City Beat
A Secret Guide To Homelessness
Along North 12th Street, X Street or Alhambra Boulevard, the ubiquitous presence of unsheltered people and their tents, shopping carts, plastic bags, bicycles and detritus suggests Sacramento has no clue how to handle homelessness.
But that impression is wrong. The city does have a clue—recorded in a secret little publication called “Homeless Services Division Playbook.”
Killer Meth
I can’t visit my local Starbucks in East Sacramento or Old Soul coffee in Oak Park without panhandlers aggressively hitting me up for money. Or exit my local grocery store. Or take a freeway offramp. Often there are two beggars on my local offramp, one working each side.
I can’t drive down Alhambra Boulevard without seeing sidewalk homeless encampments or observing the slow progress made by homeless people pushing shopping carts piled high.
Youth Fund or Boondoggle?
The name evokes innocence and generosity. Sacramento Children’s Fund Act of 2020. But the details quickly congeal into something more prosaic: money, about $12.5 million a year in city taxpayer dollars, destined for parts unknown.
In March, Sacramento voters may be asked to amend the City Charter and dedicate 2.5 percent of the general fund to a private revenue pool for youth-oriented nonprofit organizations.
Access Fight Heats Up
Watch out. Tacks and nails have been strewn along the Sacramento River Parkway bike trail near The Westin Hotel. Fencing has been cut and pushed aside at the city’s private park on Bell Air and Seamas in Little Pocket.
This is what happens when public officials ignore public interests and accommodate a fortunate few. Frustrations boil over. Civility disappears.
A Separate Peace
America is binging on outrage because liberals are arrogant elitists recklessly opening our borders and bankrupting the country, while conservatives are hateful bigots bent on destroying the environment and oppressing poor people.
Neither statement is true, but both stereotypes feed the outrage addiction that has become the default narrative of public dialogue.
Long Day’s Journey
Long Day’s Journey From Tokyo to Paris, tear gas included By Craig Powell September 2019 As astute readers may have noticed, I have been missing in action. After nine years of writing a monthly column for Inside Sacramento, without missing a month, I decided to...
