Author: CoolDMZ

"X-ray vision to see in between / Where's my kimono and my time machine?"

Arena Term Sheet is invalid

So the City Attorney, Eileen Teichert (any relation?) does not believe the public needs to see the details of proposed arena agreements because, according to legal briefs, the proposed draft agreement was “‘essentially the same document'” as a term sheet previously signed by the the Kings owners — the Maloof family — the city and the county and released to the public.” (from the Bee). I assume they are referring to the August 2 Preliminary Term Sheet (PDF) which contains the following provision:

If the County Board of Supervisors approves the Ballot Proposals, this Term Sheet shall nevertheless terminate and be of no force or effect if on or before October 6, 2006: … a definitive Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is not executed and delivered by the parties.

Presumably, at the time the officials thought one month was the least amount of time we voters would need to make up our minds. This Term Sheet is signed by the City, the County, and MSE and it is completely invalid. If the City attorney expects us to refer to a public document, perhaps she should pick one that has some sort of legally enforceable status? Continue reading “Arena Term Sheet is invalid”

City of trees?

Earlier this year I found myself in Cincinnati, and now that I’ve seen that town I have some tough questions for Sacramento about the “city of trees” mantra that we like to repeat about our fair city to anyone who’ll listen. I was lucky enough to get a 19th story view of southeastern Cincy from a Hyde Park highrise and I have to tell you, Cincinnati looks more like a forest with a giant city hidden in its midst. It should be in the dictionary next to the word “nestled.” It kind of looks like Endor. (On an unrelated note it also has 3, count em, 3 downtown riverfront sports facilities (gulp).)

In addition to the anecdotal evidence of my 19th story observation, Cincy has a smaller population, which leads me to believe it’s possible that it probably has a lot of trees per capita, which is what we always say about our tree population. So what gives?

Are arena proposals juicy?

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association thinks so:

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association accuses the City of Sacramento of refusing to release arena proposal details despite a court order.

This morning a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled the City of Sacramento must immediately release details about an arena proposal made to the Maloofs.

The Howard Jarvis Taxspayers Association filed a lawsuit to force the city to release the information.

The group said its attorney went to City Hall to request a copy of the proposal but was told the city was not yet ready to release it.

“There must be something really juicy in that proposal,” said association president Jon Coupal. …

Superior Court Judge Jack Sapunour’s ruling reads, in part, “Unlike the city the court does not believe it is necessary to keep the public in the dark for its own good.” Ohh, snap!!

Updated at 10:25 pm: Not so fast, Justice, says the appeals court (click that link again for the updated News10 story)…

Angelides press conference in Sacramento

My wife reports that gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides is making a speech right now in front of the fire station near Stockton & Broadway. It’s a charming Spanish style building but I can’t find a picture of it right now; I’ll add a screen grab from one of the news stations when it makes the Web. (The FCC probably appreciates when copyright violators give plenty of warning!)

But more importantly, in her research she uncovered a Phil Angelides MySpace page! (I can’t view it from work but she says it does not disappoint…)

More local nostalgia on KVIE

Via Heckasac, a heads’ up from musician/producer J Greenberg:

Wednesday at 7pm, KVIE will air a program that I produced, and that I’m very proud of. If you have an interest in Sacramento History– particularly the strange stuff that doesn’t make it into the history books — then I hope you’ll tune in to Channel 6 for HIDDEN HISTORY…

In this program, hosted by comedian Jack Gallagher, we visit sites like the Old City Cemetery and the Sacramento Archives to unearth strange tales of Sacramento history. Things like…an airship hovering over the Capitol dome seven years before the Wright Brothers made their famous flight. Or an amateur filmmakers’ club that saved the American River Parkway…

Sounds fun!

David Sedaris @ the Crest, bookstore events

David SedarisNot that I, you know, go out and do stuff or anything, but I noted that The Crest added a second show of humorist David Sedaris on October 29 because the previous night had sold out.

Which reminds me that it’s always important to check on the calendars of the various Borders and Barnes & Noble outlets because although most of the time it’s Hawaiian music (nothing against slack key, but it’s true) sometimes you get something out of the ordinary, such as the David Sedaris live reading/book signing I recall missing out on a few years ago.

So here are a couple of links for bookstore event information:

Continue reading “David Sedaris @ the Crest, bookstore events”

Creepy dystopian news of the day

I’m really conflicted about this. There are very few organizations, local or otherwise, whose missions I respect more than Kevin Johnson’s St. HOPE. But the educational org’s newest project has me a little weirded out:

Imagine taking your child to a preschool that could scan each little brain, take blood samples, administer psychological tests or do genetic testing to help decide which teaching techniques best suit each youngster.

I don’t know, I mean it’s a little derivative…I think there was a newer episode of Twilight Zone like that… Oh wait, you’re not describing a horrifying dystopian future setting for a sci-fi movie, that’s an actual plan for a school.

Continue reading “Creepy dystopian news of the day”