Sacramento's Top Cop Chief Albert Najera Implemented Blog To Improve Communication With Citizens

SacPD Blog - Sacramento Police Department WebLog Launched

In November 2006 Chief Albert Najera of the City of Sacramento Police Department announced the SacPD had implemented an interactive weblog which they began testing in August as a means to better communicate with citizens.  Chief Najera conceived of the idea after seeing the success private companies were having communicating with their customers and employees.  According to a report in the Sacramento Bee, Chief Najera believes the blog gives the department the opportunity to explain the "why" of why they do what they do and why crimes happen the way they do.  Chief Najera says the blog will tackle all subjects and not avoid potentially controversial subjects as they arise. 

While most police department  web sites around the nation - including most major cities (Chicago and Philadelphia for instance) - have static web sites with links to recent news articles and crime statistics, crime prevention, and neighborhood watch information the Sacramento Police Department sees the blog as an important tool for citizens.  Additionally, the Chief believes it will be a vehicle for officers to post information about their jobs from a personal perspective.  A perspective not normally known or understood by the public. 

One feature of the blog is ability for citizens to ask questions and get real responses to their questions rather than answers from a canned FAQs section of a static web site.  The interactive section is called "Ask Officer Michelle".   The questions are handled by Officer Michelle Lazark who serves as a department spokeswoman.  She does not duck the tough questions and has even assisted one individual seeking information on a relative's death 20 years ago.  Officer Lazark was able to give the citizen a detailed response providing the individual with important closure. 

One other plus the Chief sees of the blog is as a way to communicate with younger people who are more technology driven.  The blog will help to demonstrate that technological change is an accepted and important way for officers and the public to stay connected.  It is the Chief's plan to eventually add podcasts that he hopes will aid the department's recruitment efforts with younger more tech savvy prospective employees.

 A sign of the season

We are quickly moving into winter from fall.  The air is getting chillier and the leaves have mostly dropped.  Here in Sacramento - the city of trees - the fall is both a lovely time and a time spent raking, blowing and sweeping up leaves.  All this leaf business got me thinking about mulching and laying down bark around the garden.

I did a quick search and found out through the Sacramento Tree Foundation that our very own utility, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District or SMUD, provides FREE wood chips for customers to use around our trees.  Free pick up of wood chips is available weekdays from 9:00am to 2:30pm at the SMUD yard in East Sacramento on 59th Street between Folsom Blvd. and the Light Rail. 

To pick up you free mulch all you need to do is:

• Bring your own tools to load the mulch
• Bring bags or a tarp to fill or cover a load
• Apply mulch to an area around your trees or shrubs at least 4' in diameter and 4"-6" deep, keeping it a few inches from the trunk

If you do this you will be helping utilize the green waste and helping your garden all at the same time.  And for FREE!  Sounds like a bargain to me. 

Oh yeah, don't forget about SMUD's FREE SHADE TREE program in conjunction with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Now is a great time to plant one in your yard. Trees are a great way to let nature help keep you cool and lower your energy bills in the summer.

Looking for something special to do this weekend?  Well, if you're not out shopping for holiday gifts you should definitely plan to attend the 33rd Annual Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour. The tour runs this Friday through Sunday in Sacramento's "Fabulous 40's" neighborhood in East Sacramento.  

Each year several of the incredible homes in East Sacramento are staged and decorated for the holidays.  These spectacularly decorated homes are in one of Sacramento's most desireable neighborhoods and not to be missed.

This terrific event is organized annually by the parents of the Sacred Heart Parrish School located at 39th and H Street as a benefit for the school.   Tickets are available online and are $20 through November 30 and $30 during the event. 

The tour begins at 1209 47th Street between J and M Streets and winds its way through East Sacramento ending at 1513 39th Street.  You may start at either end for an enjoyable, self-guided walking tour that will take about two hours to complete. You may use your ticket for a one-time admittance to each house any time during the tour weekend.

Check it out.  You will be glad you did.

California State Capitol Buildinga and Grounds

With the longer days and the great weather take a walk on the mild side. In Sacramento we have a terrific opportunity to get some exercise and enjoy some of our incredible historic architecture.  Walking tours of historic Sacramento architecture provide a wonderful opportunity to exercise our minds as well as our bodies. 

Brochures for these three great walking tours available from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, Sacramento Heritage, Inc., the Central Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, or at the Sacramento City Hall.  There are brochures featuring three specific walking tours of the downtown area - the Alkali Flat Neighborhood Tour, the Capitol Tour and the Downtown Tour. 

Well, it is that incredible edible time of year when our local California Grown produce soon will begin coming in from the fields.  One of the best ways to take advantage of this is to visit a Certified Farmers Market.  There are many of them throughout the greater Sacramento Region.  To find the market nearest click here FRESH PRODUCE.

If you have never visited a farmers market here are a few tips to keep in mind when visiting:

1. There are no ATMs or traditional grocery check out stand so bring lots of small bills and change.
2. Bring large cloth or net shopping bags to save yourself multiple trips to your car to unload.
3. When you first arrive, walk through the  market and see what is available.  Because each grower sets their own price there are many differences in prices for the same produce type and quality.

4. Remember these men and women are the actual growers of the produce you are buyers. If you like to bargain go for it.  Please note that farmers market "etiquette" says that bargaining for big boxes or larger amounts is usually acceptable.  But bargaining for small amounts is generally frowned upon. Do not insult them. They worked very hard to sell so cheap.
5. Much of the produce is unsorted and unwashed. Looks may be deceiving...some of the best tasting fruit may be visually challenged (ugly or misshapen).

Finally, take home your vine or tree ripened CA Grown produce and enjoy its wonderful flavor.  Flavor this good can only be found when it comes direct from the grower.  And remember that you are not only getting some of the finest and freshest produce in the world but supporting our very California farmers.

Tower Records is a readily recognizable player in the retail music business with stores across America and selected stores around the globe.  But before Tower Records was born in a corner of the Tower Drug Store by a young Russ Solomon there was Sacramento's Tower Theater. 

The Tower Theater opened its doors on November 11, 1938 with the motion picture "Algiers" about a jewel thief and his beautiful love interest.  The film featured two relative newcomers in the pre-WWII era, the actors Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamar.  Price of admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children in 1938 and included news reels and cartoons.  Over the intervening years the theater's "big screen" was replaced with three smaller ones.  The theater now accommodates 1,150 seats on three more standard screens.

The significance in 1938 of the new theater to the City of Sacramento was unmistakable.  The City actually renamed "Y" St. " Broadway in honor of its addition to the cultural promise the theater represented to the Sacramento community.

Through the passing of time the Tower Theater has become a true Sacramento landmark.  A symbol of the grander architechtural days of the past.  With it's wonderful classic art deco style, palm trees and plenty of neon it is definitely from the golden days of Hollywood.  Its location at the corner of Broadway and Land Park Dr. servers as a fitting and welcoming entry to one of Sacramento's finest neighborhoods - the tree lined streets of Land Park.