All posts by Jeremy Bryne

Infrastructure News

Infrastructure, ,

There is some news in the infrastructure industry in downtown Sacramento. If all plans go ahead, the historic Elks Tower on 11th and J streets might soon be home to a card room and entertainment venue.  The 24,000 square-foot area –– was under some controversy recently when two other card rooms in Sacramento appealed for owner Steve Ayers to be refused a permit. But that was denied when the city council voted in favor of it. In his statement, Sacramento Mayor said that the only negativity had come from competitors.  One of the reasons the issue arose was due to local law permitting only four cardrooms in the area and the recent closure of the Red Lion Inn Woodlake Hotel’s Casino Royal. This led to discussions on who would get the newly vacant license.

With this cardroom, there would be five card tables within a 2,000 square foot space on the building’s ground level in the first phase, due to open at the end of November 2017. Phase two – due for completion by the end of next year – is set to have a 17-table cardroom.

Moving on to more central infrastructure issues, in order to pay for improving California’s bridges and roads, gas and vehicle taxes will be increased. Over the next decade it is hoped that with these tax hikes, more than $52 billion will be raised. Should this go ahead, gasoline excise taxes will be increased by 12 cents per gallon, making it a 43 percent rise. According to Brown, if the state of California will not invest in fixing the roads, later on when there is no choice, the price will be eight times as high.

Perhaps if the card rooms are successful, taxes there could be put toward enhancing Californian infrastructure!

Easter in Sacramento!

Entertainment, , ,

There are a ton of activities for the Easter holiday in Sacramento. For the next couple of days one can enjoy the Sacramento RiverTrain for a 2 ½ hour adventure. Departing from West Sacramento and going through Elkhorn Slough, participants can enjoy an egg hunt and bouncy castles. On the ride home, the kids will feel safe sitting next to the Easter Bunny!

And to make sure your four-legged friend does not feel like they are missing out, last week there was a special dog-Easter Egg hunt, at the Rocklin RRUFF Dog Park’s fourth annual egg hunt. Your doggie pal has to sniff around for plastic eggs that will be filled with dog-friendly treats and the one who finds the golden egg will get to take home a slew of goodies for them (and their human) best friend.

For those who like a bit of beer, hopefully they didn’t miss out on last week’s Beer and Chili Festival. At this year’s sixth annual cook-off (proceeds benefitting the Sacramento Artists Council), local food companies competed in four categories: industry, individual, vegetarian and people’s choice. Once that has been consumed, beers from Highwater Brewing and others will be competing for awards.

for those who missed these events, later on this month Sacramento is hosting its age old Scottish Games & Festival event – the third oldest of its kind in America, attracting around 10,000 revelers to celebrate Scottish cultural riches such as piping, drumming and caber toss competitions! Free for kids 7 and under, $8 for kids up to 17 and $17 for adults, this is set to be a great 2-day festival from 29 to 30th April.

 

U.S. Marathon Championships

Sports, , , ,

In 2017 and 2018, Sacramento will be hosting the U.S. Marathon Championships. To be held at the California International Marathon for men and women a $140,000 prize purse (an increase of nearly $100,00 from 2016) will make it the largest prize in event history.

The events – that will take place on December 3 of this year and December 2 of next – will be held together with the 35th and 36th annual California International Marathons. Scott Abbot, Executive Director of Sacramento Running Association was said to have been “honored” at having been selected, especially given that this event is seen as “one of the top performance running events in the country, so it provides the perfect platform for the U.S. Marathon Championship competition.”

However, it should not come as such as surprise since the state has rightfully earned a reputation as featuring one of America’s best running communities. As such, there has been a lot of work undertaken between the Sacramento Running Association, the Sacramento Sports Commission and the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau on the bid in an effort to bring championship running events to the area over the next two to three years.

It is anticipated that the top US distance runners will travel to Sacramento to compete in the event both this and next year, rendering Sacramento as “center stage for professional marathoners from all over the country,” clearly putting the state in a prominent position on the map.

Smart Refrigerators

Business news, , ,

With the launch of Sacramento-based Byte Foods a year-and-a-half ago, some of the city’s businesses will soon be privy to “smart refrigerators,” which are basically vending machines that will offer healthy food options, turning the vending machine market on its head (having been known historically for junk food sales).

The machine is also much simpler to use than the old method of having the right money and/or hoping for the best.  With Byte Foods, customers just need to Swipe (their credit card), Grab (the food item) and Go (eat it!).

The focus for the food is healthy, wholesome, nutritious and fresh.  Purchase a Sprogs gluten free Bacon and Egg Power Lunch, a Carrot and Ginger Soup, Avocado Power Lunch sandwich, Organic Breakfast Bistro, BBQ Chopped Salad with Tofu and ranch dressing and so much more.

The company’s motto is: Always Fresh, Always Open. When the office cafeteria is closed Byte Foods will be open…even at 2 am!

In addition to the convenience of wholesome, fresh food on the go, Byte Foods makes it easy for companies to work with it.  As co-founder Lee Mokri said, employers can “offer fresh meals to their employees, (meals) that employees pay for directly from the fridge. And it’s easy to use … There’s no ordering in advance, no theft, no honor system and it’s just like your typical retail experience because you purchase directly from the kiosk.”

It’s clearly working.  Delivering around 50 new fridges to offices each month, it is now time for the Sacramento launch. Hotels, medical institutions and educational establishments are also jumping on board.

Sacramento to Host NCAA Teams

Sports, , ,

Thanks to the new Golden 1 Center, Sacramento – for the first time in 10 yeas – is to be able to host eight NCAA teams.  As Sacramento Sports Commission Director Mike Sophia, the lack of hosting had nothing to do with the relationship between the NCAA and Sacramento.  It was merely a lack of appropriate place.  With the new Center, the problem has now been eliminated.

This of course, is great for the region’s economy too. Sophia believes an estimated $5 million will be spent on that one weekend.  In addition, there is the publicity which is huge since nationwide, there will be millions of TV viewers.  Sophia hopes that this will lead to people who see Sacramento thinking, “yeah I haven’t been there in a while.  I wanna go back.”

Sacramento’s March Madness should have an impact on even individuals who are not sports fan.  As Visit Sacramento’s COO Mike Testa argued:  “They should care for the economic impact. When folks stay in hotel rooms, they pay for a transient occupancy tax. That money goes into the city and county’s general fund. That fund pays for police, fire, improves our park, and improves our road.”

In addition to the NCAA, the C AL HOSA Health Conference is in town, adding to the March Madness, putting hotel room bookings at 7,500 for just one weekend.

Sacramento Gets New “Waitr” Service

Restaurants, ,

At the end of last month, Sacramento witnessed the launch of ‘Waitr,’ a food delivery app.  Sonny Mayogba (a Sacramento native and the company’s CMO), has been instrumental in bringing this app (based in Louisiana) to Sacramento.

Initially only the Sacramento and Roseville regions will be privy to this service.  One of the most unique (and attractive) features of this is the set delivery fee of $6.99.  As Mayogba pointed out: “No minimums, no maximums and we don’t charge extra for delivery zones. Delivery fees can run up to $15 on other platforms, and we don’t do that.”

With the lowest fees and data-rich technology, restaurants can become smarter with the app.  They own a driver network and is the only firm that actually conducts face-to-face interviews with their drivers as well as full FBI background checks.  Drivers are also allowed to keep their own tips and set their own schedules.

In addition, Waitr offers each restaurant the option of a photoshoot, in which the restaurant can keep the photos and use them marketing, again something other vendors in the industry do not do.

Getting Paid to Vote?

Politics, , ,

Last week a new law was proposed in Sacramento to make the forthcoming November 2017 elections a state holiday. What this would mean is that schools and employees would get the day off (but be paid for it).  Private businesses would not be impacted (just like with other holidays that are paid for the public sector but not enforceable in the private sector) although it is hoped ultimately that places of work would ultimately want to be a part of this as well and thus take it on themselves.

The main goal of the bill is to enable those in low income communities to get out and vote.  More than half of the less than 60% of California’s November 2016 eligible voters, as it is did so by mail, thus indicating the difficulty of getting to ballot stations. With paid time out, this might change.

Assembly Bill 674 – developed by Asssemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) is set to break down the barriers of “work and school obligations” preventing so many from voting.  With the mere 2 hours off from work, current state law is deemed inadequate.

As the current law stands, only one holiday (in addition to federal-enacted ones) is marked by Californians – that being a state holiday in honor of Cesar Chaves, the late farm labor leader.

The hope is that Low’s efforts will be more successful than those undertaken by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2015 to get election day to become a federal holiday.

Evolution of Downtown Sacramento

Restaurants, ,

Six or seven years ago, downtown Sacramento was an uncertain spot for businesses to thrive.  As such when Ruhstaller was opened – the brewing company owned by JE Paino – no one knew what the future held.  Indeed, Paino recalls the neighborhood at that time being “not at all cool” and somewhat dangerous.  They seemed to be going the wrong way as they came in since most businesses were leaving.

But it seems like it evolved.  Once the construction of the Golden 1 Center came to an end, the neighborhood really began to pick up.  As such, Paino just signed a long-term lease on another basement space in the area on the Bay Miry residential and retail project at 726 K Street.  The building has a lot more character than where they currently are but still has the feeling of a basement. Featuring a brick and exposed steel grand staircase, it is just one block away from where the current one is, but m arks a big step up.

For example, a lot of other exciting places are now about to open up there like Solomon’s (the much-talked about new Jewish deli), and Buudai (the new dumpling house), making Paino, “honored and humbled [to] be a part of it.”

This news marks a total joy for those in Sacramento trying to make it while encouraging pride in the area.  As Paino pointed out, “We can tell people the story of Sacramento. And I think one of the reasons we’ve dug our heels in and said, ‘We’re not leaving!’ is that there’s a side of Sacramento that can’t be told by folks from Las Vegas or L.A.”

Future Goals for Sacramento City Council

Infrastructure, ,

Steve Hansen, Sacramento Councilmember for the Fourth Council District recently discussed some of his goals for enhancing the region. Traffic and safety are high up on the agenda, in particular with regards to Freeport and Riverside boulevards.  One goal is to fix these so that there are no fatalities at all.  As such he is encouraging the council to adopt Vision Zero – which is “a traffic safety philosophy that rejects the notion that traffic crashes are simply ‘accidents,’ but instead preventable incidents that can and must be systematically addressed.”

In this vein, Hansen is trying to establish a safe connection for cyclists traveling between William Land Park and the Sacramento River Parkway Trail, especially given that the current situation at  Sutterville is dangerous for bikes as well as pedestrians.”  So traffic measures are key for Hansen.

Moving on to business developments, Hansen mentioned the work that is being undertaken in collaboration with the Greater Broadway Partnership Property and Business Improvement District vis-à-vis business owners.  Further, he has worked alongside the Sacramento Steps Forward for the last few months in an effort to improve the situation.

So it is the hope of the people of Sacramento that Hansen’s measures to enhance business opportunities and improve traffic safety are undertaken.

Elk Grove: Top Millennial Mortgage Destination

Housing, , ,

Nationwide, where is the best, most affordable mortgage destination?  It seems that millennials are looking closely at Sacramento, specifically, Elk Grove, according to the annual SmartAsset study, which was ranked Number 2 in the search for millennial home ownership locations.

As Steve Ly, town Mayor explained: “The best thing about Elk Grove is that it remains an affordable option for young couples and families.  The city is certainly pleased to hear of this (latest recognition), and it reinforces the 2016 WalletHub survey. It rated Elk Grove in the top 20 places to raise a family in California. There’s also Movoto’s 2015 study that rated Elk Grove as the best Sacramento suburb for young couples.”

Furthermore it was found that a staggering 90 percent of residents would recommend Elk Grove as a place to others. Given that it boasts both affordability and quality of life (with 100+ parks, a top school system and minimal crime rate), it is not all that surprising that it ranks so high on SmartAsset’s study.