Op-Ed
Diverse Viewpoints from Sacramento
Empty Promise
The homelessness crisis is often framed as a housing crisis. It is not.
Homelessness is a crisis born from the collapse of accountability at every level of the system. The consequences are visible in neighborhoods across Sacramento.
In 2016, California became the only state to formally adopt the federal government’s Housing First mandate as its sole taxpayer-funded approach to homelessness. Billions in state and federal dollars went toward subsidized-for-life apartments with no accountability for sobriety, treatment or work—ever.
Radio Interference
Sacramento prides itself on civic engagement, transparency and strong public institutions. That’s why the ongoing crisis at Capital Public Radio strikes a deep nerve.
Recent reporting by the Bee shows this is not simply a personnel problem but a breakdown of oversight, governance and institutional accountability by the radio stations and their license holder, Sacramento State University.
CapRadio is not just another media outlet. As the region’s NPR affiliate, it plays a central role in civic life and depends on listener donations and public trust.
Protection Without Devastation
Now is the time to walk the dirt trails between the lower American River and the paved bike path.
The air is fresh. The river runs high. Wildflowers bloom. Oaks, cottonwoods and willows canopy the trails. The water is alive with geese, ducks, herons and egrets. Pond turtles sun on logs.
To know the magnificence of the parkway is to understand why so many people, now and in the past, devote their lives to protecting it.
If the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ latest erosion-control project comes to fruition, as many as 700 trees, including 300-year-old heritage oaks, acres of riparian forest and established woodlands will be destroyed.
Radio Interference
Sacramento prides itself on civic engagement, transparency and strong public institutions. That’s why the ongoing crisis at Capital Public Radio strikes a deep nerve.
Recent reporting by the Bee shows this is not simply a personnel problem but a breakdown of oversight, governance and institutional accountability by the radio stations and their license holder, Sacramento State University.
CapRadio is not just another media outlet. As the region’s NPR affiliate, it plays a central role in civic life and depends on listener donations and public trust.
Banner Billboard
For two decades, it’s been a familiar visual as motorists enter the underpass at H and 57th streets headed to Fair Oaks Boulevard. It’s a community billboard with an interesting history and a bright future.
Former East Sacramento City Council member Steve Cohn orchestrated the billboard’s placement. The 4-by-12-foot frame featured changeable vinyl banners, mostly to promote the Pops in the Park concert series.
The letters said, “GREAT ART MAKES A GREAT COMMUNITY.” In 2016, new Councilmember Jeff Harris expanded the billboard’s reach to include other nonprofits and neighborhood events.
Block Breaker?
The former Mary Ann’s Bakery in East Sacramento is the proposed location for a six-story housing edifice and parking garage. The project would fill the block between Alhambra Boulevard and C, D and 30th streets.
With 332 residential units and 322 parking slots, the development seeks to permanently change the neighborhood. A smaller building—say, three stories—would keep the area’s low-rise character. A six-floor structure threatens to destroy the ambiance of a historic community.
