Voices: River City

Under other circumstances, a special interview would be patron-only content. But it's election season, and Measure A is so important that we need to unlock this one.

In this special interview, we speak with climate justice advocate Ilonka Zlatar about why Sacramento County's Measure A is harmful to the environment and would put the region back decades in its push toward a climate-friendly future.

WATCH this special interview at YouTube.

Learn more about Measure A here: https://measureanotok.org/

To support our work at V:RC, become a patron today: patreon.com/voicesrivercity

Last year, Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg and his council members approved a comprehensive homeless shelter siting plan that included 20 sites to be located throughout the city.

Today?

Not a single one of those sites is in operation, and the region's unsheltered population is at unprecedented levels.

One silver lining is that the city appears to be pivoting from its failed shelter plan to a renewed focus on building affordable housing with the help of state and federal funding. Just this week they approved some 820 affordable units to be built throughout the city in the next two years.

Could it be that the city is actually listening to advocates?

Likely not. On Monday, officials swept some 1,000 people from their campsites without offering shelter or services. And they've got plenty more punitive measures in the works.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Thursdays at 6 pm and again Fridays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Today we're joined by our friend Keyan Bliss to discuss the racism ingrained in the halls of the City of Sacramento, and the ridiculous games that take place to preserve it.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Thursdays at 6 pm and again Fridays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Hey listeners/viewers!

 

We're discussing California and local elections, using the Sac Sister Circle/BWOPA Voter Guide as our cornerstone.

 

We'll go from national to state to local. Enjoy:

 

"They Already Won" Speed Round (national and statewide)

National

- US Senate - Alex Padilla (Loser: Mark Meuser - GOP)

- US Rep D6 - Ami Bera (Loser: Tamika Hamilton - GOP)

- US Rep D7 - Doris Matsui (Loser: Max Semenenko - GOP)

One national race worth discussing

- US Reps D3 (D-33.28%, R-38.09%, NPP-19.57%)

DEM - Kermit Jones (underdog)

GOP - Kevin Kiley

Statewide

- Governor - Gavin Newsom (Loser: Brian Dahle - GOP)

- Lt Governor - Eleni Kounalakis (Loser: Angela Underwood Jacobs - GOP)

- Secy of State - Dr Shirley Weber (Loser: Rob Bernosky - GOP)

- Treasurer - Fiona Ma (Loser: Jack Guerrero - GOP)

- Insurance Commissioner - Ricardo Lara (Loser: Robert Howell - GOP)

- State Superintendent of Schools - Tony Thurmond (Loser - Lance Ray Christensen)

Maybe close, maybe not? (State)

- Controller 

DEM - Malia Cohen

GOP - Lanhee Chen

(Chen, oddly, has a bunch of endorsements from papers, such as the Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee and the San Jose Mercury News)

 

STATE PROPOSITIONS

1 - Reproductive Rights 

26 - Sports wagering on tribal lands 

27 - Sports betting for homeless revenue 

28 - Additional funding for arts and music ed in schools 

29 - On-site professionals at kidney dialysis clinics 

30 - Tax the rich (over $2 million/year) for programs to reduce air pollution/wildfires

31 - Flavored tobacco/menthol ban

 

State Senate/Assembly

Senate

D6 (D-35.65%, R-35.84%, NPP-20.35%)

DEM - Paula Villescaz 

GOP - Roger Niello

D8

DEM - Dave Jones 

DEM - Angelique AshbyAssembly

D6 (D-50.68%, R-20.37%)

DEM - Kevin McCarty 

GOP - Cathy Cook

D7 (D-38.00%, R-32.48%, NPP-21.05%)

DEM - Ken Cooley

GOP - Josh Hoover

D10 

DEM - Eric Guerra 

DEM - Stephanie Nguyen

 

SACRAMENTO COUNTY/CITY OF SACRAMENTO

MEASURES 

COUNTY

A -  Sales tax for roads 

B - Pot tax for homeless services 

D - Low income housing, a la SHRA 

CITY

L - Pot tax for schools 

M - Unmixing redistricting mix-up

N - Easing tourism tax for community use 

O - Terrorizing unhoused community 

 

ELECTIONS COUNTY

Sac County Board of Supes District 5 (D-43.95%, R-27.00%, NPP-21.76%)

DEM - Jaclyn Moreno

GOP - Patrick Hume

CITY

Sacramento City Council

D1

Lisa Kaplan 

Alyssa Lozano

D3

Michael Lynch 

Karina Talamantes

D5

Caity Maple 

Tamiko Heim

 

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Thursdays at 6 pm and again Fridays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Today we're joined by Sacramento City Council candidate for District 5, Caity Maple.

Maple is perhaps best known as one of the cofounders of Sacramento SOUP, an organization that worked overtime during the pandemic to provide much needed services for unhoused people that the city, county and state weren't making available.

We discuss Maple's relationship to homelessness why it's such a big driver in her efforts, and how she landed as a No on Sacramento's Measure O.

Caity's got a big struggle ahead. Her opponent, Tamiko Heim, has taken tens of thousands of dollars from the real estate industry, landlords, corporate interests and police unions. These same groups spent some $200,000 against Maple in the primary election on independent expenditures.

So, who will win the District 5 race?

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Thursdays at 6 pm and again Fridays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Though she will no longer be on the Sacramento City Council dais come January, District 1's Angelique Ashby (flanked by District 3's Jeff Harris and the people who led the failed recall against District 4's Katie Valenzuela) held a press conference in wealthy East Sacramento's McKinley Park to champion an ordinance banning homeless camps within 500 feet of schools.

Will this have any effect on the homelessness crisis? Of course not.

But Ashby--who is lagging badly in her California Senate race--will do whatever she can for a headline these days. Even if that means terrorizing our unhoused neighbors.

We also discuss the recent string of shootings in Sacramento, and what is being done to curb gun violence in the city.

Remember when America's Landlord Steve Maviglio went on a racist, xenophobic tirade against Councilmember Valenzuela after the Midtown shooting? Why was he so silent in the ensuing days, when gun violence rocked the districts of council members Sean Loloee, Jeff Harris and Jay Schenirer?

Sacramento's police have never been more well funded or more heavily armed than they are today. And yet gun violence persists.

That's because the police don't actually exist to prevent crime. They just respond to it.

Yet our very conservative council members continue to try to defund the social programs that can actually curb violence in the community.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Tuesdays at 5 pm and again Wednesdays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

We're back! (And we now publish on Thursdays.)

This week we're discussing the farm workers bill facing Governor Gavin Newsom that could make or break a potential run for the presidency in 2024.

After vetoing similar legislation in 2021, Newsom once more must decide on what to do with a bill that would allow California's farm workers to vote by mail in their unionization efforts.

This time, the whole country is watching, thanks to organizing efforts by the historic United Farm Workers of America.

Dozens of UFW members, alongside many allies, followed the footsteps of co-founder César Chávez and marched some 350 miles last month from Delano to Sacramento. All told, the trip took over three weeks with multiple days of triple-digit heat.

Now they're camped outside the Capitol, and they're not leaving until Newsom signs their bill.

The governor has shown signs that he wants to protect his Big Ag colleagues (his own winery just bought a $14.5 million vineyard in Napa) and veto the bill once more.

But Democrats with more power are now leaning on him to sign it. That includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, and even President Joe Biden himself.

Would a second veto ruin his chances for a 2024 presidential run? And even if he does spike the bill, does he think UFW won't be back next year with even more support?

Read the room, Gavin.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Tuesdays at 5 pm and again Wednesdays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Hello. We’ve missed you!

We start today with a fun little discussion on Sacramento City Councilmember Sean Loloee, who increasingly appears not to live in the district he represents. This guy could be in a whole lot of trouble quite soon.

We then hop over to Sacramento’s Measure O, an anti-homeless ballot measure that is being forced on city residents by the ghouls at Region Business (Josh Wood), the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber (Amanda Blackwood) and Daniel Conway (Daniel Conway).

For more information on this violent measure, please visit the No On O website.

Finally, Dr. Flo schools us on Proposition 27, and why Californians who want to support their indigenous neighbors will want to vote no.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Tuesdays at 5 pm and again Wednesdays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Today we discuss the absurd recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

We first touch on the hilarious piece in the Atlantic on Boudin's political fall from grace by San Francisco millionaire (and wife of Bari Weiss) Nellie Bowles.

Bowles, of course, is a direct descendent of California billionaires who have harmed so, so many workers over the years.

No matter what these folks say, there is a much more nuanced discussion to be had on this race.

Meanwhile, there is no question that the police reform movement is alive and well, as illustrated in other electoral races throughout the country.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Tuesdays at 5 pm and again Wednesdays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we'll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

Sacramento City Councilmember Sean Loloee continued his personal war against affordable housing last week in spectacular fashion, claiming repeatedly that a proposed 124-unit apartment building for low-income residents in his district would "destroy a community," and then arguing with Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

This simple item on the consent calendar--which was nothing more than a nod to the nonprofit developer to apply for $5.7 million in grants so that city residents wouldn't have to foot the bill--should have taken no more than a couple of minutes to pass.

But Loloee harnessed the NIMBY rage of Woodlake homeowners to drag the item on for nearly two hours.

The item passed, but just barely. Councilmembers Angelique Ashby, Jeff Harris and Mai Vang voted against the money, showing that the future of affordable housing in Sacramento rests on a razor's edge.

Guest host/librarian Tibby also shares a bit about her new show, The At Home Librarian Podcast, which she hosts with her educator friend Alexis.

We also discuss the formation of the Community Care First Sacramento Coalition, a collection of organizations advocating that Sacramento County's budget actually serves the people of the region. You can join them at 12:30 on Wednesday, June 8 at 700 H Street for their Budget Action and Brunch event before the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meets to discuss the county budget.

Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity  

Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Tuesdays at 5 pm and again Wednesdays at 8 am.

If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to [email protected] and we'll make it happen.

And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.