A fellow community member sent a great email to members of a  neighborhood association list I subscribe to. In it she opined that more residents must get involved in their communities in order for change to occur. I responded to her with my theory as to why more people don’t get involved. Of course my theory  is only based on my own experience. I recognize your mileage may vary..

Dear Brenda,

In my opinion it all starts at the top. We [Sacramentans]…

Shortly after I published Angelique Ashby’s smoldering letter to the Natomas community about the West Natomas fire,  District One Councilman Ray Tretheway sent his own email to the community, replete with canned sentimentality only Razor Sharp Ray could cook up on a moment’s notice.

I received Sunshine Ray’s letter via email this afternoon. In classic Tretheway style, he opens by sharing a riveting anecdote about having lost his own home to fire (who knew?), then goes on to state his commitment to…

“The question to ask is how many more tragedies before we get the fire station we need on the West side of I-5? Whose home will be next or will it be a school? Which brave firefighter will have to try to beat the odds because we don’t have enough help? And what price will that firefighter and his family pay?” - Angelique Ashby

Community leader Angelique Ashby, President of the Creekside Neighborhood Association, and Co-Founder of the Greater Natomas Crime…

Updated 8:30am - 7Oct08

Fargo was absolutely pathetic on every level last night. In 22 years as a business professional and voter, I have never witnessed such an egregious, vindictive public official so replete with resentment. One absolutely can not be an effective leader (let along consensus builder!) with that kind of emotion ruling one’s entire being. No way. Last night Fargo showed through her snarky grin, condescending sighs and defensive body language why there is so much division in this…

I went to a “town hall” meeting featuring mayoral hopeful KJ in Natomas a few weeks ago. I recall Johnson saying he didn’t think Sacramento had done a good job developing along its rivers. How Portland and other cities have done a far better job. Take San Antonio for example, said Kevin, to the delight of the small group of people in attendance, “..they’ve actually developed around a canal that isn’t even a real river!” cried Kevin,

To hear Kevin tell it,…

Why is Nancy Pelosi smiling as she signs the bailout rescue plan? Anyone? I can’t figure it out.

Why is Nancy Pelosi smiling as she signs the bailout rescue plan?  Comment your best caption for this image!

Here’s another great one…

And in related news…California may need some serious bread, man

Arnold wrote a letter to U.S. Treasurer today. In it he said CA may need a multi billion dollar loan to finance errrr the state of California if something doesn’t give by October 29th. He…

SMUD SUCKS

I am so happy it is Friday.. almost. What a week this has been. And how does it wind down? With a POWER OUTAGE ten minutes into the vice presidential debate! A what!? Yes, a friggin’ power outage!  I had just finished off a few delicious chili dogs and was settling into my sofa with my wife to watch the debate when BURRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr. Silence.

I immediately called SMUD. The rep. confirmed power had been cut to 3,000 homes in Natomas.…

Lots of good stuff to talk about this (finally) cooler Wednesday.  Here are some topics I’m reading about and some thoughts..

Kevin Johnson says Mayor should make personal schedule public
First I heard of this, but Mayor Fargo does not share her schedule with the public. Surprise! Her position seems to be that it’s none of our damn business what she’s doing. This came to light when Kevin Johnson said he would make his daily appointment book public if he were mayor.…

Throughout this election season, Sacramento voters have been bombarded with lectures, stories, blog entries, speeches, mailers, press releases, and even bumper stickers touting which mayoral candidate is the true Democrat, as though the title were some sort of regal honor that will determine the outcome of the election. Do voters even care? I sure don’t. I care about issues;  not race, not gender, not stance on gay marriage and DEFINITELY *NOT* whether the candidate worships an elephant or a donkey.

Maybe…

What a fabulous letter from Cecily Hastings of Inside Publications. Inside Publications publishes newspapers such as Inside East Sacramento and Inside Arden [hey when is Inside Natomas coming?]. The basic premise of her support for Kevin Johnson is that eight years of Fargo is enough. Eight years is enough for a president, a governor, and should be for a mayor as well. I could not agree more. Great points all the way around.

Eight is Enough: Why I support Kevin Johnson…