , Seve Cohn, Ray Tretheway (former Tree Foundation) , Rob Fong also to let them know this is just a way to get a healthy tree cut down in a hurry to please a develoer who does not even live in our city..

Points to cover a. Planning staff and commission have no expertise in or knowledge about trees like the Parks and Recreation Commission does. b. this is wanton destruction of HEALTHY trees' shade for all pedestrians (mention especially seniors, children, those in wheel chairs) who then have to move around in 100 degree weather. This flies in the face the city encouraging pedestrian actiivity.

We all agree that sick and dangerous trees should be removed but we must save our healthy shade trees from unnecessary destruction.

urban_encounter

Dec 6, 2008, 9:53 PM

goldcntry

Dec 9, 2008, 9:55 PM

Wait.. Wait... who was the tree-hater again? Majin? Econograd? My mind is a blank (tell me something else that's new). ;)

Okay, can I help it if I'm evil?

:tomato:

bc sacramento

Dec 9, 2008, 10:19 PM

I think both sides of the argument are ill informed.

On one side there is remove trees as needed for development. On the other there is save all trees except those that are ill. Well, removing trees just to develope land is a bit abusive and removing only ill trees is a bit reactionary.
In the late '70s and early '80s the City of San Francisco began reforestation efforts in Golden Gate Park. Trees that were previously planted 60 years prior were near the end of there useful existance, and others that were not properly maintained fell victim to disease. A plan was put into place, which phased the replacement of elder trees, and removal of ill trees.

There has never been a real discussion about an Urban Reforestation program within the City of Sacramento.

Sacramento is so crazy about its trees that "wantabe" arborist put their blinders on, as do developers when it comes to removing them for the sake of development.

It is amazing how Sacramento wants to be a city, but the elder generation will not let the younger take charge and really do things in an integrated fashion.

econgrad

Dec 9, 2008, 11:03 PM

Wait.. Wait... who was the tree-hater again? Majin? Econograd? My mind is a blank (tell me something else that's new). ;)

Okay, can I help it if I'm evil?

:tomato:

Please don't label me with juvenile terms such as 'Tree Hater".

ltsmotorsport

Dec 10, 2008, 12:18 AM

How about 'arboreally dissatisfied'? ;)

And it was originally majin that wanted to rid Sacramento of its tree infestation.

econgrad

Dec 10, 2008, 3:10 AM

How about 'arboreally dissatisfied'? ;)

And it was originally majin that wanted to rid Sacramento of its tree infestation.

:haha: that is acceptable..

daverave

Dec 10, 2008, 7:06 AM

It is my understanding that the Urban Forest Services has been moved from Parks and Recreation to the Department of Transportation!?? :koko: Of course that only makes sense in a car-oriented city like Sacramento. "Damn trees makin' a mess on my wheels, cut 'em all down, dammit!"
See: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/transportation/urbanforest/index.html

wburg

Dec 10, 2008, 4:40 PM

daverave: That change happened only about a year or so ago. It didn't really have much to do with Sacramento's car-oriented suburbs, most of the street trees (the ones between the sidewalk and the curb) are in the older neighborhoods that aren't as car-oriented. This new change is yet another step to move trees farther and farther from Parks & Rec, and closer to departments that tend to see trees as inconvenient obstacles that block people's views of new office buildings.

Cynikal

Dec 10, 2008, 5:02 PM

Cynikal

Dec 10, 2008, 5:16 PM

Burg,

I'm sure you and I are going to disagree here but I need to add some details to this debate. I disagree that the Planning Commission will be any less knowledgeable about trees than the Parks Commission. Both hearing bodies would rely on the Urban Forest staff to make a recommendation as they are the subject matter experts.

I was in the meeting on Monday evening and several of the Parks Commission members complained about not having the expertize to make a decision on a tree appeal as part of a development application. I think the recent Mercy and Crocker projects have highlighted this well.

To me the issue is this, do you want the hearing body that reviews tree appeals to look at the tree alone or as part of the development application? My personal opinion is that one should look at the project as a whole to weigh the pros and cons about all the issues whether the issues are trees, circulation, traffic impacts, whatever. They should be analyzed by one group. But again this is my personal feeling on the matter, the Parks and Rec Commission will make that decision in Jan.

goldcntry

Dec 10, 2008, 6:15 PM

Please don't label me with juvenile terms such as 'Tree Hater".

Most abject and humble apologies! If the caffeine had kicked in faster yesterday, I'd've come up with a better adjective. :P

Remember, I'm just an evil pot-stirrer (not to be confused with pot smoker - wouldn't touch the stuff!)! Only 8 months till the big 4-0 and I'm already senile. I blame Majin. Everyone's doing it. :runaway:

:tomato:

daverave

Dec 10, 2008, 8:17 PM

Dave, The reason for the move, as I understand it, was that the majority of the street trees are in the public right of way. The right of way includes the streets and sidewalks which are under the jurisdiction of DOT so adding Urban Forest into that makes sense to me.

Cynical, that is all logical when dealing with street trees but many if not most of the heritage tree removal actions that I am aware of deal with trees on private property that are in the way of proposed development. It is usually easier to design around street trees than those in the middle of properties anyway.

If the majority of ALL trees were in the public right of way I would agree that DOT should have jurisdiction but that is not the case obviously. DOT is not likely staffed with treehuggers. UFS is learning not to get in the way of major development projects because there is little support at the political level and they have been overruled time and time again. It's much easier to beat up on individual residential homeowners that do not understand the procedures; however, I know of at least one homeowner that took their case to court and got to remove a heritage tree that way. Expensive but doable as the heritage tree ordinance is weak.

Cynikal

Dec 10, 2008, 9:24 PM

Cynical, that is all logical when dealing with street trees but many if not most of the heritage tree removal actions that I am aware of deal with trees on private property that are in the way of proposed development. It is usually easier to design around street trees than those in the middle of properties anyway.

If the majority of ALL trees were in the public right of way I would agree that DOT should have jurisdiction but that is not the case obviously. DOT is not likely staffed with treehuggers. UFS is learning not to get in the way of major development projects because there is little support at the political level and they have been overruled time and time again. It's much easier to beat up on individual residential homeowners that do not understand the procedures; however, I know of at least one homeowner that took their case to court and got to remove a heritage tree that way. Expensive but doable as the heritage tree ordinance is weak.

I think we are talking about 2 different issues here. 1. Street trees and 2. trees on private property. Trees on private property are not actively managed by Urban Forest and these trees are only discussed when they impact a proposed development.

I know from my experience of several projects that have had significant tree issues that have been denied, appealed and the denial was upheld. I have not seen where UFS was ignored "time and time again", actually what I have seen is the opposite. I should confess that I am a planner with the City and thus have more access to witness the projects as they unfold.

I do hope that this does not come off as argumentative or anything. I'm really attempting to illuminate the process more than anything. I'm sure that Wburg can attest that I am in no way a City shill.

daverave

Dec 11, 2008, 7:57 PM

I think we are talking about 2 different issues here. 1. Street trees and 2. trees on private property. Trees on private property are not actively managed by Urban Forest and these trees are only discussed when they impact a proposed development.

I know from my experience of several projects that have had significant tree issues that have been denied, appealed and the denial was upheld. I have not seen where UFS was ignored "time and time again", actually what I have seen is the opposite. I should confess that I am a planner with the City and thus have more access to witness the projects as they unfold.

I do hope that this does not come off as argumentative or anything. I'm really attempting to illuminate the process more than anything. I'm sure that Wburg can attest that I am in no way a City shill.

No, not argumentative at all... but I would be surprised if there is such a thing as a "City shill." :haha:
My recent experience is limited to the Crocker and Mercy bunya trees (both of which have or are coming down) and several residential homeowner projects which went both ways. I believe that some of the UFS success stories in preserving heritage trees are a result of the applicant not being politically connected or willing to spend the money in appeals or fees. Mercy for example will end up spending more than $10,000 in fees to cut down that bunya but will realize several times that in construction savings.

Since we are confessing, I should confess that I am/was an architect. My experience with some developers is that they have no qualms about cutting down trees, like Wburg said, that get in the way of the views of their buildings and/or signage. Their approach is that they can always plant a new 10-gallon replacement if caught. I often wonder what happens to certain trees that were conditioned to remain but eventually disappear within a few years. :shrug:

wburg

Dec 11, 2008, 8:17 PM

I indeed have Cynikals's back on this point: he is very good at being professionally objective about the balance between developer interests and resident interests, certainly most here would agree, better than I am at it.

The 3-2 decision implies that at least some of the Parks commissioners are comfortable with their level of expertise in dealing with the issue. I wonder how much of the majority's decision was based on their own concerns about lack of expertise and how much was based on not wanting to have to deal with "hot potato" issues like heritage trees.

daverave

Dec 11, 2008, 8:44 PM

The 3-2 decision implies that at least some of the Parks commissioners are comfortable with their level of expertise in dealing with the issue. I wonder how much of the majority's decision was based on their own concerns about lack of expertise and how much was based on not wanting to have to deal with "hot potato" issues like heritage trees.

What was that decision, wburg?

Cynikal

Dec 11, 2008, 9:30 PM

This hearing on Monday was a sub-committee of the Parks and Rec Commission. There were 5 members there and the vote was 3-2 to send the item on to the full committee. There is a little more details than a 3-2 vote. One of the votes against has been an advocate to establish a tree commission (under his leadership of course) and the other felt that regardless of which commission heard tree appeals that the requirements for removal were not well designed and was pushing for this to be folded into the complete revamp of the tree ordinance. He had a very good and well thought out point.

One thing I should point out was that the item being heard was just related to tree appeals. There is an on going effort to revamp the entire tree ordinance and the appeal section is being looked at separately at the request of some of the commission members.

econgrad

Dec 14, 2008, 12:22 AM

Friday, December 12, 2008 - 11:39 AM PST | Modified: Friday, December 12, 2008 - 2:34 PM
Sactown magazine celebrates 2nd anniversary with midtown photo exhibit
Sacramento Business Journal - by Melanie Turner Staff writer

Sactown magazine celebrates it second anniversary this month with an exhibit of the magazine’s best photographs at the Viewpoint Gallery in midtown Sacramento.

The exhibit runs from Saturday, Dec. 13, through Saturday, Jan. 3. A Second Saturday reception will be held this Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.

The magazine has won multiple national awards for its photography since launching in December 2006. The exhibit features portraits and photojournalism on topics as diverse as fashion, celebrity, music, war, religion and politics.

Among the photos are several award winners, including Max Whittaker’s picture of Maria Shriver and her mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver, taken at the Capitol in 2007. The photograph was included in the prestigious Communication Arts Photo Annual in 2007, alongside photographs from publications including National Geographic and Vanity Fair.

Also included are several images from Whittaker’s photo essay on Afghanistan, which appeared in the 2008 edition of Communication Arts. It also won the 2008 National City & Regional Magazine Award for Best Photo Essay and the 2008 Maggie Award for Best Series of Editorial Photographs from the Western Publications Association.

The exhibit features the work of local photographers, and photographers from San Francisco and New York who have shot exclusive pictures for Sactown. Whittaker, Sactown’s senior contributing photographer, lives in Sacramento and is a regular contributor to The New York Times. His work has also been published in Time, Newsweek, Fortune and other national and international publications.

The Viewpoint Gallery is at 2015 J St. More information can be found online at viewpointgallery.org. The gallery is open from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Phillip

Dec 17, 2008, 1:30 AM

A couple tidbits from the December issue of Sacramento, both in the "Keeping up with Joneses" category:

1) The Hyatt Regency has started a $15 million remodel of all guest rooms and corridors, to be completed in May 2009. I wonder if Hyatt would be renovating right now if the Citizen hadn't opened.

2) 555 Capitol Mall, which has lost some tenants to newer office buildings on CM, is now advertising itself as "Plaza Five Fifty Five". "From the very start, the guiding principle behind Plaza Five Fifty Five has been to build and operate the finest office building in Sacramento."

Web

Dec 17, 2008, 11:45 PM

Tree upkeep(aka taking down diseased elms) is #1 or #2 on the new mayors list of deep budget cuts.

Cynikal

Dec 18, 2008, 12:08 AM

Source?

econgrad

Dec 21, 2008, 11:01 AM

The new math, Sacramento style: Why we are in financial trouble

Increased education requirements + no money = how California does business.
No, this isn’t the new math. It is how the California Legislature and their cohorts in the Sacramento bureaucracy have been running the state for at least 30 years. It is why the state is now facing yet another crushing budget deficit — as much as $40 billion over the next 20 months.
A prime example is the recent decision by the California Board of Education to mandate all eighth-graders to be tested in algebra in order to achieve proficiency. There’s one slight little problem. It will cost up to $3.1 billion to prepare students for the requirement in the form of remedial classes and more teachers.
For any of you out there who are keeping tabs on the combined bailout-deficit tally — it’s some where around $16 zillion give or take a few trillion — $3.1 billion is the equivalent of a sixth of the state’s education budget. Yes, that’s the same budget that is shrinking faster than the money investors placed in the hands of Bernard L. Madoff.
The algebra decision, by the way, was temporarily blocked with a preliminary injunction from a Sacramento County Superior Court judge. You’ll be happy to know that those that convinced the judge to issue the preliminary injunction — state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and the California Teachers Association — weren’t concerned about money either. No, they argued that the appointed state education board didn’t post sufficient public notice before its vote and that they had no legal authority to make the decision.
Don’t blame the board, the superintendent or the CTA. You must forgive them for not thinking about how the things they want are going to be paid for. After all, they have all the fiscal restraint of an irresponsible teen in a mall with their parents’ credit card.
The state board means well. So does the CTA and the state superintendent.
But they are on their own little world just like every other state institution, agency and advocacy group in Sacramento. Why should they worry or even think about other concerns and how they inter-connect with the need to pay for them as well as what they want?
The most important thing — bar none— is what they want. To heck with health care and water storage. Who needs the CHP and fire protection? After all, you have the trump card to play — “the children are our future.”
Don’t worry. Their future is pretty much assured because at the rate we’re squandering money their future will be as indentured servants of the government just to repay the debt we’re piling up in the form of economic stimulus and budget deficits.
Maybe what is needed is the return to the 1960s.
Roll back government agencies. Get back to the basics. Don’t assume that everyone needs to — or has to — go to college. Go back to a part-time legislature. Cut their pay down to $40,000 a year with no per diem but let them keep a $400 a month car allowance as long as they drive a car that meets the air pollution standards the state has adopted for 2020.
The reason California is too big to govern is because we’ve turned Sacramento into an elite playground.
Legislators no longer have to make a living doing real work. Today, if they do things that tick off their constituents, they give them double-talk at an appearance and move on. It’s not like back in 1960s when a legislator would go back to his district to work and would have to face the people day in and day out that he wants to tax and restrict with more regulations and laws.
A part-time legislature means they’d have less time to come up with ideas on how to spend money that isn’t theirs. As for having enough time to pass a budget, part-time makes a lot more sense. If they re making 60 percent less than they are now, there is going to be a lot of pressure on them to get back home and make some money so they can cover their expenses. It’s amazing how things can get done when you’re facing personal financial Armageddon.

http://mantecabulletin.com/news/article/188

Web

Dec 23, 2008, 6:40 PM

Most of this has been caused by term limits(don't blow a gasket think about it)

Most legislators now spend 2 yrs learning the ropes and then have what 2-6 years to make their mark....or just stand up and say no to everything aka the leaders in the repub party right now. What is the penalty to not compromise? well since there are not many years to even be in office these people can just say well I will be in for my short time and then become a lobbyist. If I get voted out big deal.
When before term limits they had to compromise or basically be voted out since they needed to accomplish something to stay in office for 20-40 yrs.

Idealogues are everywhere. Arnold at least is trying to get his fellow repubs to see that its basically impossible to lay off every state employee and shut down every state program......

finally the 2/3 to pass any thing related to the budget is insane......

Phillip

Dec 27, 2008, 9:38 PM

Fresh & Easy delays local expansion

By George Avalos
Staff Writer, Bay Area News Group
Posted: 12/23/2008 03:28:07 PM PST
Updated: 12/24/2008 06:31:43 AM PST

Fresh & Easy has cooled off its once-hot expansion plans in the Bay Area, the neighborhood grocer said.

Why the slowdown in store openings? A business model that hasn't performed as well as Fresh & Easy hoped could be one factor, an analyst said. Another factor could be the dreary economy, Fresh & Easy said.

The supermarket, a unit of United Kingdom-based Tesco PLC, has announced plans for 20 Bay Area stores. Fresh & Easy has yet to open a store in Northern California, including in the Bay Area.

"All the store openings have been delayed," said Brendan Wonnacott, a Fresh & Easy spokesman. "It's a matter of being prudent in deciding when we want to open the stores, given the current conditions with the economy,"

The proposed store sites included six in Contra Costa County, two in Alameda County, four in Solano County, four in Santa Clara County, two in San Francisco, one in San Mateo County and one in Napa County, according to Fresh & Easy.

"I don't think it's the economy," said Mark Hamstra, retail and financial editor with Supermarket News. "It's the Fresh & Easy business model to some degree.

Other grocers such as Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc., Kroger Co., Save Mart Supermarkets and Lucky have performed decently despite the tough economy, Hamstra noted.

"Fresh & Easy has not done the best job it could to let consumers know they have pretty good prices and what the selection is like," Hamstra said.

The supermarket has about 100 stores, all in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

"Although Fresh & Easy says its rollout has been a success, I think their sales have been slower than what they had expected," Hamstra said.

Still, the supermarket intends to open all of the stores it had announced.

"Each site is on a very different schedule," Wonnacott said. "They are all in various stages of the process. But they have been delayed."

In the East Bay and Solano County, Fresh & Easy had announced two stores in Antioch, two in Hayward, two in Vacaville, one in Concord, one in Danville, one in Fairfield, one in Oakley, one in Vallejo, and one in Walnut Creek.

The company also had proposed two stores in San Francisco, two in San Jose, and several in the Sacramento area.

The store sites typically are 15,000 square feet in size, the same dimensions as the company's existing stores. The sales area will be about 10,000 square feet, the company has said.

Fresh & Easy also is pushing back the store schedule because it wants to identify a site for a distribution center to serve its Northern California stores.

"We haven't announced plans for our distribution center," Wonnacott said.

Despite the current difficulties, industry watchers believe Fresh & Easy can still be a success in California and elsewhere.

"You can't write off Fresh & Easy," Hamstra said. "You can't say it's a failure. They had very ambitious plans when they set out. The results probably haven't been good enough to justify that pace of growth."

George Avalos covers jobs, economic development, commercial real estate, finance and oil companies. Reach him at 925-977-8477 or gavalbayareanewsgroup.com.

Here are the Bay Area locations that Fresh & Easy proposed. The list includes the city and the intersections for the grocery stores.

Antioch
Somersville and Buchanan roads
Lone Tree Way and Golf Course Road

Concord
Clayton Road and Ygnacio Valley Road

Danville
Interstate 680 and Diablo Road

Fairfield
Beck Avenue and West Texas Street

Hayward
Mission Boulevard and Rousseau Street
Hesperian Boulevard and A Street

Mountain View
Middlefield Road and Rengstorff Avenue

Napa
Jefferson Street and and Imola Avenue

Oakley
Laurel Road and Ohara Avenue

San Francisco
Third Street and Carroll Avenue
Silver Avenue and Goettingen Street

San Jose
Bird and Minnesota avenues
Curtner Avenue and Almaden Road

San Mateo
North Delaware Street and Peninsula Avenue

Sunnyvale
Tasman Drive and Fair Oaks Avenue

Vallejo
Oakwood Avenue and Springs Road

Vacaville
Alamo Drive and Marshall Road
Elmira and Nut Tree roads

Walnut Creek
Ygnacio Valley Road and San Carlos Drive

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_11297611

goldcntry

Dec 29, 2008, 3:49 PM

I can report that the Fresh & Easy site in Rosemont is proceeding well on the corner of Bradshaw and Old Placerville... They're in the process of changing the structural facade and have completely gutted the old Ralph's. I'll try and get over and snap some shots this week...

innov8

Jan 9, 2009, 1:37 AM

I'm hearing that the Planning Commission and Design Commission will soon
be merging into one nine member board in Feb. or March.

urban_encounter

Jan 9, 2009, 2:19 AM

I'm hearing that the Planning Commission and Design Commission will soon
be merging into one nine member board in Feb. or March.

Long overdue..

ltsmotorsport

Jan 9, 2009, 6:51 AM

Seriously. Too many steps and too much money wasted.

Majin

Jan 15, 2009, 9:28 PM

econgrad

Jan 16, 2009, 12:28 AM

BrianSac

Jan 16, 2009, 3:17 AM

Completely random off-topic rant:

I simply can't understand how some Sacramento natives willfully contribute to the bay area economy by visiting San Francisco and the likes. They are the enemy. They are completely unapologetic snobs and belittle us at every given opportunity. Why would you reward them by feeding their economy and egos? Sure, non-natives don't have any loyalty to us so whatever, but you should be ASHAMED at yourself if you are a native pulling that crap. To me that's the equivalent of sending money to Al Qaeda.

Rant mode off, but I just HATE it when people ask me do I visit San Francisco regularly. Why the hell would I do that? Whats next are you going to ask me if I visit Iran often too?

You will be glad to know that one of my Bay Area friends regularly comes to Sacramento not only to see ME, but because of Sacramento's nightlife. Granted, he is from suburban Santa Clara, but when his friends suggest a night out in SF he steers them away from that city and brings them to Sacramento. Last weekend, a group of them stayed at the Sheraton when the clerk asked, "what brings you to Sacramento", they said, "we're here for the gay clubs". Needless to say, all the guys who have never been to Sac
were very impressed with 20th and K. These guys were all around 25-35.

urban_encounter

Jan 16, 2009, 4:50 AM

Completely random off-topic rant:

I simply can't understand how some Sacramento natives willfully contribute to the bay area economy by visiting San Francisco and the likes. They are the enemy. They are completely unapologetic snobs and belittle us at every given opportunity. Why would you reward them by feeding their economy and egos? Sure, non-natives don't have any loyalty to us so whatever, but you should be ASHAMED at yourself if you are a native pulling that crap. To me that's the equivalent of sending money to Al Qaeda.

Rant mode off, but I just HATE it when people ask me do I visit San Francisco regularly. Why the hell would I do that? Whats next are you going to ask me if I visit Iran often too?

Majin you're funny.. If you can't take full advantage of all that Northern California has to offer, then you're missing out.

SF is a beautiful international city. Sacramento has its own personality, character and attributes and I really don't understand why people have an inferiority complex or care what other people living in another locale might have to say.

jsf8278

Jan 16, 2009, 6:01 AM

Majin

Jan 16, 2009, 7:45 PM

Majin you're funny.. If you can't take full advantage of all that Northern California has to offer, then you're missing out.

I disagree, I'm not missing out in anything as SF and the rest of the bay has nothing to offer me. When I travel or take vacations I will take my hard earned money to places that won't feed an economy full of pretentious snobs.

SF is a beautiful international city.

You missed the entire point of my post. Whether SF is beautiful or not was entire irrelevant to my rant.

Sacramento has its own personality, character and attributes and I really don't understand why people have an inferiority complex or care what other people living in another locale might have to say.

You are speaking of a completely different issue that people like econgrad, brainsac and I are referring to. I don't have any kind of complex with SF, I just have a problem with people like you who reward and validate our enemy with your time and money.

From a native's perspective, SF should not be an "asset" to NorCal, they should be looked at as the enemy. The sooner more people realize that and stop taking their money outside of town the better off Sac will be.

Majin

Jan 16, 2009, 7:47 PM

I noticed some SAC residents will say, when referring to their plans to visit SF, "I'm going to the city."
Im always taken back by that, b/c I consider "the city" to be downtown SAC.

This has only happened once to me and this was maybe about 5 or so years ago. Needless to say I never talked to that person again.

otnemarcaS

Jan 16, 2009, 9:56 PM

Sorry, but having traveled to many cities around the world and here in the US, San Francisco is one of the truely unique cities you'll ever visit, like it or not. Since I stopped working there in Dec '07, I've only gone back once. I agree that it does not warrant frequent visits anymore because Sacramento area now has a pretty decent shopping, restaurant and nightlife/entertainment scene. However, if I had someone coming to visit from out of town who has never been to Northern California then SF is a must on the itinerary.

econgrad

Jan 16, 2009, 10:56 PM

Majin you're funny.. If you can't take full advantage of all that Northern California has to offer, then you're missing out.

SF is a beautiful international city. Sacramento has its own personality, character and attributes and I really don't understand why people have an inferiority complex or care what other people living in another locale might have to say.

SF is a great city. I think, like my rant that was similar to Majin's in another thread is that many Sacramentans, are sick and tired of the negative attitudes against Sacramento regarding San Francisco. I do not think Sacramentans should feel they live in an inferior city or area anymore. My reasons may differ from many of you because my Sacramento includes Folsom and Roseville and Natomas and Elk Grove and even Davis as all equal parts to Sac metro. Each area has so many things to offer now, we do not need to go to "The City" (I hate it when people say that too, its been going on for as long as I remembered. I agree with jsf, the City should be referred to as downtown Sac.) for anything anymore. What irks me more, I lived in SF, went to college their and lived for some time. I run into people here who have never even lived their and yet they talk down Sacramento and talk up San Francisco. This attitude towards your hometown, especially one that has improved so much in so many ways, is just ridiculous.

Majin

Jan 17, 2009, 1:04 AM

SF is a great city.

We'll agree to disagree, but moving along...

I think, like my rant that was similar to Majin's in another thread is that many Sacramentans, are sick and tired of the negative attitudes against Sacramento regarding San Francisco. I do not think Sacramentans should feel they live in an inferior city or area anymore.

Yes exactly but I'll take my rant even further as I feel not only do natives need to stop talking up SF, they need to start viewing SF for what is really is, a place that will gladly take your money then turn around and stab you in the back. Stop feeding that non-sense.

My reasons may differ from many of you because my Sacramento includes Folsom and Roseville and Natomas and Elk Grove and even Davis as all equal parts to Sac metro.

Again we're going to have to agree to disagree. They are parts of the Sac metro but they are not equal.

Each area has so many things to offer now, we do not need to go to "The City" (I hate it when people say that too, its been going on for as long as I remembered. I agree with jsf, the City should be referred to as downtown Sac.) for anything anymore.

Anybody that uses that term should literally be permanently kicked out of the metro on the spot. Let them go live in "The City" :yuck:

What irks me more, I lived in SF, went to college their and lived for some time. I run into people here who have never even lived their and yet they talk down Sacramento and talk up San Francisco. This attitude towards your hometown, especially one that has improved so much in so many ways, is just ridiculous.

Exactly. SF attracts pretentious snobs. How about you people stop validating these people by visit that hell hole? Spend your money at home or at least spend it anywhere else besides public enemy #1

BrianSac

Jan 17, 2009, 1:22 AM

Anyone who has been out and about across the nation and to Europe will understand how unique SF really is, especially once you've lived in SF. There is really no comparison between Sac & SF. However, Sacramento has grown up slowly although not quite yet a 2nd tier city on a national scale. But, it is nice when bay area people spend their money here.

Here is my rant, nationaly and internationly, SMF is still known has Sacramento Metro Airport, 10yrs after becoming an international airport.
Many travel entities: airlines, cruise lines, hotels, online travel sites list SMF as Sacramento Metro Airport, not all, but way too many. I just hate that! Sacramento Executive Airport needs give up its claim on the SAC code and give it to Sacramento International Airport. I suspect these travel entities see the "M" in the SMF code and assume it means "Metro" especially considering that's what we were once called. Technically, SMF means, Sacramento Municipal Field, which makes it sound like it's the size of the Cameron Park Air Strip.

BrianSac

Jan 17, 2009, 1:33 AM

Yep, i hate it when SF is called the '"city" as if it were the only "city" on the continent. Manhattan is known as the "city" too, so it would be cool if greater Sacto folks starting calling downtown and midtown the "city". But, I think calling downtown/midtown the "city" would be a tad pretentious. When I think of the "CITY", I think NYC, SF, Paris, London, Chicago. It doesn't quite fit. Manji, will you be running for mayor against Johnson on this platform? :-))

sugit

Jan 19, 2009, 9:08 PM

If you haven't driven by there yet, it's amazing how much of a difference these murals make on the building when driving by.

Bob Shallit: AT&T gets some history on its sides
bshallit@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 19, 2009

One of downtown Sacramento's blandest buildings is getting some history-laden adornments.

The boxy AT&T equipment facility on J street between 14th and 15th streets has been wrapped with giant photos depicting the company's local and California history.

One side, facing Memorial Auditorium on 15th Street, shows a boxing match and other big-crowd events held there over the years.

Before being installed on the building's walls, the photos were first "burned" onto ceramic tiles, a process that took place in Italy and Oroville. Caption blocks are being mounted this week to complete the five-year project.

The exterior makeover was originally pushed by City Councilman Steve Cohn, who "wasn't pleased with how the building looked from the street," says Judy Goldbar, general manager for the Sacramento Convention Center and the city's point person on the project.

AT&T was receptive to making changes but found it difficult to raise money for the $200,000 project, says Tim Ray, AT&T's Northern California executive director.

"It took awhile (to get the money allocated) but we're very proud" of the result, Ray says.

The 22 images -- some of them 5-by-9 feet, others 3-by-5 -- are captivating. Among them: Sacramento Valley photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s showing phone company linemen and operators at work. The Memorial Auditorium pictures include a prize fight, a circus and a 1928 performance of The Messiah.

Goldbar says the project brings aesthetic improvements to the AT&T facility while providing visuals of historical interest.

"It's definitely softened the look of the building," she says. "It's not just a corridor of walls (anymore). It's a corridor with a story."

http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2009/01/19/09/392-ACW_AT.standalone.prod_affiliate.4.JPG

JeffZurn

Jan 22, 2009, 9:29 PM

Its nice that they are finally doing something with that building, talk about an eye soar. This building must have been built before there was a design committee.

snfenoc

Jan 22, 2009, 10:14 PM

Graffiti in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5....

jsf8278

Jan 23, 2009, 5:18 AM

Graffiti in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5....

That's exactly what I was thinking...they definitely didn't arrange those things high enough off the ground. That will turn out to be a nice effort, but a waste.

innov8

Jan 23, 2009, 6:16 AM

How much higher should they be? If they were any higher it would be pointless
because people walking down the sidewalk would have to stand on the curb
to see them. I think there fine... at the cost of $9000.00 each, I'm sure
graffiti can be washed off easily.

urban_encounter

Jan 28, 2009, 3:43 AM

and lest we forget that one of the most common decorating mistakes is hanging pictures too high.

TWAK

Feb 4, 2009, 5:00 AM

i need a room or apartment by march 1st. crap

econgrad

Feb 9, 2009, 5:56 AM

The Good Life: Downtown food and drink -- What an evolution
Where once it took a hunt, you now can�t swing a menu without finding a great place
rkushman@sacbee.com
Published Sunday, Feb. 08, 2009

When you look at Sacramento's vibrant nightlife, its energy, clubs, restaurants, bars and its wine and foodie enthusiasm, it's almost hard to remember this region before the boom.

If there was a ground zero, one force that helped fuel that explosion, it's a good argument that force is Randy Paragary.

He started with a bar in 1969, when he was still at California State University, Sacramento. He's been through fern bars and peanuts on the floor, inventive restaurants that flourished and a couple that didn't. He's seen downtown's vacant nights, and he just opened Cosmo Cafe on a now-hopping corner on the K Street Mall.

Paragary is connected to more than a dozen popular restaurants now, and there are few people with a better view of where Sacramento's nightlife, and social zeitgeist, has been and where it's going. So he's the place to start in our periodic chats with people involved in the region's emerging scene.

Paragary's own start came from a not-uncommon notion: "We were just a bunch of guys who thought we could own a bar and meet women," he said.

That was in 1969, when he and friend Pat Powers opened Parapow Palace at 30th and O streets. That was a casual, peanut-shells-on-the-floor place with music. Beyond meeting women, there was something else they wanted that tells you a lot about Sacramento then.

"That was around the Summer of Love, the music revolution, Vietnam, the civil rights movement," Paragary said. "We were being impacted by all that. We middle-class white guys all grew our hair long and listened to new music.

"That's when we first saw an opportunity, because we were asking, 'Where do we go?' There wasn't anything for our age group."

They made their spot into a saloon, with barn wood on the walls, some flocked red wallpaper, and tables that were giant wooden spools from PG&E. Oh, the wooden spool table.

That was mainstream at the time, those music-oriented, casual joints. By 1976, the mainstream changed, in America and in Sacramento.

In 1974 Paragary opened the Arbor, a small eatery at 28th and N. (Now that's Ink Eats & Drinks.) In '76, he started one of the bars that defined Sacramento's nightlife then, Lord Beaverbrooks.

It was modeled after one of Paragary's favorite spots, the legendary Henry Africa's in San Francisco, one of America's first fern bars. Beaverbrooks had the same plants, leaded glass, heavy furniture, Tiffany lamps and rivers of daiquiris and Long Island ice teas.

The central city's high-profile nightlife then was basically Beaverbrooks, Alhambra Fuel & Transportation Co., Greener's Pub, the Fish Emporium at J and 38th, and Old Sacramento spots Fat City, D.O. Mills and Fannie Anne's.

"In the '70s, there still wasn't much of a restaurant scene downtown. There was nothing really on J, there wasn't much around the Capitol," he said. "There really wasn't much until the '90s.

"In the Lord Beaverbrooks days, we got the downtown people. There was a lot of traffic with young professionals going in there after work. We had lines out the door at 6 p.m."

Those days of leaving the office and hitting the social scene seem to be gone. That's something Paragary and other bar and restaurant owners have noticed. It's a change not just in Sacramento but, maybe, in generational behavior.

"It seems to have missed a generation," Paragary said. "What's wrong with kids these days? Back then, people got off work and went to the bar scene. That time of day was very social. That's how people met each other. That kind of thing is almost nonexistent as far as I can tell. We see it at a couple places, but just a little."

Lots of those baby boomers going to Beaverbrooks have families now, or they go for a full dinner. Young adults often head for gyms after work, or softball leagues, or just home to Twitter, as much as they go to bars and wine bars.

"The timing has changed," Paragary said. "Back then, people would be home by 9 o'clock. Now, it's the opposite – nobody goes out till 11."

In 1978, Paragary opened a second Lord Beaverbrooks on Fair Oaks Boulevard, in the spot that's now Zinfandel Grille – on the stretch that was still a few years away from earning the nickname Gourmet Gulch. In 1980, he started Harry's Bar & Grill at Fourth and L streets. (Historical note that gives away my age: Harry's was my hangout when I got to Sacramento. It was, in so many ways, the perfect bar.)

By the mid-'80s, the fern bar thing was losing steam across the country, and in Sacramento, too. So were the Beaverbrooks sites. Bars are often about hotness, and Paragary's were cooling off.

"One of my lessons in life is that other bars always come along," he said. "There's no true loyalty to bar operations as there is to restaurants.

"We were thinking, 'This will never go out of style. This can't be topped. You can't tell me people aren't going to enjoy Tiffany lamps the rest of their lives.' Then the next guy comes along with something modern and simple."

So in 1983, Beaverbrooks got turned into a restaurant with a then-revolutionary feature – a wood-fired pizza oven – and it became what is still a cornerstone institution: Paragary's.

"This time, instead of studying Henry Africa's, we studied Chez Panisse (the Berkeley restaurant that started California cuisine)," Paragary said. "That was something Sacramento didn't have. What a shot in the arm that was for a business close to running out of gas."

A few other big-deal restaurants soon entered the scene, notably Biba at 28th and Capital in 1986. By the early 1990s, Paragary's was a popular hangout. It was also home base for the Gang of Five, the Democratic assemblymen who gave then-Assembly Speaker Willie Brown fits for a while.

("Speaking of anachronisms," Paragary said. "We installed a telephone with a long cord to reach their table. There weren't cell phones yet.")

Across 28th Street, that spot had become Capitol Grill and was home to then-Gov. Pete Wilson's team. That was midtown then: a budding nightlife, but a social scene mostly dominated by Capitol folk, rather than people living or coming into the city core.

The growth was steady, if slow, and in the mid-1990s, Paragary launched another watershed restaurant, Centro Cocina Mexicana at 28th and J . It was higher-end, regional Mexican food. It was a risk.

"It was an experiment. We had salmon dishes and fresh fish on the menu," he said. "It was sophisticated, but Sacramento was ready for it? Part of the decision was, there were already several restaurants in the neighborhood and we needed to be different."

Both the sophistication and the competition nearby showed the change in Sacramento. The region was ready for more. It came with places like Paragary's own Blue Cue and Cafe Bernardo, Rick Mahan's Waterboy and Matt and Fred Haines' 33rd Street Bistro.

And when Paragary opened Esquire Grill on the K Street Mall in 2000, even central downtown was showing promise. But "promise" was the operating principle. The Sheraton Hotel, around the corner from Esquire, was planned but not built.

"It was tumbleweeds down there," Paragary said. "But that was a great ride for us, because we were 'it' for a while."

Not any more. By then, the nightlife boom had detonated.

"Now look at that part of downtown," he said. "There's Mason's, Spataro, Lucca, P.F. Chang, Mikuni, Bistro 33, Chops, Ella, Grange, Mulvaney's, Waterboy. It goes on and on."

And how would he assess Sacramento's current scene?

"It's encouraging, but we're just past the starting line," he said. "There are lots of positives, but I wish the times were better.

"It's also exciting. The bar's been raised so much. There are some really beautiful restaurants in Sacramento, and nightclubs, and hotels. From a customer's point of view, the options are really world-class. There just needs to be more people living downtown to make some pockets thrive, and there needs to be more places contiguous to one another."

He also said people here now expect good quality, good service, good technique and fresh ingredients.

"The mystique is gone about restaurants. People are into food," he said. "When I opened Paragary's, I remember showing a zebra tomato to Darrell Corti (of Corti Bros. fame) and saying, 'Have you ever seen something like this?' It wasn't red.

"What did I know? I was a Beaverbrooks guy. Darrell was gentle about it. Now, a couple decades later, everyone knows about all kinds of exotic food. That's great for the whole city's restaurants."

Call The Bee's Rick Kushman, (916) 321-1187. Listen to him Thursdays at 8:40 a.m. on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK) and 8:50 a.m. on Armstrong & Getty, Talk 650 KSTE.

wburg

Feb 14, 2009, 6:49 PM

http://sacbee.com/topstories/story/1624768.html

Sacramento auditor blocked from looking at agency

By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 | Page 3B

Sacramento's internal auditor has proposed examining police and fire overtime, the city's health care costs and the division in charge of handling an estimated $250 million worth of contracts.

But it's the department that's not among the auditor's targets that has some in City Hall questioning the list.

The Development Services Department, which issues building permits and coordinates other development-related matters, was included in a draft of auditor Marty Kolkin's work plan for 2009 before being scratched in the final stage by the city manager.

The department generates revenue by collecting development fees within city limits. That revenue has plunged in recent years with the slump in housing and retail, but the department's operating budget has climbed from about $17 million in 2004 to $20.8 million this fiscal year.

In the past two months, Development Services has laid off 32 workers as the city has slashed department funding to close a midyear budget shortfall.

City Manager Ray Kerridge said Friday he wanted to wait for the auditor's office to hire more staff so that a thorough examination of Development Services could take place. Kolkin has one auditor in his office besides himself and said he hopes to have two more by April.

Also getting cut from the final list were audits of the city's fleet management and the North Natomas Financing Plan, Kolkin said.

At least one City Council member briefed on Kolkin's audit plan questioned the absence of a Development Services examination, saying the time is right to take a look at the department – the only one to lay off workers this year.

"It's one of our departments that is consistently over its budget, has made drastic layoffs that are very difficult and its revenue has fallen off dramatically," said Councilman Rob Fong. "It's something that bears looking into to make sure we're doing everything we can over there."

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said the growth in the department's operating budget might be worth examining.

Kerridge acknowledged there have been issues in the past with funding for Development Services, "but I think we're at a point where we've got that solved."

Hammond also said an audit could examine whether the department is owed building fees, "but at this point, I don't think some people can pay (those fees) and I don't want to discourage all new development."

The City Council will vote Tuesday on Kolkin's proposed list of audits and will have final say on removing or adding departments. The audits are designed to find operational and financial deficiencies.

The examinations will "lay out in general terms the potential savings these audits can generate for the city," Kolkin said.

He said Development Services and other large departments would be scrutinized soon. Kerridge said the goal is to audit every city department on four-year cycles.

"We're not saying that anyone is doing anything wrong, but it tends to make departments look at expenses and think about how they will stand up under an audit," Kerridge said.

The issue of police and fire overtime has been the subject of City Council concern. Both departments have more than doubled their budgeted overtime amounts in each of the past four fiscal years.
What does Kerridge have to hide, I wonder?

SactownTom

Feb 14, 2009, 10:04 PM

Also getting cut from the final list were audits of the city's fleet management and the North Natomas Financing Plan, Kolkin said.

Indeed.

the1_thedave

Feb 18, 2009, 7:42 PM

Is it just me or has the USDC crown lights been on more often recently.

I haven't noticed it being lit up as much in the last few years. Then again, maybe I haven't been a paying attention.

arod74

Feb 19, 2009, 9:04 PM

I have noticed the same thing dave. I posted the same question on a different thread and never got a response so I am assuming no one has the answer. The crown of the fed courthouse seems to be lit a couple of times a week. I noticed the sporadic lighting back in December. Maybe Mayor Johnson was able to pull a few strings and convince someone to flip the switch from time to time to literally put the skyline in a better light???

Majin

Feb 19, 2009, 9:50 PM

Noticed the same thing, I can see the building from my window and it looks great lit up at night. It should be on every night and they should start lighting up the zig building every night too.

Korey

Feb 19, 2009, 10:24 PM

Noticed the same thing, I can see the building from my window and it looks great lit up at night. It should be on every night and they should start lighting up the zig building every night too.

Zig and Calstrs were both lit up last night and looked great.

the1_thedave

Feb 20, 2009, 5:11 PM

Did anyone see the Capitol Building last night? I could of swore it looked like it was lit up pink/purplish? I was coming heading down I-5 and thought at first it was the building the is older building off of J/K st. that has the purples at the top, but I got a more clear brief view and saw the dome lit up in a purple tint.
Very peculiar.

Dakotasteve66

Feb 20, 2009, 6:37 PM

It was a special event for Breast Cancer awareness (pink ribbon). They did the same thing last year.

Phillip

Mar 7, 2009, 6:30 AM

This is from the March 2009 issue of "Inside the City". This article gives some hope that one day a Broadway Bridge over the Sacramento River might get built. The article doesn't explicitly say so but I assume the LPCA's new board will be more receptive to growth and change than the old one. (Sorry about the formatting.)

OUSTED!

Out with the old, in with the new at Land Park Neighborhood Association

By Jocelyn Munroe
Inside the City, March 2009, page 12
www.insidepublications.com

In a stunning show of dissatisfaction with the directors and policies of the Land Park Community Association, the neighborhood association’s membership last month voted to implement sweeping changes to its bylaws, including increasing the number of directors, implementing term limits and democratizing the election process. The February 11 special election also resulted in the immediate ouster of two 18-year board veterans due to retroactive term limits.

The election ended a months-long, increasingly bitter battle between opposing factions of the board of directors: one side organized by newer board members known as LPCA Renaissance who proposed the reforms; the other represented by longer-term board members calling themselves Support the Land Park Community Association who were mostly opposed to the changes.

Both groups had barraged the association’s membership with impassioned literature and e-mails in the final weeks before the election, culminating in the surprise resignation by four long-term board members, including board president Elyse Metune, just days before the meeting.

About 150 people packed the music room at Holy Spirit School to listen to
each group debate the proposed reforms, discuss the issues and submit
their ballots. Many members carried proxy ballots for their neighbors to
create an election turnout of about 75 percent. Each measure passed by
roughly 70 percent.

The meeting moved smoothly and civilly from start to fiinish, in marked contrast to prior contentious gatherings. A registered parliamentarian assisted vice president Scott Rose in facilitating the agenda, and Steve Belzer, a longtime LPCA member and attorney, oversaw the ballot counting.

“Tonight is about talking about the issues and coming to a decision,”
said Rose at the meeting’s start. “We get the election done, we vote and we
move on.”

Board members Craig Powell and Terry Grimes spoke for the LPCA Renaissance group, while resigned board members Kearse McGill and Judy Sundquist and long-term board member Luree Stetson spoke against the changes.

“We feel that in the last 60 days or so, the LPCA has been placed in a
precarious position, spending money on attorneys’ fees and the like,” said
Powell, explaining why the term limits would apply retroactively.

“Term limits are really one of the things we think are illegal, since
they take effect immediately,” argued Stetson.

There was a strong undercurrent of disgruntlement in the audience,
particularly at the issue of expenditures by the longer-term board members for lawyers’ fees in response to actions by the LPCA Renaissance group.

“Was it legal? If it was not, can we get our money back?” said one man to
laughter and applause.

Other residents felt their opinions had been stifled by the long-term board directors.

“I was a board member several years ago. I resigned with others,” said Jeanne Le Duc, who said she had been shut out of the decision making.
Three other LPCA board members resigned in early 2008 for the same reason.

Resident Arnold Zuniga spoke against the retroactive term limits. “In light of the four members who resigned, I feel that it’s important to retain them [the directors who would be termed out]. We’ll lose valuable history of the organization.”

“We will have a 60-day period where we will be in real transition,” said Powell. “[But] let the membership decide.”

In the end, members voted to increase the size of the board from 10 to 15, changed the nominations and elections process from board-directed to member-directed, increased membership meetings from one to four annually, gave members rights to electronic access to membership records, implemented six-year term limits on board directors with a one-time allowance for a second term after a four-year break, adopted flexible quorums for board meetings and created a seven-member LPCA advisory board to be composed of “respected members of the Land Park community” who will advise the board and serve two-year terms.

Because of the term-limit vote, directors Stetson and Nikki Rueppel were immediately unseated, leaving the LPCA board with just four members until a general election at the next membership meeting in April.

Land Park residents and property owners who are interested in running for open positions on the board will be given opportunities to fill out
applications and communicate to the general membership in advance of the
April election meeting.

Land Park Community Association board meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month from 6:30 to 9:30 and are open to the public. For
agendas and meeting locations, visit landpark.org.

innov8

Mar 21, 2009, 4:59 AM

Friday, March 20, 2009

Old Sacramento riverboats being sold as part of bankruptcy
Historic district plans to look for tour boat operator to replace bankrupt

Sacramento Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/03/23/story8.html

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3341/riverboats.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=riverboats.jpg)

The entire fleet of tour boats that work off the docks of Old Sacramento is being sold as part of the bankruptcy liquidation of Sacramento Yacht Charters LLC.

And even as the boats are scheduled to leave, the city of Sacramento is working to get replacement boats for the docks as quickly as possible, especially with warmer weather starting to draw people to Old Sacramento and the riverfront.

“The riverboats are very important to Old Sac. We want to energize the river,” said Melissa Martinez, manager of the Old Sacramento Business District.

Sacramento Yacht Charters won the exclusive city contract to operate tours out of Old Sacramento in 2006, but it wasn’t long before business turned sour.

Early in 2007, the company started missing payments in a profit-sharing agreement with the city, and the company failed to get permits to operate some of its vessels. The city started sending letters to the company informing its managers they had to come into compliance or they would void the contract. By 2008, a series of lawsuits from creditors started to hit the company.

Sacramento Yacht Charters filed for bankruptcy reorganization in December and that was converted to a bankruptcy liquidation last month. All the tour boats are now listed for sale, including the faux paddle-wheel riverboats the Spirit of Sacramento and Matthew McKinley, as well as the two River Otter water taxis and an amphibious trolley.

The exclusive city contract is still in force as the case works its way through bankruptcy.

“Once the (bankruptcy) trustee signs off on the paperwork, we will be going out for a new contract,” said Barbara Bonebrake, director of the city’s Department of Convention, Culture and Leisure. “We are going to look to have an operator very quickly, so we may be considering the option of even having an interim operator.”

The massive and picturesque Riverboat Delta King is still on the docks off of Old Sacramento, where it is permanently moored. It is not part of the liquidation sale.

The rest of the riverboats were mobile, offering tours up and down the river.

The city’s contract with Sacramento Yacht Charters had slated the faux riverboats for replacement, but the company ran into problems managing, operating and marketing the business correctly, she said.

“It appears there wasn’t enough capital to do it right,” Bonebrake said.

The city has usually structured the operations off the docks of Old Sacramento as exclusive contracts to get the operators to offer tours on a fixed schedule, whether the boats are full or not. Also, a single operator in theory can get efficiencies in employees, contracts and marketing for several vessels.

The city contract also mandates that vessels tied up on the docks near the Delta King must be historic-looking riverboats, in keeping with the historic district. That is still the long-term plan, but it might not happen this season, Bonebrake said.

“We may have to waive the compliance with conforming to the historic district for a bit just to get something going down there,” she said. “This is a great opportunity to find an operator that can really do it justice.”

The tour boats are an important draw for the region, said Mike Testa, spokesman with the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“There are people who want to have that experience,” Testa said. The tour boats augment the offerings in Old Sacramento and open up the river, which is hard to access for visitors outside of Old Sacramento.

“The boats are important pieces. They are all pieces that make up a larger puzzle to bring people to the area, and we need as many attractions as we can have,” he said.

The vessels are listed for sale by Bay Yachts in Stockton. As of early this week, they were still in Old Sacramento, but Bay Yachts is making arrangements to have the vessels moved to its facilities in Stockton, said Marc Bay, owner of the company.

He’s also willing to sell off the entire fleet in a package deal.

“If someone were to buy the whole lot of them, I’m sure there would be a discount on each of them,” Bay said. “It would be nice if we could sell the whole shooting match to a new operator.”

So far, most inquiries have been on individual boats, Bay said, adding that he’s received interest in the paddle boats from Minneapolis. If the Spirit of Sacramento did go to the Midwest, it would be a return journey. The vessel was built in Dubuque, Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi River as a river barge and converted into a paddle wheeler for tours on the Missouri River.

One of the greatest challenges in getting the boat to Sacramento a decade ago was shipping, and it turns out that is one of the largest hurdles today. If the vessel went back to the Mississippi River, the 85-foot Spirit of Sacramento would likely be loaded on a transport ship and sent to New Orleans, Bay said.

“The river is beautiful and it is important to Old Sac and the entire area,” Martinez said. “We want people to be able to get out on the river and enjoy it.”

wburg

Mar 23, 2009, 4:03 PM

Heck, I think we should try to get the Delta Queen back...it runs on the Mississippi but there is talk of decertifying it as a riverboat. It would look real nice next to the Delta King, or parked south of the Tower Bridge (its original docking point) as a hotel expansion if it can't be used as a functioning riverboat.

ltsmotorsport

Mar 25, 2009, 9:40 PM

That would be a great idea. The river below the promenade doesn't look that great anyway and another large river boat would be help draw people farther down the walkway.

innov8

Apr 10, 2009, 8:01 PM

Davis lands Bicycling Hall of Fame
Sacramento Business Journal - by Mark Anderson Staff writer
Friday, April 10, 2009

Davis will be the new home of the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, a fitting match with the city that bills itself as the most bike-friendly in the country.

The hall of fame is currently in Somerville, N.J., and had to move because its building was being sold.

The University of California Davis has a collection of antique bicycles dating to the turn of the last century, but that collection is housed in a storage closet with limited public access. The city had been considering opening its own bicycle museum even if the Hall of Fame had chosen a different city.

Davis beat out 11 other cities vying for the Bicycling Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame could open by the end of the year in a city-owned building. The hall has various jerseys of winners in its collection, and it names a new cyclist to its hall annually.

Davis this year was the starting point for the first stage of the the Amgen Tour of California, the statewide cycling race.

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/04/06/daily75.html?surround=lfn

Cynikal

Apr 13, 2009, 4:39 PM

I am so happy that our region is getting this. Rumor has it that they may be building a velodrome along with the Hall of Fame. :banana:

wburg

Apr 17, 2009, 2:33 PM

An editorial from today's Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/1786955.html

Editorial: A sensible goal for civic planning
ShareThis
Published: Friday, Apr. 17, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 16A

Just as great cities have great schools, great cities have great civic design.

Just a few years ago, the common complaint was that Sacramento's planning and urban design approval process was broken. The perception was that neither homeowners doing minor improvements nor developers doing major projects could get anything through the process.

So the mayor, the City Council and the city manager brokered a solution two years ago. Following the lead of many large cities across the country, Sacramento established a three-pronged approach for reviewing development projects: the Planning Commission, the Design Commission and the Preservation Commission.

With a new mayor and a wealth of projects already handled though the new process, it makes sense to step back now and see how it is working.

Unfortunately, before gathering the answers, city staff in January fast-tracked a surprise proposal that would dramatically change the new structure – downsizing the Planning Commission and eliminating one prong in the process: the Design Commission.

After community forums, however, city staff on Wednesday withdrew that proposal – a good move. In its place, Development Services Director Bill Thomas suggested that the city form an ad hoc committee to examine the development approval process. It would include representatives of all of the city's development-related commissions – planning, design and preservation – and the building industry.

This is the course that should have been followed before the staff dropped its plan for major change on the table.

As it proceeds, the ad hoc committee should examine closely what successful large cities such as Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Baltimore; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; and Boston do to approve projects while simultaneously creating a sense of place and high-quality development.

Sacramento, with the right approach, is primed for an urban renaissance. A strong planning and design process is key to that effort.
The only thing I noticed is that this proposal didn't come from city staff, but from a body called the Development Oversight Commission, a city board outside of that planning/design/preservation triangle.