Foon Rhee

Associate editor, editorial writer and Viewpoints editor

The law that led to soda tax blackmail is coming to cities. Is Sacramento’s rent control fight next?

about 3 weeks ago

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced Thursday, June 7, 2018 he will ask voters to raise the city’s sales tax to 1 percentage point through a November ballot measure.

See how to use these new electric rental bikes

about 1 month ago Mayor Christopher Cabaldon has a new vision for public transit in West Sacramento that includes bike sharing, on-demand vans, electric vehicles. It could just become a national model.

Felicia Thompson answers a voter’s question at Sacramento County’s elections office on Tuesday.

about 2 months ago California goes out of its way to make it as easy as possible to vote, bends over backwards to make sure every vote is counted and lets voters have their say on many more issues than most states. Expanding democracy, however, comes with trade-offs that are amplified by sending mail ballots to all voters.

A man injured by a Sacramento Regional Transit light rail train is taken to an ambulance in April 2016.

about 2 months ago The city of Sacramento raised ambulance fees so they cover more of the cost of EMS service. It added a provision to help the working poor, but one woman is having to fight the fire department to get the discount.

The Mare Island Naval Cemetery is full of broken and toppled headstones.

about 2 months ago The Mare Island Naval Cemetery, the oldest military cemetery on the West Coast, is in utter disrepair, but there’s new hope that it could look a lot better by next Memorial Day.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a candidate for California governor, answers questions from The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board on April 12.

about 3 months ago We met candidates in the June 5, 2018, primary who reflect some very hopeful political trends: strong women, millennials and veterans. On the downside, there are too many vanity candidates who waste voters’ time and clutter up the ballot.

Friends and family grieve during a September 2010 candlelight vigil for Victor Hugo Perez Zavala on what would have been his 25th birthday. They gathered at J and 18th streets, where he was shot just after the Second Saturday art walk. His killing remains unsolved.

about 3 months ago It’s great that police and prosecutors made an arrest in the East Area Rapist case. But what about all the other unsolved homicides? Nearly eight years after Victor Hugo Perez Zavala was shot just after the Second Saturday art walk in Sacramento, there seems little hope for justice.

Protestors march in downtown Sacramento on April 4 during a Day of Action seeking justice for Stephon Clark.

about 3 months ago The annual online donation blitz, which starts at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, May 3, 2018 is a chance for Stephon Clark protestors and anti-Trump resisters to back up their signs and bumper stickers with some cash – and make a real difference in the lives of our neighbors at the same time.

Stevante Clark, brother of Stephon Clark, confronts Mayor Darrell Steinberg at the March 27 City Council meeting. Steinberg is pledging to make progress on the economic justice called for by protestors after the police killing of Stephon Clark.

about 3 months ago For Sacramento to become a place where many more share in prosperity, it’s going to take both passionate activism to keep pressure on city officials – and the kind of wonky analysis on display at a town hall Thursday night for Project Prosper.

Criminalist Nikki Sewell tries to extract DNA from a jacket in a robbery case at Sacramento County’s forensic sciences laboratory.

about 3 months ago DNA can be an amazing tool, catching those who have been literally getting away with murder. Testing by Sacramento County’s crime lab led to the arrest in the East Area Rapist case.

Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones speaks April 2 about a collision between a deputy’s car and a woman during a Stephon Clark protest.

about 3 months ago Several websites use the names of Sheriff Scott Jones and former chief deputy Milo Fitch – but accuse them of all sorts of horrible behavior. Those responsible are anonymous, and they’re not breaking any laws.

Protesters fill Sacramento City Hall on March 27, calling for economic justice after the police killing of Stephon Clark.

about 4 months ago City leaders are talking about a sales tax increase to fund more investments in poor neighborhoods. But to make sure a measure on the November ballot is a “general tax” that needs only a simple majority to pass, it’s likely they’ll only pledge to prioritize struggling neighborhoods – not earmark money for specific projects in communities such as Meadowview, where Stephon Clark was shot.

Urban search and rescue crews gear up before starting a drill at Sleep Train Arena on how to find and treat survivors after a “dirty” bomb explosion.

about 4 months ago During a full-scale exercise on Thursday, March, 22, 2018, hundreds of emergency personnel gathered at Sleep Train Arena to practice responding to a “dirty” bomb explosion.

A fake news story is positioned near ads from major corporations on The Red Elephants website in January 2017. U.S. intelligence officials say Russian trolls ran a disinformation campaign in the 2016 election and will try again.

about 4 months ago A bill before the California Legislature aims to come up with statewide standards for teaching students about internet safety and fake news. If it works, Russian trolls would have a tougher time fooling voters in the 2020 election.

A woman cries after placing flowers at a sign at The Pathway Home in Yountville on Saturday. A daylong siege ended Friday evening with the discovery of four bodies, including the gunman.

about 5 months ago The Pathway Home in Yountville, California, is one of the nation’s most respected programs for combat veterans who are fighting post-traumatic stress disorder and other demons. One veteran killed three caregivers there on Friday, March 9, 2018. Too many veterans are not receiving the mental health care they need, and so far President Donald Trump isn’t responding.

Army veteran T.J. Norton of Sacramento holds his 11-year-old daughter Claire and her teddy bear as he speaks during graduation ceremonies at the Pathway Home in Yountville in February 2013.

about 5 months ago The Pathway Home in Yountville treated troubled veterans. One of them killed three women who worked there on Friday. Here’s what it was like at a graduation ceremony.

Sacramento firefighters treat a demonstrator stabbed during a protest at the state Capitol in June 2016.

about 5 months ago With a new chief on the way, a new union president and a new contract, the fire department’s future is up in the air. What will it all mean for the cost-saving reforms that are badly needed?

Kris Rogers jots down what she likes and doesn’t like about her Land Park neighborhood at a public workshop Thursday night to discuss a jobs strategy for Sacramento.

about 5 months ago The city is hosting public workshops as part of Project Prosper. Its goal: Come up with the right jobs strategy that boosts all neighborhoods, especially those with high unemployment and high poverty.

Can California do elections better? Sacramento is the first big test

about 6 months ago Sacramento is one of five counties that will be testing a new voting system, starting with the June 5 primary. Everyone will get a ballot in the mail, and there will be far fewer, but larger, voting centers. If it works, voting will be easier and the count will go faster.

SpaceX had a big launch. California is taxing the company

about 6 months ago California’s taxman is taxing space transportation companies, but a bill would block the space tax.

A brave new world of transit is coming to West Sacramento. Just ask Mayor Christopher Cabaldon

about 1 month ago

Counting votes can’t get any slower, can it? Under the new voting system, it might

about 2 months ago

Sacramento’s ambulance service now comes with higher fees

about 2 months ago

The California military cemetery that became a national shame

about 2 months ago

The good, the bad and the ugly of our endorsement interviews

about 3 months ago

Arrest in East Area Rapist case is great. What about other cold cases?

about 3 months ago

For Stephon Clark protestors and the Trump resistance, Big Day of Giving is a big opportunity

about 3 months ago

How does Sacramento get to economic justice after Stephon Clark? Activism, a smart plan and lots of money

about 3 months ago

At Sacramento crime lab, ‘CSI’ meets real life

about 3 months ago

Who is behind attack websites in Sacramento sheriff’s race?

about 3 months ago

This could complicate the push for economic justice in Sacramento after Stephon Clark

about 4 months ago

This was a really scary terrorist attack. Good thing it was only a drill.

about 4 months ago

Can California schools teach kids to spot fake news? Let’s hope so

about 4 months ago

Caregivers killed at Yountville veterans home are casualties of a hidden war

about 5 months ago

Vets seek a path out of the darkness

about 5 months ago

What comes next for the Sacramento Fire Department?

about 5 months ago

Will the city truly listen to residents on Sacramento jobs plan?

about 5 months ago

Can California do elections better? Sacramento is the first big test

about 6 months ago

About This Blog

Foon Rhee, an associate editor, joined the The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board in February 2010 after reporting and editing for newspapers in Massachusetts and North Carolina and keeping his opinions to himself. He graduated from Duke and went to graduate school during a fellowship at the University of Hawaii. Foon Rhee can be reached at frhee@sacbee.com or 916-321-1913. Twitter: @foonrhee.