Elk Grove News Podcasts

By Dan Schmitt |  Breakfast eaten and the bus boarded, Alberto stood on the sidewalk outside the hotel, face expressionless, and waved to us in a rather perfunctory manner followed by a low, tepid “ Ciao .” At that moment, it seemed a more dejected man in all of Italy would have been impossible to find. On the other hand, Dario, our bus driver seemed eager to point out his countries many trea...

The City of Elk Grove has entered negotiations with Houston-based Hines Interests for development of the mixed-use Project Elevate on Elk Grove Boulevard.

Notwithstanding Donald Trump’s dangerous cult, another threat looms for American democracy. An under the radar movement is seeking a so-called article five constitutional convention.

As expected, this week the Elk Grove City Council rejected a supportive housing project to lift people out of homelessness. Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, Vice Mayor Darren Suen and Council members Pat Hume, Stephanie Nguyen and Kevin Spease exposed their political cowardice and kowtowed to fear and ignorance.

Previously we called Elk Grove a hick town because we are a semi urban community riddled with railroad crossings. Railroad crossing gate malfunctions are now a regular occurrence.

By Dan Schmitt |  In 1867, Mark Twain journeyed a year throughout Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. During his travels, Twain wrote a collection of letters which were later to become one of his more important books, The Innocents Abroad. Towards the end of the book, Twain mused about the value of travel with these words, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindednes...

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford is blocking proposed federal legislation protecting interstate travel for abortions.

Republican are expected to retake Congress during the 2022 mid-terms. The party in the White House usually loses seat. But not always.

Over the last few months, the City of Elk Grove and the Cosumnes Community Services District have sent slick mailers to Elk Grove residents. Why are these being sent? We will examine seemingly unrelated material and explain what is behind this campaign.  

The Independence Day killing of six people in Highland Park Illinois was another act of domestic terrorist. 

Thank you for listening to Elk Grove News Minute, which with this edition, we celebrate our fifth anniversary. One part of American life that has substantially changed in five years has been the composition of the United States Supreme Court.

Everyone loves a good laugh. But sometimes excessive laughter is inappropriate. Over the last 18 months there has been a disturbing trend on the Elk Grove City Council.

With most votes counted, it is apparent Elk Grove City Council members Stephanie Nguyen and Pat Hume will advance to the November election in their respective pursuit of the California Assembly and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and that means there will be at least two new Elk Grove City Council members.

This week Sacramento County Voters made history. For the first time, two non-Anglo men were elected to county wide office.

I have a confession. I’ll start by saying on the morning I turned 18 in August of 1976 I went to the Grosse Ile Michigan Township Hall and registered to vote.

We made checklist of two specific questions asked of candidates in the races for District 8 State Senate, District 10 Assembly, and District 5 Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

Phase one of the 2022 election season is in full swing with candidates, consultants and others are in launching attacks, and more significantly stretching reality.

“Politics is like a vice amplifier, where everybody has a need for affirmation, a need to be important, to be recognized.”

Responding to an attack advertisement launched against him, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors District 5 candidate Steve Ly held a news conference on May 11, 2022.  Yesterday voters in the District 5 area started receiving a mailer paid for by the California Association of Realtors. The mailer resurrected claims made against Ly during his 2020 Elk Grove Mayoral reelection campaign that h...

One year ago we posted a story on the Dobbs reproductive case. At the time we speculated the Supreme Court would overturn Roe versus Wade. It was not hard to foresee this development, but don’t think this ends anti-choice efforts.

Voters in Elk Grove and Sacramento will be making their selection for their new state senator during the june primary and November general elections. Voters will choose between three Democrats. An independent committee of business interests has already targeted one of the candidates. On this edition of Elk Grove News Podcast, we speak with one of those candidates Dave Jones. The former Assemblymem...

Elk Grove News readers know we report on contributions received by candidates and elected officials. When asked by a reader why the answer is simple.

A recent Twitter posting from a news editor offered an interesting thought, especially as it relates to political polling.

On Thursday, April 21st, The Women Democrats of Sacramento County, National Women’s Political Caucus of Sacramento, and the Capital Women’s Campaign sponsored a debate for the three candidates -all Democrats - for the California State Senate District 8. Those candidates are Angelique Ashby, Raffa Garcia, and Dave Jones. The format was changed to a town hall-style meeting because one of the candida...

Like most communities, Elk Grove has a growing population of homeless people. In response, the city has formed a homeless task force.