Government/Politics

As far as Kevin Johnson is concerned, this town already wants him to be a strong mayor.

Sacramento city firefighters approved a deal Friday to freeze their salaries for 30 months, ensuring none of their colleagues will be laid off for at least a year.

Teenagers complain that no one listens to them. In West Sacramento, their voices are being heard.

Even after cutting jobs and receiving labor concessions, Lincoln's budget remains out of balance.

Over the years, good health care, a government pension and the security that comes from a reliable paycheck have always prompted people to seek Sacramento County jobs.

The Arden Arcade Incorporation Committee has raised the money necessary to complete the next step in the bid for turning Arden Arcade – a community in unincorporated Sacramento County – into a city, committee officials say.

After months of bitter negotiations, the city of Sacramento and its fire union have agreed to salary concessions that they say will save the jobs of dozens of firefighters.

Sacramento could become grittier as a result of budget-driven changes in cleanup services.

Sacramento County filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against Aerojet-General Corp. and the Boeing Co. over water contamination. The county alleges that years of pollution by Aerojet and McDonnell-Douglas – which has since been purchased by Boeing – led to groundwater contamination in a large portion of eastern Sacramento County.

The day after Sacramento's temporary homeless shelter closed for the season at Cal Expo, more than 250 homeless people and advocates marched to promote their latest idea for providing beds for Sacramento's growing homeless population.

Sacramento County probation workers have agreed to contract concessions that will save 21 jobs, officials said.

Rancho Cordova was among this year's 32 finalists for the National Civic League's "All-America City" designation among 150 cities that applied in a national competition, according to a news release.

A meeting to discuss locating a school for at-risk youth at the corner of Florin Road and 24th Street took an uncomfortable turn Thursday afternoon when Sacramento Vice Mayor Lauren Hammond refused to allow Gretchen Bender, president of the county Board of Education, to take a seat at the table.

The city of Sacramento will offer a free public workshop today on new outdoor watering rules and conservation tips.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department says it will need to lay off almost 80 more deputies than it had anticipated – significantly reducing the department's ability to patrol unincorporated county streets – because of a miscalculation.

A judge granted early furloughs Friday to 48 of the 63 wards of the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center as the juvenile lockup closes after four decades, the victim of county budget cuts.

Kevin Johnson's strong-mayor push is back on.

California cities, counties and redevelopment agencies say they will go to court to block the state's money grab if it tries to siphon billions of local dollars from the gas tax.

Firefighters aren't the only victims of Sacramento's budget process.

When the Sacramento city fire union sent out a press release Tuesday touting the virtues of a contract concession that involved a freeze on firefighter pay for one year, it may have seemed like a deal the cash-strapped city would jump at.

El Dorado County officials will spend the summer looking for ways to cut about $2.5 million from the preliminary budget that goes into effect July 1.

Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Eric Kindall is scheduled to be honored today as the Prosecutor of the Year at the California District Attorneys Association leadership meeting in South Lake Tahoe.

Mayor Kevin Johnson wants Sacramento to be the top city in the state when it comes to volunteerism.

Questions about executive pay in Placer Superior Court have prompted the state Judicial Council to look into salaries and benefits of court administrators throughout California.

A panel of three special masters concluded Tuesday that Sacramento Superior Court Judge Peter J. McBrien violated judicial canons on four counts in his handling of a 2006 divorce case.

In a sign that the recession is increasing child poverty, the rate of Sacramento County K-12 students taking subsidized lunch grew faster this school year than any of the prior 15 years.

There is a growing acceptance in City Hall that labor negotiators and the city's largest non-public safety union are going to fall short of a compromise on salary concessions.

Jacqueline Slight's rural acreage in El Dorado County is a picture of rustic comfort.

Sacramento County has paid $160,000 to settle a lawsuit by a jail inmate who claimed she was raped by a lesbian sheriff's deputy while in custody.

The city of Sacramento has all but cut off talks with the fire union – and as many as 68 firefighters will likely lose their jobs next week as a result.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted last week to allocate funds to again open the Volunteers of America-operated winter shelter at Cal Expo when cold weather comes around, according to a news release.

Two Folsom police officers were fired after they allegedly turned an undercover sting into an on-duty fling involving college-age girls, according to court records.

El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Neves has announced he will not run for election to a third term.

The former top administrator for Placer Superior Court – who left his job after a state audit found he received $470,000 in apparently unauthorized compensation from July 2001 through March 2009 – is out of another job.

Any remnant of doubt the government and five defendants would fight to the bitter end in a major asylum fraud case crumbled this week in the face of aggressive closing arguments.

Controversy continues to simmer around the firing of Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service, with the latest development coming Thursday from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

El Dorado County employees can avoid furloughs if their departments find other means to meet their share of $2.4 million in cost reductions needed to balance the county budget for the coming fiscal year.

Sacramento County officials say stalled union talks are threatening the jobs of nearly 800 county workers.

After months of anticipating massive cuts blamed on rising personnel costs and the down economy, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed a $4.3 billion budget on Wednesday that calls for laying off about 800 workers and decimating programs – many in public health and social services.

An Elk Grove man this week filed suit against the city of Sacramento, its police chief and two officers, claiming he was severely beaten for no reason by one of the officers as he left a midtown nightclub last year.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials have scheduled a public meeting to discuss the closure of a fire station in Fair Oaks.

The Sacramento City Council ordered city negotiators to throw out a tentative agreement they had with the city's fire union on salary freezes Tuesday night and to restart their negotiations.

Sacramento County and the cities of Sacramento and Elk Grove will be able to issue up to $63.5 million in bonds at federally subsidized interest rates to help stimulate the region's economy, the office of Rep. Doris Matsui, D- Sacramento, has announced.

New outdoor watering rules are in effect for all residents and businesses who pay water bills to the city of Sacramento. These are permanent changes.

Yolo County supervisors began the painful process Tuesday of carving millions of dollars in spending for the new fiscal year and warned that another round of belt-tightening is likely in the coming weeks.

The chairman of the city's Utilities Rate Advisory Commission has resigned following the panel's recommendation that the city raise utility rates by 12 percent.

Angered over the police-involved shooting earlier this year in Woodland, Yolo County residents called on their county supervisors to seek an independent investigation into the case.

As the city rolls out new watering rules, it faces a daunting task: Sacramentans, who enjoy life at the confluence of two major rivers, have grown accustomed to limitless access to water.

The Sacramento County grand jury report found widespread fraud in the In-Home Supportive Services program and a lack of county oversight.