Feb 26, 2021
Like a truck speeding downhill with imbalanced brakes, the plan by Mayor Darrell Steinberg to cure homelessness by giving a roof to every unsheltered person is poised to jackknife and skid out of control. The rubber is already starting to burn.
The Steinberg plan, revealed in January, rests on three cornerstones. First, the proposal requires all eight City Council districts to identify and prepare shelter sites for homeless people. This expectation spreads the pain and creates a veneer of egalitarian sacrifice.
Second, the proposal is designed to limit neighborhood objection. Sure, City Hall is conducting outreach. But Steinberg envisions one decisive City Council vote in June to launch his $100 million housing balloon. It’s all or nothing.
Feb 26, 2021
Freshwater fishermen know the best time to catch a sturgeon in the Sacramento River is right about now, early March, when white sturgeon run upstream to spawn. The big fish search for rocky substrate in the river bottom. They love fast-moving, cold water clouded by dirt.
I’m no fisherman. But I hope to wake up one morning and open an email from a Sacramento angler who, in the hunt for sturgeon, has sighted an awesome beast that defies belief, an ancient sturgeon of supreme size and weight whose emergence from the muddy depths can resemble a submarine breaking the surface.
I’m talking about Old Moe.
Jan 28, 2021
No Sacramento neighborhood is perfect, but the Pocket and Greenhaven community comes close. There are abundant shops, services and globally flavored restaurants, three supermarkets, churches, housing opportunities for most budgets, miles of bikeways and expansive, manicured parks.
While other prime neighborhoods such as Land Park, Midtown and East Sacramento struggle with increasing numbers of homeless people and campgrounds, Pocket and Greenhaven generally avoid challenges that come from playing host to unsheltered community members.
Jan 28, 2021
A unique alliance between the police chief and his boss is changing how Sacramento Police operate. For Chief Daniel Hahn and City Manager Howard Chan, the partnership is essential to systemic, progressive improvements in the city’s law enforcement.
Chan and Hahn say police reforms, which include reimagining the way officers are recruited and trained and respond to everything from gun violence to traffic stops, are made possible by the relationship. Reforms won’t succeed without it.
Jan 28, 2021
An Inside reader named Ken Poppers serves as today’s example of someone with a good memory. I’ll play the role of the old sportswriter who needs a reminder.
Poppers emailed me recently and noted my disdain for the Kings and their avoidance of certain fiscal responsibilities in the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit, the Kings cut staff. They also stopped paying all the rent they owe the city for Golden 1 Center.
