Building Our Future
Disappearing Act
Coronavirus news is crowding out everything in our public discourse, so it’s understandable why we’re not hearing much about the protracted stalemate between the Sacramento City Unified School District and the union representing teachers in the financially troubled system.
Negotiations on the union’s long-expired contract presumably started in March, but it’s been radio silence for much of the time since then. Both sides have reverted to their positions of mistrust, finger pointing and putting off hard choices.
Rooms To Grow
The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated Sacramento’s struggle to manage its homeless population, requiring immense capital investment, empathy and unconventional thinking. All three virtues are on display at the new Courtyard Inn nearing completion along the Watt Avenue corridor in North Highlands.
With a projected opening in May, the 92-apartment complex at 3425 Orange Grove Ave. is a rehabilitated motel long been notorious for sheriff calls to deal with prostitution, drugs, theft and violence.
Bridge To Perfection
A few months back, Sacramento and West Sacramento announced agreement on design finalists for a new bridge connecting the growing cities. The news was a letdown. Despite extensive community involvement, work from an international design firm and a fair amount of hoopla, it felt as if everyone was trying too hard for something special.
The two spans competing to replace the 108-year-old I Street Bridge were thick, bulky and needlessly grandiose. Rather than complement and enhance the surroundings, each finalist loomed over the river like a boisterous, unwelcome hulk.
Fountain Valley
It’s been awhile since Sacramento’s design and architecture mavens had a big conflict with the state over a building project. But there is a passionate little battle taking place right now over the fate of the historic but dry fountain west of the Capitol.
This fight is nowhere near as pitched as the disagreement that festered between the city and state over the giant East End office complex near the Capitol in the early 2000s. That project achieved some important urban renewal objectives, clearing blight and consolidating scattered state offices and workers. But critics said the potential for a more eclectic and pedestrian-oriented streetscape was squandered.
Blight To Bright
I love it when Sacramento City Council members criticize my work. It means they care.
One of my favorite councilmen, Jeff Harris, took exception to a column about the city’s partnership with the Sacramento Republic, the local sports club ready to leap into Major League Soccer.
Rolling Thunder
It’s hard to imagine anyone better equipped to represent the interests of Sacramento bicyclists than Debra Banks. As interim director of SABA, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, Banks rides everywhere on one of her several dozen bikes.
She commutes to work, has ridden up and down California and around the world in long-distance 1,200-kilometer grinds where participants have 90 hours to finish, including the legendary Paris-Brest-Paris twice.
