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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.
Pocket Life November 2023
Find out what is happening in Pocket the month of November!
Outlaw Fences
Five weeks after his arrival, the new executive officer at the Central Valley Flood Protection Board appeared to ignore state law when he quietly signed three authorizations for private fences to block access to the Sacramento River Parkway and levee.
Two additional fence authorizations soon followed.
By allowing temporary fences, Christopher Lief reversed years of flood board practice and seemingly violated a California regulation that requires the board itself—not executive officer Lief—to authorize levee fences.
Step By Step
Homelessness is more than a housing crisis. It involves mental illness, drug addiction and criminal behavior, often committed by homeless individuals against others in encampments. While unsheltered individuals suffer, so does the quality of life in some of our neighborhoods.
Sacramento County takes a balanced approach using what I call the “four C’s”—compassion, coordination, capacity and consequences.
Backroom Fiasco
Can a gas station that never got built cost taxpayers more than $28 million? Yes, when that unbuilt gas station involves Crocker Village.
Turning an industrial site into a neighborhood of homes, shops, parks and offices is never easy. Crocker Village was no exception—a difficult infill project from inception two decades ago.
The village sits atop a former polluted rail yard. It required deep, expensive environmental remediation.
Out And About October 2023
Find out what is happening in Sacramento during the month of October!
Right Steps
Unrestricted homeless camping on public property should not be accepted as an inevitability of city life. It’s neither compassionate nor practical to let unhoused people engage in unlawful behavior and flagrant drug use while they live in squalor on our streets.
This is why residents passed Measure O, the Emergency Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022. Voters expected City Council members to see the measure as a mandate to prioritize public safety and clean up our city.
Citizens sent a message: Make our neighborhoods and Downtown feel safe again. Promote a successful business environment. Elevate our quality of life.
Has City Council heard the will of the people? The answer, judging by council actions in August, is maybe.