Elk Grove News Podcast

This week, the $300 million Elk Grove-Sacramento Zoo was canceled , joining a long list of spectacular Elk Grove City Council failures.

A unique feature of Elk Grove is its rural area, a sprawling expanse whose residents have enjoyed substantial political influence. Elk Grove Mayors and city council members have consistentlypromised to protect the area’s large acreage residential parcels. That promise is in jeopardy.

Eighteen years ago today, on April 19, 1995, Americans were shocked by the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

During the recent Elk Grove City Council meeting, assistant city manager Jacqui Guzman highlighted the mayor and city councilmens changes to the their norms and procedures. A couple items warrant highlighting.

In his Oscar-winning best supporting actor role for his portrayal of U.S. Deputy Marshall Sam Gerard in 1993’s  Fugitive , Tommy Lee Jones famously had this line when confronting Doctor Richard Kimble, who pleaded his innocence. “I don’t care!” A few chosen words in the arts or real life can convey absolute truth.

Before construction starts on the $300 million Elk Grove-Sacramento Zoo, the Sacramento Zoological Society must have $50 million in cold, hard cash. Don't underestimate what measures they'll take to get the money.

We’ve been thinking about songs that could describe Elon Musk or at least his recent whining.

Like egg prices did last November, the stock market's performance is a powerful barometer of economic health and political support.

By Dan Schmitt | Even though California has outlawed the practice, the Rocklin Unfied School District continues to pursue a policy that would compel teachers and administrators to  out  self-identified transgender students. While the action is illegal and the school district knows this, there is a way students could fight back.  

During Trump’s address to a joint session of congress, Democratic Congressman Al Green disrupted the speech. That disruption led to his removal from the chamber and a mostly partisan censure vote.

Commentary by D. A. Gougherty |  Social Security is a vital lifeline for millions of Americans, providing crucial support in retirement, disability, and survivors.

This week, a Mississippi judge ordered the removal of an editorial by the Clarkdale Press-Register that criticized the Democratic mayor and city council of Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Since our esteemed elected officials constantly profess their love for Elk Grove, let's consider what makes our city desirable. Our geography and climate are the most significant selling point. We are halfway between the San Francisco Bay Area, with its cultural attractions, and Lake Tahoe, which has year-round recreational activities. We love the mild winters and Mediterranean weather, and the de...

In this edition of Lynn Wheat's More Than Three Minutes Podcast, she discusses the Sacramento Sewer District's Harvest Water Project and its relation to a crop in Elk Grove.

Elk Grove has two significant public works projects that, if completed, will have long-term effects. Those projects include the unfunded three-hundred million dollar zoo relocation and the commuter rail station.

The second Trump administration has been in position for just over a week, and already we are seeing many patterns from the first time around being repeated, not only by the president, but the major media outlets. On this edition of Elk Grove News Podcast, we’ll look at how one national media platform handled one of Trump’s recent executive order announcements.

January saw a spate of activity for the $300 million unfunded Sacramento Zoo at Elk Grove - or is it the Elk Grove Zoo of Greater Sacramento? Regardless of the name adopted, the Elk Grove and Sacramento Zoological Society partnership has a troubling and missing element that needs to be addressed immediately.

During their Wednesday, January 22 meeting, the Elk Grove City Council and the public saw new renderings of the unfunded $300 million Sacramento Zoo relocation project. As they regularly do, the city posted the images on social media to create buzz, and people appeared supportive.

By Dan Schmitt |  I know there is widespread disappointment and angst concerning the direction our nation is going. Our new president, the “dictator-wanna-be,” and the oligarchy supporting him and his administration are determined to take our country into territory reminiscent of pre-WW2 Germany.  If you paid attention to what Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign told us he would do if elec...

No elected official knows Elk Grove better than Sacramento County Supervisor Pat Hume. Before his current position, Mr. Hume was on the Elk Grove City Council for 16 years, making him the longest-serving council member. Commenting on a racist event in the city about 8 years ago, Hume, a longtime Elk Grove resident, noted the city's redneck heritage. Watch the comments on September 13, 2017, by...

Yesterday, one of our longtime and loyal readers reminded us of today's significance for Elk Grove News. 

On June 28, 2023, restaurateur Michael Hargis promised Elk Grove taxpayers he was good on a 500 hundred thousand loan guarantee. Since then, his Slow and Low restaurant, which had a $500,000 taxpayer-guaranteed loan, closed, and supposedly, the new operator has taken over the loan. What will they screw up next?

We are on the threshold of 2025.  What can we expect from the incoming Trump administration in the new year, and what lies ahead for Elk Grove? What do you think will happen in the coming year?

As 2024 winds down, we would like to extend a holiday wish for politicians. Before we do so, we need to add some context. The following is one of our favorite descriptions of politicians. It comes from a North Carolina political operative. They said the following about politics and politicos: "Politics is like a vice amplifier, where everybody has a need for affirmation, a need to be important, to...

In less than one month, Donald Trump will take his oath for the second time, and we already see the coming chaos.