Elk Grove News

This year there will be two less choices for some Elk Grove voters because the city council District 1 and 3 city council members, Darren Suen and Kevin Spease, are unopposed. Suen and Spease may think, and even claim they are unchallenged because they are doing such a great job! Meanwhile Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and Darren Suen are using their campaign fundraising abilities to further their career. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Two traits of successful politicians are timing and exploiting opportunities. One Elk Grove elected official is proving to be a master of both as they jump on the latest bandwagon. Band Wagonneer is a real word! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

This year's Sacramento mayoral race has been Competitive and interesting. Notwithstanding low voter turnout, or because of it, Dr. Flo Cofer is headed to the November general election. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Sometimes things happen that create an unintended irony. Such was the case during the September 27, 2023, Elk Grove city council meeting led by Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Unless you are a certain age, you probably never heard of Anita Bryant. A Miss America second runner-up, Bryant was a grade b-singer celebrity and TV commercial spokesperson for Florida Orange Juice. She was also a sparkplug in the 1970s to a bigger movement.    --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Some time ago, a suggestion was made by an Elk Grove resident to the Elk Grove City Council that deserves serious consideration. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Recently, the Elk Grove Citizen was sold for the second time in less than two years. It was purchased by the Messenger Publishing Group, owner of several community newspapers. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Listeners of this podcast and Elk Grove News readers know we generally take a liberal stance on most issues. On occasion, however, we find common ground with conservative politicians such as former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and her defense of the Constitution and American Democracy. Closer to home, on one issue. we have found common ground with conservative Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

A trait of most politicians and many of the bureaucrats serving them is deception. An example of this was Elk Grove City manager Jason Behrmann's recent deceptive administrative report. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Recently, Elk Grove has been hyping its oldest and original district, Old Town by renaming it Historic Downtown Elk Grove and Main Street. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Most Elk Grove residents are familiar with the Old Town district. That special planning area is the origin of the city. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

At least twice a year, elected officials in California must report campaign contributions they received. Those so-called California 460 reports are revealing. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

By Dan Schmitt | A couple days ago, a meme, written by a guy named John Coleman Ray, showed up on my Facebook page. One of my Facebook friends decided to share the meme, and that's how it came to me.  The meme simply said “Close our Borders. Let's see how many shares we can get.”  It's left to the reader to interpret what exactly the very short meme means.  I'm pretty darn sure it's not referring to the U.S./Canadian border, so it seems obvious to me the meme is referring to our southern border. I certainly understand the concern Americans have about our southern border where thousands of desperate people, mostly from Central American countries, have amassed in northern Mexico in hopes of escaping poverty, violence and political turmoil in their own countries. But, when John Coleman Ray says, “Close our Borders,” it's a fair assumption he thinks our southern border is wide open and those desperate Central American folks can enter the United States at any time, at any place and make their way to wherever they wish to go in our country. That of course is not true. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Donald Trump's continuing threat to American Democracy is well documented. Notwithstanding his criminal indictments, Trump is still the favored 2024 Republican nominee.    Should Trump win in 2024, what would a second term look like? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

A few weeks ago, former Republican Congresswoman and Donald Trump critic Liz Cheney made an obvious observation. Cheney said, "We're electing idiots." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

During Elk Grove's 23 years of cityhood, city council members and mayors often have been elected without reaching 50 percent. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Ever since my Italian immigrant grandfather taught me how to pronounce the name of Detroit Tigers player Rocky Colavito, which he said were my first words, I have enjoyed Baseball. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

There has been a rebranding of Old Town Elk Grove. It's new name is Historic Downtown Elk Grove. The renaming is part of a six-month marketing campaign by Explore Elk Grove. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

For the 2023 Fourth of July celebration, the Elk Grove Police is advising residents they can only respond to calls about illegal fireworks when callers provide an exact address. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Hardly a week passes when Americans are not killed in mass shootings. Thirty years ago today, an event that was considered shocking spurred legislation to address mass shootings. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Next week the current term of the United State Supreme Court will end, which means there will be rulings on a couple of significant cases. Those cases are Groff vs. Dejoy and Moore vs. Harper. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Elk Grove has two large projects on the horizon – the mixed-use development called Project Elevate and the relocation of the Sacramento Zoo. At the end of the June 14, 2023 city council meeting, as members of the zoo subcommittee Councilmember Rod Brewer and Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen discussed the zoo project. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Now that former president Donald Trump has been federally indicted on 37 charges, what happens if he is convicted? If a conviction is upheld on appeal, and we have a Democratic president, will Trump be jailed? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Two weeks ago, Elk Grove City Councilman Sergio Robles was arrested by Elk Grove Police for drunk driving. Since then, Robles has emphasized the police officers' professionalism during his arrest. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

A field representative who is also a local elected official. was recently arrested for drunk driving. What did Dr, Bera, a physician who understands the health sans safety hazards have to say about his employee's misbehavior? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott is expected to sign an interesting piece of legislation soon. Approved by Texas Republican legislators, the law allows the state to supersede most any local ordinance. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

During this week's Elk Grove city council meeting, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen revealed some interesting information. Unfortuately, it is not something that is favorable for working families and consumers in Sacramento County. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

On this morning's edition of Cap Public Radio's Insight program, host Vicki Gonzalez interviewed noted San Francisco Chronicle legal correspondent Robert Egelko. One of the main focuses of the discussion was the lawsuit filed against the city of Elk Grove by Attorney General Rob Bonta for alleged violations of fair housing rules. A reporter with over 50 years of field experience, Egelko cited other precedent-setting cases that said issues of a statewide concern override local ordinances. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

By Dan Schmitt | I recently read an article that caused me to pause and ponder a fair bit. The author of the article discussed how racism and bigotry seem to be on the increase in certain parts of our country and in certain political circles. He gave numerous examples of how racism and bigotry are evident and how they negatively affect people who are the recipients of such hatred. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Even with her abhorrible rhetoric, Marjorie Taylor Greene is fulfilling one of her duties as a member of Congress. She is independently expressing her values and those of her constituents. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Twenty nine ago, the world learned of the shocking Rwandan genocide that left over a half million dead people.  There were many contributing factors to the genocide, one of which was a constant barrage of radio broadcast lies and disinformation.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

With no fanfare and virtually no public comment, the five Sacramento County Supervisors voted themselves a hefty pay raise this week. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

At the Wednesday, April 12th Elk Grove City Council meeting, what didn't happen might have great significance. After their closed session, Mayor Singh-Allen had no reportable actions on the several legal matters confronting the city.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

A 2004 Los Angeles Times story resurfaced this week. The story was about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's gift disclosure. Embarrassed by the report, Thomas simply quit disclosing his gifts. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

This week saw another school shooting that killed six people, three of them 9-year-olds, in Nashville. Coincidentally, Washington Post had a lengthy and somewhat graphic - not gory - animation of what happens when AR 15 bullets shred a body. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

On April 1st, 2023, the City of Elk Grove will start collecting an additional one percent sales tax on almost every consumer purchase made in the city, in perpetuity. The tax hike was narrowly approved by Elk Grove voters during the November 2022 general election. The city expects to collect about 23 million annually from the tax. As part of their outreach effort, the city of Elk Grove has posted information on social media this week reminding consumers of the new tax. On this edition of Elk Grove news, we'll hear some of the comments posted on the city's Instagram and Facebook page. Except for my voice, the others are computer generated. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

In case you didn't catch it, the week of March 27 is transgender visibility week. Across social media, there is widespread support and probably some haters, but we won't focus on that. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

By Lynn Wheat | In this segment, as a long-time advocate for better planning, I am going to discuss the decisions of our past and current Mayor and Councilmembers. For many of the new listeners, I want to open with an email I sent to another previously engaged community member. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Across social media and comments on sites like Elk Grove News, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state of California have been attacked for their intervention in Elk Grove's denial of the Oak Rose supportive housing project. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

On Friday, March 10th, the Elk Grove City Council held its biennial retreat meeting. Several city staff members, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, and her four councilmen had an all-day meeting. Even though the city complied with meeting notification requirements, it was not well publicized. They did the bare minimum. On this joint edition of Elk Grove News podcasts and Lynn Wheat's More Than Three Minutes, we chat with Lynn about her observations of that meeting. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

This week Governor Gavin Newsom promoted his More Housing, faster program. The program in part funds 1,200 tiny homes statewide and 350 in Sacramento. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

With a great deal of pride, the California city of Elk Grove and the Elk Grove Unified School District embraces its diversity. While most have embraced the school district and the city's diversity, this is a recent development. As former Elk Grove City Council member and current Sacramento County Supervisor, Pat Hume acknowledged, it wasn't long ago Elk Grove had an unsavory reputation. Hume was commenting after Elk Grove was rocked by a series of racially-motivated hate messages in the city in 2017. Moving forward to 2023, Elk Grove finds itself fully engaged in the current round of culture wars which includes attacks against the LGBQT community and book bans. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Every so often, a piece of legislation scarily catches the imagination. A recent example is from, not surprisingly, Florida Republicans who gave us the don't say gay law and book bans. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

It is a rare occasion that we find ourselves in agreement with conservatives, but this week we had to agree with an assessment from Rep. Kevin Kiley. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, the Cosumnes Community Services District and the city of Elk Grove held the fourth and final presentation on how they want to spend the money generated by the voter-approved Measure E. That measure will impose a new sales tax effective April 1 2023, on most consumer purchases in the city of Elk Grove. The new tax levy will generate about 23 million dollars annually for the city of Elk Grove and the CCSD. On this edition of Elk Grove News Podcasts, we are providing an audio recording of that presentation. Among the speakers after the opening remarks by Chrystal Love Lazard were Elk Grove City manager Jason Behrmann, Cosumnes Community Services District general manager Joshua Green, Elk Grove's public works manager Jeff Werner, and the CCSD's parks manager Phillip Lewis. The presentation was held at Elk Grove's District 56 facility. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

On Monday, February 27th , the Cosumnes Community Services District and the city of Elk Grove held the third of four presentations on how they want to spend the money generated by the voter approved Measure E. That measure will impose a new sales tax effective April 1st 2023 on most consumer purchases in the city of elk grove. The new tax levy will generate about 23 million dollars annually for the city of Elk Grove and the CCSD. On this edition of Elk Grove News Podcasts, we are providing an audio recording of that presentation. Among the speakers were Elk Grove City manager Jason Behrmann, Cosumnes Community Services District general manager Joshua Green and Elk Grove's housing manager Sarah Bontrager. The presentation was held at Elk Grove's District 56 facility. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Have you ever thought about what motivates an individual to run for elected office? It's worth contemplating. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

Representative George Santos has caught the imagination of Americans and not in a favorable way. Closer to home, Lodi City Councilmember Shakir Khan has run into a host of legal problems. ElkGroveNews.net --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

This weekend people will gather for the mid-winter celebration known as Super Bowl Sunday. We'll be drinking suds and grubbing on wings as we watch the game. We'll also watch the commercials and, of course, the all-important half time show. In the 60s, 70s, 80s, and into the early 90s, halftime entertainment was often college marching bands and maybe a musician like Andy Williams or Al Hirt thrown in for some name recognition. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, the Cosumnes Community Services District and the City of Elk Grove held the first of four presentations on how they want to spend money generated by the voter-approved Measure E. That measure will imposed a new sales tax, effective April 1, 2023, on most consumer purchases in the city of Elk Grove. The new tax levy will generate about 23 million dollars for the city of Elk Grove and the CCSD. On this edition of Elk Grove New Podcast, we are providing an audio recording of that presentation. Among the speaker were Elk Grove City Manager Jason Behrmann, Elk Grove Police chief Bobby Davis, Cosumnes Fire Department Chief Felipe Rodriguez, and CCSD parks administrator Phil Lewis. The presentation was held at Elk Grove's District56 facility. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support

This week the Sacramento City Council made the controversial decision approving the purchase a half million-dollar piece of military equipment. At the center of the controversy was newly elected Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elk-grove-news/support