"What's going on Sacramento" Chit-Chat

[econgrad]

Originally Posted by greenmidtown

wow, you're an expert scientist who knows the truth about global warming, a rock star who knows everything about the music scene, and a graduate in economics I assume . I'll keep this simple. the local scene in Sac isn't anything to write home about but it's definitely more mature than the saturation of high school emo rock stars in Roseville you worship. Sac has a growing indie-music scene with several bands well known in the SF, Portland, Austin circuit. and if I want to see a great indie band from the Bay Area or my hometown of Portland I find them downtown or in Davis. who the hell plays the underground in roseville or club retro (a church) in Orangevale??? give me a break, nobody in the music scene knows or cares about any city in this area but Sacramento and Davis.

Nice one! Kudos to reading my previous posts. First off, you are completely full of it. You have no idea what you are talking about, and obviously do not know anything about The Underground or The Boardwalk. Fact: almost no signed bands play at any of the venues downtown, excluding Jackie Greene, who also plays in Roseville. The signed bands that play at The Boardwalk, and The underground, do not play downtown because there are only over 21 bars, with maybe 10 to 40 people at most, drinking beer and watching your band play (boring...). Bands might be lucky to score $200.00 Whoopie! Thats crap. The Distillery, Old I's, Maryilins, Blue Lamp etc are all puny and tiny venues with small or no stage, garnted the Old I sound guy is really really good, but the tiny stage and small room sucks. Tuesday nights Lipstick is the coolest thing Old I has ever had, the live band sene is suffering. Signed bands and national acts you see play at The Underground every weekend, as well as the Boardwalk. Both venues hold about 200 to 400 people and are packed with kids moshing and having fun, not a bunch of old people drinking beer and gawking at the few girls around. Empire is your only good venue in DT Sac. Indie music? What the hell is that? LOL.. Your old dude. SF, Portland and Austin circuit?!?! You totally made that up, you have no idea what a circuit is! LOL! None are related, Austin's scene, mostly college kids, is great, and I have played there many times. No one in Austin cares about Sac, it is a joke there. Portland?! A growing scene but not that great sorry. SF? An amazing scene with great venues, but also completely disconected from Sacramento. So some bands from Sac play at Hotel Utah (another tiny venue that is easy to book, so Sac bands get to play in "The City" in front of 20 or so people), WOW! I am impressed...Not. Dude, you make up stuff, there is no circuit. No touring company that has national acts has these venues or indie bands you so worship on their list. How many bands signed by Hollywood records play downtown? None! No one outside the grid cares what Alive and Kicking has to say about music. About Davis, sure G street pub is a great venue and pays well. Also, no connection with DT Sac, how many bands complain about never being called for a show there, so many I have heard complain they wont even get a shot. Mostly because they want a fun, dancible enviroment at G Street, not the "Indie" no talent hacks that play DT. BTW, the highschool emo rock stars you seem to be bitter about (most older people dont get new music, so I understand) are the bands with the large crowds, national tour like the Vans Warp tour and others, and are making all the money. Sorry dude, your kind of clueless about the music scene.

[fflint]

^The insults are uncalled for, both of you.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

I wasn't looking the gift horse in the mouth, i was just sayin that UOP does have a significant Sacramento presence as well. I actually don't think it's a loss for Sacramento - just a gain for this private university. Hell if I had $100 million, i would keep it all for fun, legal fees, and rehab - so i'm not about to criticize these folks.

I found it curious that neither of the Powels had any connection to UOP...

[greenmidtown]

Originally Posted by fflint

^The insults are uncalled for, both of you.

Originally Posted by econgrad

First off, you are completely full of it. You have no idea what you are talking about, Indie music? What the hell is that? LOL.. Your old dude. SF, Portland and Austin circuit?!?! You totally made that up, you have no idea what a circuit is! LOL! Sac bands get to play in "The City" in front of 20 or so people), WOW! I am impressed...Not. Dude, you make up stuff, there is no circuit. No touring company that has national acts has these venues or indie bands you so worship on their list. How many bands signed by Hollywood records play downtown? None! No one outside the grid cares what Alive and Kicking has to say about music. Mostly because they want a fun, dancible enviroment at G Street, not the "Indie" no talent hacks that play DT. (most older people dont get new music, so I understand) Sorry dude, your kind of clueless about the music scene.

I may have questioned Econgrad's taste but I didn't personally attack him. he can apologize if he likes. and for the record Econgrad I'm 23 years old (might be old at an emo concert) and the indie bands I listen to release new music often.

[econgrad]

ummm
Wasn't my integrity questioned? Its cool...I feel strongly about the music scene issue in Sac (if you couldn't tell). We can continue in a more forum accepted dialogue if you like, maybe others are interested on both our points of view. How about this:

Do you think we need more all ages venues in the area including Downtown?

My 2 Cents:
I think we do, and the loss of Junta (an all ages venue) hurts the scene and local musicians who would like to play in front of larger audiences. I see great talent in other bands and musicians here in town, rivaling other cities, it just seems the infrastructure (Venues, people, money for musicians, local support, etc) isn't there to support a great music scene. This has bothered me very much, I can name a lot of bands that should have made it big, but fizzled out in the lack of a scene. Musicians and fans of music should embrace any area of town that supports large crowds and local unsigned acts. Concert at the Park is great, The Boardwalk is very LA like club for bands, and The Underground is big, packed with people and has a pro sound system (you can't really tell it is a Church during the day). We could so rival Austin if we had the right venues and support, the talent is here...

[Phillip]

Originally Posted by econgrad

We could so rival Austin if we had the right venues and support, the talent is here...

Part of why Austin's music scene thrives is they've got a concentrated club district stretching for blocks. You can park once and walk from club to club.

Midtown seems like the natural area for a Sac club district, but there's not really a blank area big enough to hold a half dozen adjacent clubs without disturbing nearby neighbors.

The Railyards seems like it could accomodate a club district, built where the music wouldn't bother anyone. Maybe under I-5.

[econgrad]

I agree. I was hoping Old Sacramento would eventually turn into a walkable live music corridor with dance clubs, not just bars. The Distillery had some trouble with the new condos across the street for awhile, but all seems to have been settled. Maybe with good planning, more venues can pop up on K street. Another thing Austin has is the University. The streets get crazy post football, and so many students fill all those clubs. I hope University of Sacramento locates as close to Downtown as possible, they offer some classes DT, but I believe their main campus is still in the planning stages. We could use more younger people in the DT area to make it more lively like it is in Austin...eh..but this is all just hypothetical for now.

[downtownserg89]

does tunel 21 still exist?

[econgrad]

Speaking of Sotiris
SN&R chats with hot-shot developer Kolokotronis about the future of Sacramento’s central city

By James Cameron
more stories by this author

Kolokotronis’ local mixed-use projects have included the innovative Fremont Building, located east of 16th Street (seen here), and Capitol Park Homes.
SN&R PHOTO BY ANNE STOKES
Kolokotronis' company received the Sacramento Area Council of Governments' 2005 Regional Business of the Year Award. That same year, he was selected by Comstock's Business Magazine as one of Sacramento's "outstanding corporate citizens."

In February of 2001, Sotiris Kolokotronis was selected by SN&R as part of the “Sacramento 100,” the “area’s most intriguing, accomplished, forward-thinking people” in the region. He’s been referred to as the “darling of the smart-growthers”--his efforts have included the innovative Fremont Building and Capitol Park Homes. Meanwhile, though, Kolokotronis has been criticized for using public funds devoted to affordable housing in an inadequate manner.

So who is Kolokotronis? Depends who you ask. But there’s no question that the man has figured mightily in the growth and sophistication of the city’s downtown area. Currently, he is involved in the planning and development of a whopping 4,300 acres in the Sacramento region, including numerous projects in the central city.

Here’s an edited transcript of an interview with the developer.

Sacramento is changing fast. What new challenges do infill developers face in the central city?

I don’t agree that the city is changing very fast. In relation to the region and the growth that has occurred over the last 20 years, our core has not grown to accommodate the growth of the rest of the place. Let’s talk about the office market. Twenty-five years ago, the downtown office market was the biggest in the region and all the growth was taking place downtown. That’s no longer true. And in the last 15 years, the region added 200,000 housing units, while the downtown core added 1,500 and in the first seven, eight or nine of those years, everything was affordable-housing units. There have been only two projects downtown you could describe as major projects with more than 40 units. In the context of the region, growth downtown is only a small piece. Frankly, disappointingly so.

As far as challenges are concerned, it’s true that not only in Sacramento, but all over the United States the urban core faces many challenges, and they are much more difficult than those of the broader area, more expensive, time consuming and tougher to solve.

What do you think of the city’s inclusionary housing rule?

A very interesting question. Inclusionary housing is an issue associated with affordability and I feel we must be aware that affordability is a matter of supply and demand for a particular market. It is very important that as we grow, we must be sure that our communities are well-integrated communities. We cannot expect people to live here and work somewhere else. So we must create communities that are well balanced. But since it’s a matter of supply, we must make sure that when it comes to supply, we provide enough to satisfy the demands of the situation and that it’s for everybody.

I don’t have the answers. But my basic question is: Why do we expect the [housing] industry to provide affordable housing when we don’t have the same standards for cars and department stores and supermarkets? And why does affordable housing have to be provided as new units which are more expensive than existing ones? Existing inventory can function to provide affordable housing. ... We have an obligation to ourselves and to society to do a better job. But when you have growth, you have the ability to attack problems. The pie is getting bigger and will allow us to solve those problems.

You embrace infill development in the central city. Why?

We have substantial holdings in this region but we made a decision to allocate a substantial portion of our resources to infill, mixed-use developments. It’s something we feel has potential. It was a market-driven decision. However, I feel we underestimated the challenges associated with it. I thought that by now we would have delivered a lot more units than what we’ve delivered. And I say that knowing that if you look over the last seven to eight years we’ve developed more than 50 percent of the units in the central district. It is very, very difficult, but we feel it’s something we want to do for the region, a need that must be accommodated.

Some of your properties are high-rise residences. How can the resulting density problems of traffic flow and parking be resolved?

Let me tell you what I think about those problems. Traffic is really a secondary thing. We have to accommodate the growth. In the last 25 years, this region has doubled in population. Over the next 25, the number may double again. These are significant numbers and we have to find ways to accommodate that growth. If we don’t accommodate growth through high density projects, how do we do it?

Traffic and parking problems are good problems. All of the great cities of the world have those problems. Mass transit and more intelligent traffic patterns are the answer to the traffic problem. Good management is the answer to parking. It’s true that we have a long way to go in solving the parking problem.

Your philosophy seems to embrace mixed-use residential properties. Why?

Bringing people together makes great things happen that don’t happen when they’re not together. It’s happening all over the world. Mixed-use places are places we define as places with energy, creativity happenings. Mixed-use offers us the ability to bring people together so they can interact together. It’s not for everybody and not necessarily for people all their lives but it’s for a particular point in time when people want to work and live in a different context than what we’ve experienced these last 30 or 40 years. At different stages of our lives, we need different environments. Mixed-use does not mean that we’ll necessarily spend our lives in the same neighborhood or be there from the day we’re born until we die.

What are the “hottest” development areas in downtown Sacramento?

I assume you mean the central district, the core. There are happenings in the business district and Midtown, but the hottest area is the one from 15th Street to 21st and I streets to Capitol [Avenue]. Maybe down as far as 28th [Street], where some things are happening. There are some new housing and business developments, some we’ve been part of. A lot of new restaurants, galleries, boutiques--a lot of good stuff happening, a lot of energy. That’s the part of the city with the most energy, in my assessment, at this point.

One last question: Are we past the “cow town” stage here and, if so, how do you envision Sacramento’s future growth?

Well, I moved here 22 years ago. My wife came here from Chicago the following year and Sacramento was a different place than what it is today. Now, when you travel around the world, you feel that there are a lot of things missing here--the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. That’s the one side. But at the end of the day, I mean, this place has been the place for me and my family. Our friends are here and in other places, too. When we talk to them in other places, we learn that to them the grass is greener here! So, we have a lot more things to accomplish, but we have the businesses, the restaurants, the theaters, the arts, the growth in population. No, we’re not a cow town anymore!

[ozone]

Thanks for posting this econgrad. I ment to but forgot. I think Sotiris Kolokotronis is very smart. I liked what he had to say.

[innov8]

From the pages of The Bee
Monday, May 21, 2007

May 21, 1975: The state Assembly Ways and Means Committee clears the way for a full floor vote on a $42 million appropriation to restore the state Capitol. The bill is expected to move through the Assembly, Senate and Governor's Office easily. Still to be decided is where the Legislature will meet during the restoration.

• Sacramento County Supervisor Ted Sheedy proposes that when salary increases are negotiated this year for county workers, no raises should be given to those who make more than $25,000 annually. Given the large deficit expected in the county budget, he urges that pay hikes be apportioned to those most affected by inflation.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/187881.html

[TowerDistrict]

Word on the street, well at least on 10th & I, is that there will be an international design competition held by the AIA for a street/landscape design of the Capitol Mall stretch. No date has been set yet, but I thought some good news today, is better than none...

[ozone]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

Word on the street, well at least on 10th & I, is that there will be an international design competition held by the AIA for a street/landscape design of the Capitol Mall stretch. No date has been set yet, but I thought some good news today, is better than none...

Thanks for the news TD. I'm going to work.

[innov8]

CHP gets OK to move headquarters
By Daniel Macht of Capitol Weekly

May 30th, 2007

A bill to make it easier for the California Highway Patrol to relocate its headquarters to West Sacramento cleared the State Senate by unanimous consent, Tuesday, and is headed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for signature.

The bill, AB 443, is authored by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Yolo, at the behest of the CHP. If signed, it will allow the CHP to relocate its Broadway headquarters and four administrative offices under one roof within 20 miles from Sacramento proper, at an undetermined site. In a 2002 study, the Department of General Services Real Estate Division identified four out of six proposed locations in West Sacramento as relocation alternatives for CHP's headquarters.

Fran Clader, a spokeswoman for CHP, said the next step is for the Department of General Services to prepare a request for a formal proposal. "We haven't gotten down to negotiation, lease … or building yet," Clader said.

Current law restricts the CHP, which absorbed the role of California State Police in 1995, from moving out of Sacramento. The law was written in 1959, to stop the CHP's commissioner at the time from taking flight to Los Angeles.

But Wolk said the agency hasn't been able to find a suitable location these days within Sacramento city limits. "West Sacramento is actually closer to downtown than many of the suburbs," Wolk said. She added that the CHP already has their academy located on the other side of the Tower Bridge, and that she consulted with Senator Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, on the legislation.

The California State Teachers Retirement System is set to move into its new West Sacramento facility soon, said Val Toppenberg, redevelopment director for West Sacramento. The new CalSTRS building is the latest example -- since the 400,000 square foot Ziggurat building that houses the Department of General Services' offices, and the CHP's academy -- of large state agencies moving to West Sacramento. Toppenberg said that he is working with developers to support them in bringing more state offices to West Sacramento.

Clader said moving to a new headquarters will affect 900 employees, some of whom have had to make due working in small conference and storage rooms.
The protective services division of CHP -- which provides protection for the governor, state buildings and some constitutional officers -- will remain on 9th Street, Clader said. But she said the state stands to benefit by having the CHP's administrative officers, enforcement services, information services, and the office of air operations all in one building.

"The consolidation will help with communication," Clader said. "It will enhance efficiency, save money, and improve coordination and response during emergencies."

http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/ar...rticle_id=1491

[greenmidtown]

Tesla is playing concerts in the park tonight as most of you already know by now. but another hometown favorite, Cake, is playing a secret show at the Blue Lamp tonight at 8 for just $10! might want to show up early though...

[sugit]

Oh shit, I'd love to see Cake. Too bad there is not a chance I'll be able to make it..damn!!!

[urban_encounter]

Planning panel OKs retail project
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, June 2, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B2



ELK GROVE -- The Planning Commission voted early Friday to approve plans for Elk Grove Promenade, a 1.1 million-square-foot retail project.

The 3-1 vote capped a meeting that lasted nearly seven hours.

Commissioners Richard Greene, Frank Maita and Tim Murphy voted for the project, while Chairman Paul Lindsay cast the dissenting vote. Commissioner George Murphey was absent.

The Chicago-based General Growth Properties project -- the city's first regional shopping center -- now goes to the City Council.

Last month, General Growth announced lease deals with Macy's, Barnes & Noble Inc. and Cinemark Theatres. Also being considered are Target Corp. and JCPenney.

During the commission's meeting, some speakers expressed concern about the selection of anchors and the center's open-air design. Others welcomed the open-air concept and the convenience for area residents.

Developers say they hope to open Elk Grove Promenade before the 2008 holiday shopping season.

-- Sandy Louey

[ltsmotorsport]

Well, this is what's going on this weekend.

http://californiacapitolairshow.com/

I wish I could be up there this weekend too, as the show will have about double the demonstrations as last year's, even an F-22. And it should be easier to get there and get in with better bus service from the Mather/Mills LRT station and more gates being opened to the airfield.

Here's a link to an aviation photography forum, and the thread about this years show. There's also a link on the first page of the thread to last years thread with some excellent pictures by the forum members. Hopefully we can get some of our own photographers up to Mather this weekend.

2007 Thread

[creamcityleo79]

Effective July 1st Sacramento's 95814 zip code will be split into two zip codes...obviously 95814...and 95811.

[goldcntry]

Originally Posted by neuhickman79

Effective July 1st Sacramento's 95814 zip code will be split into two zip codes...obviously 95814...and 95811.

Any word on zip code maps?