City, County and Neighborhood News
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Pocket Life December 2023
Find out what is happening in Pocket during the month of December!
Power Up
The West Antarctic ice sheet is collapsing, hurricanes are growing more intense, sea levels are rising. Locally we have seen two severe droughts, wildfires in abundance and a 500-year rain event, all within seven years.
Climate change is here and increasing at a rapid rate. Even the staunchest climate-change deniers are reconsidering. What should we do in Sacramento to address this global calamity?
The answer: reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation sector is a big culprit. That’s where we can make huge improvements. Moving to electric vehicles and alternative modes of transportation addresses the problem.
We Were Warned
The names were evocative, inspired by the river and people who lived, worked and played on it. Amen’s Landing, B and B Harbor, Cotton’s Landing, Stogey’s Landing, Shaw’s Landing, Captain’s Table, Wheeler’s Landing.
From Elkhorn to Freeport, a string of boat ramps, docks, waterfront cafés, taverns, picnic grounds and fishing camps made the Sacramento River levee accessible, enjoyable and essential to generations.
Today, below Miller Park and Downtown, old recreational haunts are gone. Some were destroyed by the river and its seasonal torrents. Others collapsed when operators tumbled into financial despair.
Out & About December 2023
Find out what is happening in Sacramento during the month of December!
Legal Force
In an unprecedented move, District Attorney Thien Ho filed a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento citing lack of enforcement of laws related to homeless campsites.
I welcome this action. The policies and actions of Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the City Council have made Sacramento the most homeless-friendly city on the West Coast.
We are a place where homeless people believe they can live permanently on our streets. A place where individuals can pursue homeless lifestyles with impunity, ignoring laws, municipal codes and ordinances along the way.
Out And About November 2023
Find out what is happening in Sacramento during the month of November!
Dead Air
Capital Public Radio was a beacon of objective news coverage and thoughtful analysis sailing blissfully amid the sea of blather, bile and self-promotion on commercial radio.
Beyond the microphone, CapRadio was Sacramento State University’s version of Animal House.
Unpaid loans for millions of dollars. Unauthorized contracts and purchases. Gifts of $56,794 and $10,000 not properly documented. All problems that point to negligent leadership at KXJZ and KXPR, the main call letters that comprise CapRadio.
Cozy Relations
It’s not easy to get a state agency to do what you want, especially when the request involves breaking rules and ignoring precedents and safety concerns.
But somehow, property owners near the Sacramento River levee turned the Central Valley Flood Protection Board into an ally.
They convinced the flood board’s top bureaucrat to authorize temporary fences that block public access to the levee.