Greenbriar: where Sacramento plans to put nearly 3,000 new homes, by Tony Bizjak, May 29, 2017, The Sacramento Bee

Advocates for the Swainson’s hawk, listed as threatened by the state, are unhappy with the habitat mitigation land chosen for the hawks, which is an orchard west of the airport, adjacent to the Teal Bend golf course. Advocate Jude Lamare said the site is too close the airport, where 11 Swainson’s hawks have been counted as hit and killed by jets in the last four years.

The hawks forage in various places around the Natomas basin, but, as development continues, nesting areas will be reduced, forcing more birds into limited sites, including the one next to the airport. “If you are picking a ‘forever’ home for threatened avian species, it would not be next to a runway,” Lamare said. “You are squeezing the species down.”

Read more here.

Volkswagen emissions fraud sleuth chosen to head Sacramento air agency

By Tony Bizjak

May 25, 2017

The Sacramento Bee

Alberto Ayala, a state air pollution executive who helped uncover Volkswagen’s massive diesel cheating scandal, has been named head of the Sacramento region’s air quality efforts.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District board voted on Thursday morning to name Ayala its executive director, replacing retiring executive Larry Greene.

Ayala, a deputy executive officer at the California Air Resources Board, launched the state’s initial review of diesel engines in 2012 that lead to the discovery that Volkswagen had illegally programmed millions of its vehicles internationally, including in California, to pass emissions tests.

Read more here.

Bizjak, Tony. “Volkswagen emissions fraud sleuth chosen to head Sacramento air agency.” Sacbee. SacBee, 25 May 2017. Web. 26 May 2017.

Despite city denial, developer saves spot for gas station in Crocker Village

By Tony Bizjak

May 23, 2017

The Sacramento Bee

The Crocker Village developer [Petrovich] has submitted updated plans to the city for the commercial portion of the project, showing more detailed designs, including a large market building and an empty spot where a gas station could go.

Read more here.

Bizjak, Tony. “Despite city denial, developer saves spot for gas station in Crocker Village.” Sacbee. Sacbee, 23 May 2017. Web. 30 May 2017.

Bike share starts in Sacramento. See where you can get one.

By Tony Bizjak

May 18, 2017

The Sacramento Bee

Bike share arrived in Sacramento Thursday with several dozen ready to rent in downtown Sacramento and along the West Sacramento waterfront.

The bikes, operated by a company called Social Bicyles, rent for $4 per hour, but can be rented in increments as small as a minute. Users tap into a smartphone app, which tells them where the nearest bikes are parked. Riders can then unlock the bikes by tapping a personal code into the pad behind the bike seat.

Most bikes will be parked at 14 designated bike stands in the street at popular central city locations, such as next to The Barn and Raley Field in West Sacramento, in Capitol Park and in front of Zocalo restaurant and across the street from Der Biergarten in midtown.

Read more here.

Bizjak, Tony. “Bike share starts in Sacramento. See where you can get one.” Sacbee. SacBee, 18 May 2017. Web. 26 May 2017.

Please Use Caution If Driving

May 15, 2017

The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) strives to provide all residents of the Sacramento region with pedestrian, bicycle and transit access to jobs, schools, shopping, services and recreation.

Unfortunately, Sacramento drivers are hindering this access, as evidenced by three separate pedestrian deaths by motorists in less than two weeks.

On April 30, 2017, Theresa McCourt died when hit by a suspected drunken driver on 47th Avenue in Sacramento. McCourt was a longtime member of the Sacramento running community. She also “…wrote a column on running for The Bee from 1990 to 1998. The British-born McCourt was also a published poet, freelance writer and editor of the California State Auditor.” Read more at http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article150564292.html.

On May 11, 2017, 35-year-old Alysha McLean was killed on Franklin Boulevard at 42nd Avenue. McLean was attempting to cross Franklin Boulevard when she was struck in the southbound lanes by a vehicle that left the scene. The CHP is asking the public’s help in identifying the vehicle. Read more at http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article150552657.html.

On the same day, May 11, 2017, 58-year-old Mark Alan Stout was hit and killed by a car in North Highlands as he crossed Watt Avenue in his wheelchair. The California Highway Patrol said that Stout was traveling in his wheelchair across Watt Avenue near Myrtle Avenue. Read more at http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article150551147.html.

Source: The Sacramento Bee, May 15, 2017

Big Day of Giving aims to raise millions for a record 600 local nonprofits this year

By Tori Masucci Cummins

May 01, 2017

SacTown Magazine

Open your hearts—and wallets, Sacramento. The cost of a single movie ticket can amount to a feel-good contribution during the 2017 Big Day of Giving, which will get underway starting at the stroke of midnight on Thursday, May 4, and end 24 hours later at 11:59 p.m.

The fourth annual online fundraiser aims to raise millions for 600 regional nonprofits, including Capitol Ballet Company, Soil Born Farms, Save the American River Association, Sacramento SPCA, River City Food Bank, and many more. (ECOS too!)