When Ray’s proposal first hit the email circuit, I observed multiple email threads where community activists swore they would foil ol’ Ray’s plans. The fun culminated at a city hall meeting where  Natomas School Board Trustee Lisa Kaplan and others read long statements essentially dissing Ray’s proposal. It worked–at least for a minute or two.

But you can’t keep a good tree planter down, and before long Ray’s quil pen was dippin’ and scribblin’ again and one day, viola: A new plan, and a green light from the council to proceed. One fire house, one community center and some road projects coming right up? Want a good Mexican restaurant with that? Hey don’t get cocky.

I’m sure folks will correct me on the sequence of events, but really they aren’t important. What’s important is that Ray got his (tweaked) proposal passed tonight, and you can rest assured he’s going to hammer that point home ad nauseam when election season rolls around next year. But lest we forget, all the stuff that Ray is suddenly interested in doing should have been done a loooong time ago. The firestation should already be built.. same with the community center… and the road projects.. and hell, the regional park.

A newcomer to the city might think Ray’s got his stuff together; but those of us who bought homes in the Natomas bathtub back in 2000 know better. Ray is reactive.  He only gets off his butt and does something after something happens, or the noise floor becomes so loud he can’t tolerate it any longer. Make no mistake about it: If Ray had his druthers, he would be planting trees and building tree forts.. in South Natomas.

I know, I know. Some of you will write me and say, “Joe, Ray is a nice old man and you suck for dissing him on your gay web site.” And who am I to argue? Maybe Ray’s really shaking things up! I heard he recently staged some sort of auction-contest at city hall where the highest bidder won a lunch with Ray. Kevin Johnson won. Lucky! :\

Got Jolt? Can you even imagine? Why not just take an hour nap and save some money? Apparently Ray says he will take KJ to Bella Bru in North Natomas. I can’t help but wonder how he will pull that off;  Ray doesn’t even know where North Natomas is… and we know he doesn’t know how to use a computer to look it up so…. plan on picking him up at Sac Tree headquarters KJ.. and if he’s not there just cruise South Natomas for a bit until you see an old guy in a white gown wandering around aimlessly babbling about “the good old days when Heather was running the show!!”

Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yeah. So Ray got his whole plan passed tonight. Apparently within two years the fire station will be operational. No word whatsoever on whether it will be shared with the police–something Ray haphazardly  proposed during a crime meeting with residents last year when the Natomas area was under criminal siege. (Yes, this was the same meeting in which ol’ Tree Fort Ray tried to empathize with home invasion victims by saying he too was once a victim of home invasion when a 13 year old boy broke into his garage and stole some household items. Ray said he felt so….. violated…  )

But what do I care? I’ve got my popcorn and I’m watching a much more exicting flick. It’s a real nail-biter. It’s called  “grand-jury-says-Natomas-school-district-should-be-investigated-for-shady-land-deal.” It stars Superintendent Steve Farrar, the Natomas School District Board, and a guy we will call “Developer Don” (who happens to be a good buddy of Mayor Johnson).   We are talking early Oscar nod on this one.

Oh I know, I know:  Don is a philanthropist who I should be thanking, not berating.  I know, I know Don has given more to charity than I will  make in my lifetime. Blah blah blah. So what. The bottom line is that the district bought 41 acres of useless farmland (land that will probably never be annexed), for $13.5 MILLION DOLLARS of OUR (low life taxpayers) money and Mr. Money Bags Developer Don and his homeys shoveled every dollar into their coffers and giggled and grinned all the way to the bank.

At a time when teachers are being laid off and the Natomas School District is running out of money, and given the “bridge in New Jersey” nature of this snake oil land deal that will penalize students and teachers of the school district for years to come,  I find it appalling no one has called on these millionaires to void the deal completely and return any money that has been transferred. I find it even more appalling that the ones who took the loot haven’t called it off themselves. What about you KJ? Maybe make a few phone calls to get that money back?  What do you say? Put Natomas kids on the map dude!

Then again, what do I know? I just write here.

:munching on popcorn:

Source: http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1893291.html?mi_rss=Top%20Stories

Well, as most of us know, the audit never happened. One thing KJ and the press—and amazingly even Johnson’s opponent–forgot to tell the public was that without city council approval, the mayor would not be able to order up his audit like it was a menu item at In and Out burger. The council would have to approve. They didn’t. In fact they shot the idea down faster than a Blackhawk over Somalia. Mayor PS7 was naturally disappointed, and like most election season promises, the idea faded into the smoggy sunset.

So now what? Is there a Plan B Mayor Johnson? Granted I am not at the epicenter of local politics, but I’m not seeing much from your bunker other than an occasional surrender flag. What is with the official disaster zone status you want for Sacramento?  What is it again, “Fiscal Meltdown Zone” or something? Sorry, but I am not seeing the kind of change you promised.. yet. Again, I’m hopeful, and I know there are still 3 quarters left in the game, but man, I thought in 8 months we would have seen some sweeping changes by now. Let me ask you: Have you and your team at least replaced all the art work at city hall yet?

Most importantly, how is the crime fight going? I know in my neighborhood alone crime is back on the rise. We’ve had multiple purse snatchings at the Raley’s over here. The other night we had a police chase after a botched robbery, and the perps running and hiding in people’s backyards with the helicopter chasing them. I understand the getaway car slammed into an innocent resident’s car in Natomas Park. Is it your fault? Of course not, but I think it underscores the reality that people CHOOSE to commit crimes in certain areas because they don’t think they’ll get caught. Why? They don’t see cops anywhere.  That’s not to knock the job the PD is doing, but the brutal reality here is that we don’t have enough cops… and now, with them sharing cars, there is even LESS visibility.

Speaking of sharing cars, Chief Braziel promised back in September that after one month of the “buddy-up” experiment, he would provide a report to the public. I have not seen it. Does anyone know if he ever released the report?

While we are on the topic of crime, Sac DA Jan Scully recently announced that if her department has to weather the pending budget cuts the county is proposing, she will no longer be able to prosecute a lot of petty crimes. In response, our resident tree hugger and absentee landlord Ray Tretheway sent the Bee what might be the most asinine opinion letters EVER suggesting the city of Sacramento would gladly prosecute the cases if Scully could not. The Treth’ went on to say how important it was to keep our neighborhoods safe, and how since the city had successfully prosecuted 37 cases last year, it was more than equipped to take on Scully’s misdemeanor caseload. Doh!

Guess how many misdemeanor cases Jan Scully’s office handled last year? 20,000. Her response to Tretheway’s Alzheimer’s-induced love letter must have been a dagger through his green heart..

“But with all due respect, successfully prosecuting the 37 cases (some criminal and some civil) in one year cited by Tretheway amounts to three cases per month. Last year, my office filed more than 20,000 misdemeanor cases..” – Jan Scully, DA, Sac County

Goes to show how incredibly OUT OF TOUCH Tretheway is. We’re talking one flew over the Cuckoo’s nest goner. And you wonder why Sacramento is so messed up? Hello.

But really, the most SOBERING, RELEVANT comment in response to Ray’s letter was from The Gadlfy who wrote in the Bee’s comments:

“Tretheway is a joke, his own neighborhood has turned into a ghetto while he sat by and did NOTHING….” – The Gadfly

Nail meet head.

Wow. Truth hurts. Ray, you’re a nice guy and all and I know folks love your playgrounds and barbecues, but you should be ashamed of yourself for what has happened to South Natomas. Go interview people who live there like we did. They are living scared, Ray. YOUR neighbors. They won’t go out at night, Ray. How did this happen, Ray? You have been there since the beginning. You have no excuse. It is remarkable you have survived this long in politics. You should NOT be in the city council any longer. In fact you should be banned from city property all together.

But let me be clear lest my sadness be misinterpreted for indifference. Truly, I think it’s very sad that all of Tretheway’s good works as councilman are completely overshadowed by his colossal failures in public safety. The property that has been stolen. The lives that have been lost. The businesses that have been robbed and burglarized. That will be Tretheway’s legacy once he is voted out next year.

Back to the mayor. Hey, KJ what’s Plan B — besides declaring Sacramento a disaster area. I’ll be patiently awaiting your answer #7.