News - Elk Grove council rips parks agency in newspaper ads - sacbee.com: "By Loretta Kalb -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 24, 2005 Get weekday updates of Sacramento Bee headlines and breaking news. Sign up here. The city of Elk Grove took its increasingly bitter fight for control of parks directly to the public Wednesday, buying full-page newspaper ads that accuse the local parks agency of attacking quality of life in the community. The 'open letter' to Elk Grove residents published in newspapers Wednesday and today is signed by all five City Council members. It complains that an Elk Grove Community Services District lawsuit filed Feb. 14 seeks 'to stop the city from bringing world-class parks to the community.' 'The city council stands united against this attack on your quality of life,' the letter said, noting that the legal battle could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The dispute centers on Elk Grove's upcoming Laguna Ridge development, a 1,900-acre site in the city's fast-growing south area. While the community services district has run parks and fire protection services for 20 years, the city chose last year to create its own parks in Laguna Ridge, using millions of dollars in fees that otherwise would have gone to the district. When the district's efforts to dissuade the city failed, it filed suit. It's not the first time the city has fought with another agency. It battled Sacramento County over fees for cityhood, the county Sheriff's Department over its contract for law enforcement services and Sacramento Regional Transit over buses." read more
Elk Grove - Growth puts Elk Grove in the black - sacbee.com: "Growth puts Elk Grove in the black
The city's general fund is $2 million above budget for fiscal year.
By Loretta Kalb -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, February 20, 2005
Strong housing growth and consumer spending helped propel Elk Grove's general fund revenues $2 million above budget for the current fiscal year, city finance executives said last week.
Sales and use tax revenues that were forecast at $11.2 million, for example, will instead exceed $11.8 million this fiscal year, Elk Grove Finance Director Joe Chinn said.
That $11.8 million represents 1 percent of taxable purchases in Elk Grove through June 30, the end of the 2004-05 fiscal budget, now about $48 million.
Another $550,000 more than forecast is arriving in the form of utility user's taxes, Chinn said, bringing those fiscal year's revenues to $2.6 million.
The added $2 million, also generated from more building permit fees, personal property taxes and other revenue sources, comes as many other California cities struggle to stay in the black. The local largesse is due partly to the rapid pace of construction in Elk Grove and the first full budget year since the Dec. 15, 2003, annexation of Laguna West.
Expenditures will be $1.2 million higher than expected, too, netting the city $775,000 in added funds.
Most of that will be available as a general fund reserve in times of 'economic uncertainty,' Les Tyler, the city's administrative services director, told City Council members meeting Wednesday night.
The council adopted the budget changes and said the added funds will allow them to provide community groups more money.
'Right now, we have a ... surplus,' Councilman Rick Soares"
Editorial: Another Elk Grove fight
City needs only one government for parks
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, February 16, 2005Elk Grove is proceeding to build parks in a very expensive way, creating a second park government to serve the city.
Obviously the city only needs one in the long run. This unilateral move is increasing the prospect that the city for years will have two park governments that will spend too much time fighting over turf and funds than managing parks. Perpetual conflict isn't healthy for any city, and certainly not for Elk Grove.
The City Council and staff take great pride in Laguna Ridge, a major new residential development project. Many of the residential projects now under construction in Elk Grove were originally planned by Sacramento County supervisors before 2000, when residents in Elk Grove voted to incorporate. Laguna Ridge (south of Elk Grove Boulevard and north of Kammerer Road) was designed by the city. And now the city wants to develop and manage its parks.
To date, however, all the parks in Elk Grove have been built and managed by the long-time operator of parks and fire services in the area, the Elk Grove Community Services District. The city now wants to retain the park development fees from Laguna Ridge that would normally flow to the community services district. So the district, to no surprise, is suing.
We're far from sure that in the long run Elk Grove is best served by having these two separate governments. Mergers, however, are very delicate acts of political diplomacy that only happen after a healthy public dialogue and public vote. There's nothing healthy or diplomatic over this turf fight over parks.
Helping Your Child Become: "Helping Your Child Become...
Local Elk Grove couple write parenting book.
Click here for ---> Helping Your Child Become
After their first child entered the world, Tim and Kirsten, local residents of Elk Grove, CA, eagerly approached a few of their parenting heroes, hoping to unlock their secrets. They waited for the golden key of wisdom to be handed to them. They wanted to know what to DO! Committed to discovering whatever they could from God's Word and His people that would help them know what to do, they dug into the scriptures and other moral resources.
After years of asking, searching, reading, and weeding, they present in their book, Helping Your Child Become not only a practical plan, but also the biblical support and reasoning behind it. It is their prayer that you and your family will be blessed by God's timeless principles of parenting."
Sports - Herd's wrestlers are heard this time - sacbee.com: "Herd's wrestlers are heard this time
By Mark McDermott -- Bee Sports Staff
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 10, 2005
Elk Grove High School wrestling coach Pat Coffing's silence leading up to the Sac-Joaquin Section Dual Team Championships last Saturday at Folsom High spoke volumes about what he truly was thinking.
Refusing to talk to the media about his team's chances of dethroning 12-time Division I section and Monticello Empire League champion Vaca-ville only fueled the belief the Herd couldn't win. But the third-year coach steadfastly kept his lip buttoned.
Why would anyone in the Sacramento area think Delta League champion Elk Grove could win anyway?
After all, Vacaville had won seven consecutive D-I titles and just a week before the section duals beat 16-time champion Ponderosa 34-21 in a nonleague encounter deemed the 'Match of Champions.'
Or, perhaps Coffing stayed mute because he saw the Elk Grove-Vaca-ville matchup as the true 'Match of Champions.'
After Vacaville's victory against Ponderosa, Bulldogs coach Rich Penaluna said he hoped the standing-room only event wouldn't take any of the luster away from the section dual championships.
As it turned out, Penaluna had nothing to worry about. All that 'Match of Champions' hoopla did was fire up Elk Grove.
Elk Grove won eight of the 14 matches and received clutch performances from 125-pound Nick Jordan and 217-pound Ryan Coulson.
Jordan decisioned Mike Kent 2-1 and Coulson pinned Jon Feld in what was billed as the two matches that easily could determine the outcome.
Final score: Elk Grove 31, Vacaville 27.
'The wrestling doesn't end here,' said Coffing after the match. 'Let's ride this momentum right into the postseason.'
Despite the Herd's triumph, Coffing defended the Vacaville-Ponderosa match and all its hype.
"They are two of the most storied programs in the Sacramento area and deserve to call that match anything they wanted to," Coffing said. "Between them, they've won 28 championships. We've only won the section title twice."
Vacaville, Ponderosa and Elk Grove are the only teams to win D-I section dual titles since the tournament's inception in 1986. Vacaville has won 12 times and Ponderosa six times from 1991 to 97 before moving to D-II and Elk Grove twice.
Coffing was the 132-pounder on the Herd's 1990 championship team under coach Jeff Winger. Coffing, who won a bronze medal at the state championships at 132 pounds in 1992, would replace Winger in 2003.
Elk Grove's accomplishment was truly the perfect team effort.
The boxscore will show the Herd won the matches it should have won, saved points in the matches it was expected to lose and won those two pivotal matchups.
"Sometimes an individual loss is a victory for the team," Penaluna said at the Ponderosa match.
He was right.
Sophan Mey (105), Nic Smith (132), Gavin Ludwig (137), Adrien Abeyta (142) and Kyle Hinegardner (162) all lost, but they did their jobs. They did not get pinned and yielded only 20 points to the Bulldogs.
After wins by Andre Phillips (114), Max Baker (121) and Jordan, Elk Grove led 12-5. Vacaville swept the next three weight classes but could only take a 16-12 lead.
John Daly (147) and J.D. Thrall (154) earned decisions to wrestle the lead back at 18-16. As expected, the state's No. 1-ranked Kyle Dubbs (162) beat Hinegardner, leading to three of the most anticipated matches of the day.
Michael Drake, ranked No. 1 in the state at 171 pounds, major-decisioned Bo Lukehart 13-4 and twin brother John Drake, ranked No. 5 in the state and last year's silver medalist in Bakersfield, edged Clayton Jack 8-6.
With Elk Grove ahead 25-21, two matches left and Vacaville expected to win by pin at heavyweight, the weight of a community, a campus and a team was placed on the shoulders of Coulson.
The junior All-Delta League football player squared off against Feld, ranked No. 8 in the state. They met earlier this season at the Galt Tournament, with Coulson winning 3-2.
The match appeared to be a tossup.
However, Coulson dominated. He led 5-0 after the first period, 7-0 after two and was leading 11-0 when he registered the nail-in-the-coffin pin.
"Ryan won one of the most important matches in the history of our program," Coffing said.
Next on the Elk Grove agenda is the Delta League Tournament on Saturday at Franklin High, followed by the Northwest Subsection at Nevada Union on Feb. 18-19; the section championships at Pitman-Turlock on Feb. 25-26; and the state tournament in Bakersfield on March 4-5.
WINE BARREL CLASSIFIEDS: "Used Barrel Board > View Posting > Used Wine Barrels
Used Barrel Title:Used Wine Barrels
Barrel Location:Elk Grove, CA
Listing Date:01/18/2005
Used Barrel Description
Year:mixed
Wine Type:mixed
Oak:mixed Oak
Style/Size:mixed
Quanity:25 Barrels
Price:$55 Per Barrel
Comments:
Very fine looking barrels. MUST SELL. Any questions, please call or see our website at www.usedwinebarrels.com
Contact Information:
Name: Lisa Lombardo
Company: UsedWineBarrels.com
Email: info@usedwinebarrels.com
Phone: 916-203-5472 "
Elk Grove Newsletter For New Home owners homeowners Elk Grove CA near Sacramento: "Saturday, February 05, 2005
News - 3-alarm blaze damages Cattle Palace - sacbee.com News - 3-alarm blaze damages Cattle Palace - sacbee.com: '
x - close Recent Stories By Christina Jewett
3-alarm blaze damages Cattle Palace
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, February 5, 2005
Get weekday updates of Sacramento Bee headlines and breaking news. Sign up here.
ELK GROVE - The main barn at Cattle Palace Auction Inc. was damaged in a three-alarm fire Friday evening, but reportedly no cattle were on the property at the time.
The fire, reported at about 8:30 p.m., brought in crews from the Elk Grove and Sacramento Metro fire departments, said Elk Grove Fire Chief Keith Grueneberg.
He said about 50 firefighters were involved; extra units arrived because of the size of the wood structure. One firefighter injured a leg entering the building.
The fire's cause and the extent of damage were not immediately known. The barn, one of several that house cattle in the auction complex, was the closest to the auction arena area.
Cattle Palace Auction Inc., at the end of Webb Street south of Elk Grove Boulevard, holds cows in barns and puts them up for auction as often as once each week, Grueneberg said."
Insurance, Insurance Agents Brokers & Service, Insurance Automobile, Elk Grove, CA on Switchboard Yellow Pages: "Search Results for Insurance in/around Elk Grove, CA
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Elk Grove Sports Bar Family sports Grill We are Now Open!: "John Morales And Family of Family Sports & Grill, Elk Grove, Ca
We are Now Open!
By Nan Mahon -- Freelance Writer/Author
Published Saturday, May 17, 2003
Elk Grove businessman John Morales shows his support for the Strauss Festival of Elk Grove as a sponsor and donator. A member of the community since 1989, Morales and his wife, Chela along with their seven children live in our small town atmosphere. "
Elk Grove Newsletter For New Home owners homeowners Elk Grove CA near Sacramento: "Nan Mahon has a new Blog http://nannosecond.blogspot.com/
a nannosecond in time by nan mahon
welcome to my musings of accounts both personal and community in nature. Some are of yesterday and others more current. Enjoy these moments with me."
: "The Vision for Revitalization
Old Town Elk Grove is the heart of our community, a unique treasure with many buildings dating back to the 1800s. Early next year, the City will begin construction, devoting 4.3 million dollars in improvements to beautify and upgrade the area. This project is just the first step in the revitalization of Old Town. A Special Planning Area (SPA) was created many years ago in an effort to protect these buildings and their historic integrity.
