Vision Zero is the idea that no one should die or be seriously injured in a traffic crash. It reflects a moral imperative that our streets should never be deadly.
The concept has been adopted by 42 cities in the U.S. and around the world, after originating in Sweden in 1997. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has made a national Vision Zero program part of his campaign.
Almost a year ago, Inside Sacramento began monthly coverage of the homeless problem in our area. A key focus has been the root causes of homelessness, including mental health and drug and alcohol addiction.
In my May 2019 column, “Is Sacramento Dying?” Sacramento City Councilmember Jeff Harris said he favored an individual triage process to help understand the paths that bring people to the streets. His goal is to avoid placing folks who are simply unable to afford or find shelter in the same category as addicts, criminals and the mentally ill.
Imagine a stunning chateau on 40 acres three hours east of Paris. Now imagine long walks along miles of nature trails through undisturbed pastoral land, followed by hours of uninterrupted time for artistic expression. Cassie Berube doesn’t have to imagine it—she’s lived it.
Berube recently returned from an artist residency at Chateau d’Orquevaux in Champagne-Ardenne, France, after receiving the prestigious Denis Diderot Grant, which helps offset the cost of room and board. (Residency fees go toward restoring the historic chateau, which traces its artistic roots back to Denis Diderot, an art critic and philosopher in the 1700s.)
As a board member for the last four years of the HOPE Counseling Center, Margaux Helm has helped the nonprofit offer a variety of professional counseling services for families, couples and individuals using a flexible-fee structure.
HOPE quite literally makes “hope” accessible.
At the Downtown Sacramento Partnership annual State of Downtown breakfast, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he wants to build a Haven for Hope-style homeless treatment facility. He issued a challenge to the community to identify a site within 90 days.
I’m a strong advocate for local governments to move beyond ineffective low-barrier “Housing First” homeless policies. Rather, we must aggressively treat the root causes of homelessness in a long-term, clinical environment.
Artist and humanitarian Marcy Friedman, Emigh Ace Hardware store owner Rich Lawrence and River City Brewing Company co-founder Beth Ayres-Biro will be top honorees at Carmichael’s 2020 Person of the Year gala. The event will be hosted by the Carmichael Chamber of Commerce at Arden Hills Athletic & Social Club on Friday, March 20.
Friedman will be honored as 2020 Person of the Year. Lawrence will be recognized as Businessman of the Year and Ayres-Biro as Businesswoman of the Year.
