Elk Grove News Podcasts

With the switch to by-district elections in 2020, Elk Grove is in the midst of a subtle political change. With councilmembers elected by-district voters only, Mayor Steve Lee remains the only councilmember elected citywide.

A few years ago, a documentary was released about the Enron scandal called The Smartest Guys in the room. It told the story of the hubris of people like Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. The title was apt because the Enron criminals thought they were smarter than everybody. And for a while they were. Then things collapsed. Although not criminally motivated like the Enron crew, the Elk Grove city c...

With the Elk Grove City council’s recently adopted by-district voting, Mayor Steve Ly scored a big political victory. With victory, there has to be a loser.

Last year Elk Grove city manager Jason Behrmann announced with great pride a new city hall department, The Office of Strategic Planning and Innovation. The new department was to be headed by a member of the city’s planning department, Christopher Jordan. In this edition, we’ll take a look at one simple attempt to innovate that failed that we call an Innovation Nightmare – Christophe...

Recently the Latin term Quid pro quo has been thrust into the national lexicon by Trump. Loosely translated it means something for something. This practice has been around Elk Grove since the city’s founding.

On Friday, October 11, the City of Elk Grove issued a statement regarding litigation over construction delays and cost overruns on the recently open District56 aquatics center. Given the reluctance of governmental bodies to comment on pending litigation, issuing the statement was an unusual development. In this edition, we have another conversation with Brian Erickson who as co-owner of Big B Cons...

The next time you hear the Elk Grove City Council or member of the city's executive team make claims, you would be well-served to view them with a healthy measure of skepticism. One such example of this is a recently released video by the city on the budget process.

Life, it has been said, can imitate art. Following a decade-old recommendation, former Elk Grove Citizen editor, Jeff Forward, has led us to an example that is apt for Elk Grove. Jeff' - we should have taken up your recommendation long ago - better late than never!

Even as he raised briefcases of cash from developers and labor unions this week, it appears Darren Suen is running scared as he seeks another term as the District 1 representative on the Elk Grove City Council.

Product launches can be a tricky thing. Have a good product enter the market at the right time with the right message and it can be successful beyond imagination. Conversely, if you have a product with a poorly defined audience and a confusing message, it can be a huge setback. Think of Apple's iPhone launch a little over a decade ago and Ford Motor's launch of the Edsel line about 60 years ago.

A frequent guest on Elk Grove News Podcasts has been Lynn Wheat. A smart planning advocate, Wheat is now producing a podcast on land planning and other issues of interest in Elk Grove that she is calling More Than Three Minutes. In this inaugural edition, Wheat will discuss a project in Elk Grove's Southeast Policy Area - SEPA - and its relationship to the 25,000 new jobs city leaders have promise...

The history of Jim Crow laws in the United States, which included voters suppression, is among many blemishes on America's legacy. Through the hard work of civil rights activist, Jim Crow laws were removed, but vestiges and the attitudes that enabled the segregationist laws have not disappeared. Even though it is touted for its diversity, the same mentality that institutionalized Jim Crow lingers...

Have you ever been stonewalled or the subject of ghosting? Elk Grove resident Kathy Engle discusses public document requests she has made with the city of Elk Grove that give the appearance she is being stonewalled. A request made on June 26, 2019 seeking emails from council member Darren Suen for only a two week period has not been fulfilled even though it was requested almost three months ago. W...

In a somewhat unusual moment at last night's Elk Grove City Council meeting, Vice Mayor pat Hume issued an apology to a well-regarded civil rights activist. The comments from Hume came during the hearing on what is a contentious issue for Hume, the switch to by-district elections. The apology was to Amar Shergill who has been a longtime advocate of civil rights. Hume reference the August 28 city c...

In this edition, we continue our discussions with business owners in Elk Grove’s Stonelake Landing shopping center whose enterprises are being negatively affected by their landlord, California Northstate University and their proposed $900-million unfunded hospital project. Steav Jordan is the co-owner of Barbarz Dreme barbershop. Jordan will tell us about his attempts to reach the Elk Grove City C...

Our readers have been an invaluable source of tips, stories, and sarcasm. This week a reader made a worthy suggestion for the city of Elk Grove. It was done in the context of Trump’s sharpie incident. If you’re listening to this podcast, you know the topic.

Although the domino theory that dominated American foreign relations for decades has been largely discredited, it could be an accurate indicator for changes to Elk Grove's power structure. One and a half out of three have fallen, so who will be the third?

This week students from Cosumnes Oaks and Elk Grove high schools scored another victory in their quest to ban styrofoam products in Elk Grove. In the coming months, they will encounter a far tougher assignment.

For their Wednesday August 28 meeting, the Elk Grove city council has a packed agenda. Some of the items include the purchase of several hundred  acres of land outside current city limits in their closed session Millions of dollars of purchases hidden in the consent calender And dealing with the threat of a lawsuit for their violation of civil rights. Joining us today is Lynn Wheat, a watchdo...

Over the last few years, one issue four members of the Elk Grove city council have been confronted with is the question of representation. Specifically, four council members Steve Detrick, Pat Hume, Stephanie Nguyen and Darren Suen have rejected calls that the city switch to by-district elections and representation. Instead they have dug in their heels and support their le...

On Wednesday, August 21, the Elk Grove City Council will hold a special meeting on behalf of California Northstate University and their proposed hospital. It is a crucial vote that will affect Elk Grove's future.  

Dayton and El Paso are the most recent cities affected by mass killings. A week earlier, it was Gilroy. Over 30 people were murdered and dozens more wounded in those cities. Aside from the tragic loss of life, will these killings affect our daily lives?

Many Americans know Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. Many residents in Elk Grove know Mayor Steve Ly. McConnell is a man with great power in Washington DC as the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate and by default, an international power broker. Outside of the Elk Grove area and a few pockets of supporters in Fresno and Minneapolis, Ly is not that well known and as an individual politic...

By Dan Schmitt |   I like Facebook. It allows me to discuss and debate all sorts of issues with all sorts of people, most of whom I don’t even know. Of course, our current president, Donald Trump, continues to be a topic of much discussion. Trump supporters on Facebook offer up a host of reasons as to why they like the guy. The one I find most baffling is when they say he acts like a man . Le...

 In just about every type of endeavor, especially sports there is a so-called GOAT - The Greatest of All Time. In the modern era, there are several GOATS. Boxing has Ali. Well, today is the birthday of one of those GOATS who is still going strong.