Building Our Future

California has an estimated 31 million registered motor vehicles, nearly twice as many as Texas, the next closest state. All those cars make the work of Mellissa Meng and her colleagues at North Natomas Jibe vital.

North Natomas Jibe is a nonprofit devoted to making it easier for people to walk, bike and use public transportation. Meng is executive director.

Add John Hodgson and Bob Chase to the long list of prominent Sacramentans frustrated with city government’s response to homelessness.

Unlike some critics who hate to see encampments but offer no solutions, these two friends, both in their 70s, pursue creative ways to make a difference.

For the past three years, Hodgson, a land-use attorney and developer, and Chase, an architect with a history of public service, worked with colleagues from the Urban Land Institute and American Association of Architects Central Valley to promote their plans for transitional housing throughout the city.

Last year, a report from the California Association of Realtors told a disturbing story. Just 15% of California households can afford to buy a house.

That’s less than half the historic average over the prior three decades, when the Realtors said 33% of Californians could afford homes. In March 2012, the rate was 56%, inconceivable today.

These numbers are more than alarming. They are unsustainable for a state that prides itself on having just four nations in the world generate more economic activity. If our children and grandchildren can’t afford to live here, how will our economy attract workers and keep thriving?

The idea that government can do things well is a tough sell in some circles. But I’ll go out on a limb to argue Measure A, the half-cent sales tax for transportation approved twice by local voters, is a success story.

Don’t confuse this with the so-called “citizens’ initiative” Measure A that went down in flames in 2022. That Measure A was opposed by good-government groups such as the League of Women Voters, who denounced it as “the product of developers, business organizations and labor advocates” rather than sound and balanced transportation planning.

Former Mayor Heather Fargo is at it again.

The environmental and community activist became known by her battles against sprawl and shoddy development in Natomas, where she’s lived for decades.

These days, four decades after those fights, Fargo and her allies meet with community groups, elected officials, city and county staff, and others to push back against what they see as more damaging development in the Natomas Basin north of Downtown.

City life, by its very nature, requires places to escape. Even in our most livable urban areas humans need sanctuaries to get away from traffic, noise, congestion, crowds and other annoyances.

That’s why we cherish parks, museums, beaches and other oases. Calm, relaxing locations where we slow down and forget the stress.

Few places offer the peace and beauty of a well-designed, plush botanical garden. Now a group of determined Sacramentans is working to bring this amenity to the capital city.