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Foster Youth Attend Intel’s Annual Kid to Work Day
Sacramento Region — One thousand seven hundred students attended Intel’s annual Kid to Work Day in Folsom on June 22, including 28 foster youth from Koinonia Family Services, a United Way certified partner agency. The youth attended the event as part of United Way’s Women in Philanthropy group that provides opportunities that prepare foster youth for emancipation.
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Unsecured Property Taxes Due August 31
Sacramento Region — Annual bills for Sacramento County unsecured property taxes for fiscal year 2010-2011 will be mailed in mid-July and are payable without delinquent penalties through August 31, 2010.
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Rescued Animals Showing Signs of New Life at SPCA
Sacramento Region – The Sacramento SPCA is pleased to report that nearly 200 animals rescued from an overcrowded property in Kern County recently are progressing nicely - getting the medical treatment and attention they need and being placed up for adoption as they are ready.
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The County Budget: Why I voted “No”
Commentary
by Roberta MacGlashen
As many are already aware, Sacramento County is in the midst of resolving significant fiscal issues. Recently, the Board of Supervisors made the difficult but necessary decision to cut over $100 million in spending from the Fiscal Year 2010-2011 budget. The cuts were not easy, but they were necessary to balance the budget and put the County on a more prudent fiscal path going forward.
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Assemblyman Niello Honors Marcy Friedman as 5th Assembly District Woman of the Year
SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) honored Marcy Friedman as the 2009 Woman of the Year for the 5th Assembly District during a special Assembly ceremony at the State Capitol on Monday.
"Marcy Friedman has been a pillar of the Sacramento community for many years. Her current involvement in the project to expand the Crocker Art Museum is remarkable and will put Sacramento on the map as a community with a world-class art museum," said Assemblyman Niello.
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Sacramento County Recorded a Decline in the Number of Small and Businesses
Dublin, CA (May 5, 2010)--Sacramento County recorded a decline in the number of small and mid-market businesses that were sold last month, compared to the volume of closed escrows registered in April 2009. A total of 40 completed deals were posted for April 2010, down from the 63 sales noted the same month last year, according to figures released by BizBen.com, which compiles and reports on small business sales statistics in California on a monthly basis. [More]
Weekly Writing Workshops Held at Rancho Cordova Library
Learn writing tips and improve your writing style at free workshops every Thursday, at 6 p.m., through August 5, at Rancho Cordova Library, 9845 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento.
Led by Sacramento Poet Laureate Bob Stanley, the workshops encourage writers to bring something they have written to share with others, including poetry, short stories, and short-prose essays.
A special writing workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m., Thursday, May 27, at the Brookside Restaurant meeting room, 9819 Horn Road, Sacramento.
The workshops are sponsored by the Friends of Rancho Cordova Library and the Sacramento Poetry Center, and supported through a generous grant from the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.
For details, please telephone the Sacramento Public Library at (916) 264-2920 or visit saclibrary.org.
DWR Increases Water Allocation
Final Delivery Estimate is 45 Percent of Requests
SACRAMENTO – Late season storms have allowed the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to increase its final 2010 State Water Project allocation to 45 percent of requested amounts.
“While the increase in deliveries is good news,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin, “we will continue to have a water supply crisis until we improve our conveyance system, increase storage and resolve the complex environmental problems of the Delta.” [More]
Rancho Cordova City Staff Wins Prestigious Volunteer Award
Rancho Cordova city staff were the honored with the “Hands on Sacramento Award for Encouraging Year-Round Employee Volunteerism” at the recent People Helping People Awards Luncheon in Sacramento. They were nominated for their volunteer efforts which included a list of 66 projects and activities on the nomination form and involved 100% of City staff.
If there is a community venture or need, City staff members help out in a variety of ways. Staffers have mentored students, participated in Rancho Cordova’s Relay for Life, staffed booths at community events, helped at e-waste clean-ups, donated socks and shoes for homeless students, and funded scholarships; they’ve donated blood, gotten muddy at the Mather Mud Run, and built floats for parades. Some activities take place during the noon hour but most occur on evenings and weekends so staff are volunteering on their own time. [More]
Jean and Jack Duncan Receive Outstanding Volunteer Award
Sacramento County Honors Active Seniors during Older Americans Month
Jean and Jack Duncan, long-time Citrus Heights residents and supporters, were honored as some of the County’s 2010 Outstanding Senior Volunteers at a recent Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Each year during Older Americans Month, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the Sacramento County Adult and Aging Commission join together to recognize outstanding senior volunteers who are nominated by senior and neighborhood centers and other agencies.
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Stanford Homes for Children Receives $27,500 in Local Foundation Grants
Funding will support programs, including new art therapy center
SACRAMENTO—In a year when grant funding has become increasingly competitive, Stanford Home for Children received three grants within six weeks to support its programs that ensure children are safe, healthy and connected to family. Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern California, in partnership with Pacific Coast Building Products Foundation, Hanson McClain and Waste Connections, donated $2,500 for foster care. Rotary Club of Sacramento donated $5,000 to support family emergency needs, and AT&T Foundation donated $20,000 to create a dedicated art therapy center. [More]
State Reinforces New Earthquake Safety Measures
2010 Building Standards Code enhances earthquake protection standards
Sacramento - California is a world leader in seismic safety building codes and enforcement infrastructure. Since 2001, California has instituted ground-breaking building codes to better mitigate seismic risks, incorporating major revisions to the seismic design requirements following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and including significant increases – up to 50 percent – in the earthquake design loads for buildings in close proximity to active faults. As the worldwide series of earthquakes continue, it has become evident that not only can superior building codes save lives, but also strong building code enforcement infrastructure can significantly reduce the number of casualties and lower property loss in a catastrophic event.
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Sacramento Wins Several Grants That Will Help Customers Save Money on Energy
Funds will help SMUD promote wide-ranging energy efficiency home improvements
Customers of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) will soon be learning a lot about improving the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses thanks to several government grants awarded today that total more than $36 million, about one-third of the total award money available for
the entire state.
Each grant will provide funding to help SMUD customers with significant energy efficiency improvements and realize lower energy bills. The grants will also help SMUD reduce system demand, resulting in grid reliability as well as provide environmental benefits by reducing the carbon footprint associated with power plant emissions. [More]
Sacramento County to Receive $16.5M for Energy Financing Program
Sacramento -- Sacramento County, on behalf of 160 local jurisdictions, has been awarded $16.5 M in grant funds from the California Energy Commission’s State Energy Program (SEP) grant program to help support the statewide CaliforniaFIRST (AB 811) program. The grant funds will be used to reduce program costs for participating jurisdictions and property owners who choose to enroll in the program.
The CaliforniaFIRST program will allow property owners to finance energy improvements such as insulation, double-paned windows and solar panels on their existing homes or commercial buildings and pay it back on their property tax bill. Terms can extend up to 20 years and the bill transfers to the new property owner if the property is sold. [More]
RT Faces $16 Million Budget Deficit for Fiscal Year 2010
Potential Service Cuts and Employee Layoffs to Balance Budget
As the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) rebounds from bus service reductions and fare increases implemented in 2009, the state's complete elimination of State Transit Assistance funds, and declining state and local sales tax revenues continue to significantly impact RT's operating budget.
RT ridership and fare revenue have been adversely affected by the downturn in the economy, state furloughs and high unemployment. Fare revenue is now projected to be approximately $7 million below budget and sales tax based revenues dedicated to transit continue to decline. [More]
A Court Ruling Taking Effect This Week Will Devastate Sacramento Charities and Booster Clubs
Sacramento - Just when California charities need financial assistance the most, a court ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals bans an important fundraising tool by blocking charities from using electronic bingo machines to raise money.
Starting February 1, 2010, California charities can no longer operate electronic bingo games, severely limiting their ability to raise desperately needed funds. [More]
Jody Wilson from Citrus Heights Named MG Cares ACE All Star Award Winner
Citrus Heights -- Merrill Gardens of Citrus Heights pleased to announce that Jody Wilson has been named the Merrill Gardens ACE All Star Award winner for 2009. Jody will be honored at an upcoming Garden Court event in Palm Springs next month.
Jody was chosen from an impressive group of ACE award winners from all the Merrill Gardens communities this year. She started with the company one year ago as the concierge and she had made a big impact with her creativity and commitment. Jody has built the concierge program at Citrus Heights from the ground up and she has impressed everyone with her commitment and creativity. She embraces the “Try it, Fix it, Do it” motto. [More]
My God Its Full of Stars
Keeping Perspective
By: Paul V. Scholl, 2010
The Christmas season is both one of great joy and great despair for many people. It symbolizes the end of another year of hard work, a cycle of relationships, a benchmark for how we’ve done. Often the joy of living gets lost in the failures of life.
Gratitude is misplaced, and is difficult to find. But find it we must. Gratitude for the life we do have, the love around us, and gratitude for our current station in life. [More]
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