Elk Grove News Podcasts

Spring begins in March, the rebirth season. The sweet smell of blooming flowers and blossoming trees permeate the air. The sun rises later and stays awake longer foreshadowing warmer days ahead. And then there’s baseball. For more than 150 years, spring and baseball have been synonymous. Just like clockwork, when spring arises, players put on their cleats, grab their gloves, bats and balls, and th...

For many people in @CityofElkGrove, particularly on the city's westside, Old Town Elk Grove is like a distant cousin. Sure, you are related, but beyond that, do you really have any familiarity with them and do you even want to?

Surrounded by family and supporters, on Saturday, January 25 Mr. Ali Moua announced he will challenge incumbent and fellow Democrat Darren Suen for the District 1 seat on the Elk Grove City Council. Moua made the announcement in front of this Lakeside neighborhood residence with over 100 people in attendance. Leading up to his statement, Moua was introduced by his wife Tou Vang and Maureen Craft,...

This year Elk Grove City Council District 3 voters will have the opportunity to elect their representative on a by-district basis, and it will be the first city council contest since 2014 without an incumbent on the ballot.

Halfway through the NBA season the Sacramento Kings by any realistic standard are eliminated from the playoffs. This should come as no surprise given their zero and six start.

The District56 aquatics center has become something of a sore point for the city of Elk Grove. Since its earliest planning stages, the project has been problematic. The facility was over budget and open one year late. We have a discussion with David Anderson who is speaking out on behalf of one of the defendants. In our conversation, Anderson asserts among other things that the city council is not...

By Dan Schmitt | I was born the very day Harry Truman was elected president of the United States.  Since my birth, the United States government has sent our military into conflicts 14 times.

The January 8, 2020, Elk Grove City council meeting was one for the ages. Highlighting this meeting were false statements from the city council’s dean, District 2 representative, Pat Hume.

One of the more interesting measures that may show up on the November 2020 ballot for Sacramento County voters is a proposed sales tax increase from the Sacramento Transportation Authority to fund a yet undecided number of countywide transportation projects. Getting voter approval might be as tough as building a consensus between urban and suburban stakeholders just to get the measure on the ballo...

Elk Grove’s District 56 is off to a rough start. Last year the aquatics center opened one year late and over budget. Then on Christmas eve – the city’s new holiday tree went dark.

In December the California State Auditor released a report on the Sacramento City Unified School District finances. The audit painted a bleak picture . In this edition of Elk Grove News Podcasts, we have a discussion with Kevin Dayton about the findings of that audits and some of his recommendations beyond just belt-tightening on what could resolve and advert some of the problems the district is d...

As the 2019 Holiday season winds down, it is always worth noting this is the time of year when charitable giving reaches its peak. Giving to charity is admirable, but many people might have less altruist motivations.

Today, roughly, is Winter Solstice, the shortest daylight of the year. This is the day when mother earth tilts furthest away from the sun in the northern hemisphere. For all us remaining Druids, Celts and assorted pagans, this a day of celebration.

At the most recent Sacramento Transporation Authority meeting on Thursday, December 12, the one person allowed to speak during public comment, Ms. Rita Simmersbach, noted transit services officer by the City of West Sacramento. As you can hear from Ms. Simmersbach, she urged the STA to include this type of service should that multi-jurisdictional entity seek and gain the approval of a 40-year $8 b...

In this edition of Elk Grove News Podcasts, we speak with Glenn Jackson Jr. and his mother Angela Jackson about their personal experiences related to transportation deficiencies in the Sacramento region and their real-life consequences. Mother and son have been advocating for better transit services to agencies like Sacramento Transporation Authority who is considering placing a sales tax increase...

Listeners may recall Robert Bork as the jurist nominated but not approved as a Supreme Court judge by President Ronald Reagan. Rejected for his extremist views, Bork tried to exact revenge against his perceived liberal enemies by writing Slouching toward Gomorrah.

Anyone who has heard a real estate pitch is familiar with the phrase location, location, location. This week California Northstate University made that pitch on it proposed hospital on Elk Grove’s far westside.2

As daylight shortens, sleeping patterns are affected, and consequently, you might find yourself awake in the dead of the night. If you look at your phone at these times you might find political advertisements for  California Assemblymember Jim Cooper.

In 2016 The Sacramento Transportation Authority – the STA - placed a one half percent sales tax measure on the Sacramento county ballot to fund a variety of transportation projects. That measure was narrowly rejected by voters. For 2020 the STA is again looking at placing a sales tax increase on the ballot. Our guest is is Glenda Marsh, a co-founder of SMART - Sacramento Metro Advoc...

As Americans prepare for the annual Thanksgiving celebration in the coming days, like others, we offer thanks. Our list is not inclusive of every person or event of significance, but this is a sampling of just a few things we offer thanks, Of course, we offer thanks to all our contributors - written and otherwise, and most importantly our loyal readers and subscribers.

During every Elk Grove city council meeting, there is an item on the agenda called the consent calendar. The calendar contains items of city business that are considered routine, non-controversial. In this editions of Lynn Wheat’s podcast More Than Three Minutes, Wheat discusses this expenditure and other things hidden in the consent calendar.

This week the McClatchy organization announced Saturday publication all of it daily's, including the Sacramento Bee, is being suspended which is unfortunate. How we receive news that has changed substantially and the evolution continues, but sometimes not in a good way.

In Sacramento County, there is a little-known agency whose profile will resurface like a cicada in the coming months. That agency is the Sacramento Transportation Authority – or the STA. The STA is a multi-jurisdictional agency that disburses funds from a special county-wide sales tax for transportation projects. On Thursday, November 14, the STA held their monthly meeting to discuss the possibili...

This week Elk Grove city councilman Darren Suen held what was billed as a community meeting on California Northstate University’s controversial proposed hospital project. One of the people on hand to help Suen out of the difficult situation was Elk Grove city manager Jason Behrmann.

In a session that lasted just under three hours, Elk Grove District 1 City Councilmember Darren Suen heard many pointed comments and questions from about 60 participants at a community meeting he conducted last night at the Dreaming Dog Brewery in Elk Grove's Stonelake neighborhood. Although Suen heard comments on topics ranging from traffic to homelessness, the primary focus was on California Nor...