The River City Saloon, Sacramento » Old Sacramento News

Our Sacramento mayor was doing double duty on New Year’s Eve

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:16:24 +0000

This is an excerpt from The Sacramento Bee.

The New Year’s Eve entertainment planned for Old Sacramento will include jugglers.

And as it turns out, the city’s busy program for the evening is going to force Mayor Kevin Johnson to do some juggling of his own.

Johnson said he would attend both the city-run event in Old Sacramento and the Times Square-style ball drop on K Street tonight.

“I’ll be at two places at the same time,” the mayor said Tuesday. “And if you don’t believe it, watch.”

The mayor said he would attend the 9 p.m. fireworks display in Old Sacramento before heading a few blocks east to emcee the midnight ball drop at 10th and K streets.

The ball drop is thought to be the first of its kind on the West Coast.

“One of the goals for our city is to continue to elevate the profile of Sacramento, and this certainly is a step in that direction,” Johnson said.

The mayor said he hoped the Old Sacramento celebration would merge with the K Street party next year. For now, he’s predicting big things for the ball drop.

“There’s going to be thousands and thousands of people,” he said.

Police officials met at City Hall Tuesday to develop a game plan for the night.

Sgt. Norm Leong, a department spokesman, said eight additional officers were being called in for the K Street party. He said that about 80 officers combined would patrol the events.

Old Sacramento New Years Eve 2008

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:38:50 +0000

Visiting Old Sacramento on New years Eve has never been high on my list as I have always had to work and had never been able to come down. Wow, now I know what I have been missing. My wife and I attended the early part of the night and noticed packed streets with vendors and people having a great time. Some great bands were playing and I can only imagine how crazy the late night was. I can’t wait for New Years Eve 2009 at River City Saloon! Here are a few reviews I found. I looked for news and reviews on this event and could only find some bad comments on the Ball drop on 10th and K Street. No reviews on it?

Kevin Johnson Talks With Merchants Of Old Sacramento

admin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:02:28 +0000

During Kevin Johnson’s bid to become mayor he spoke with some merchants of Old Sacramento. This is what was written in his blog for mayor.

Yesterday I had the chance to see the “Two Sacramentos.”

In the morning, I walked through a homeless camp behind the Blue Diamond factory. Joined by firefighters, police, and homeless advocates, we saw firsthand a problem the city’s leaders are closing a blind eye to.

In the afternoon, I sat down with merchants from Old Sacramento. They complained that the city has turned a deaf ear to their needs. Public safety, parking, and an uncaring bureaucracy topped their list.

What did both groups have in common? They both said the city needs change, and is craving the leadership to make it happen.

That’s why I will continue to focus on the issues that matter: a strong economy, safe streets, and great schools. Together, our grassroots effort to take back City Hall will succeed!

link to the origional

http://www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com/kjfm/?p=81

As riverfront evolves, Old Sac stays involved

admin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:00:39 +0000

Old Sacramento is surrounded.

Development is proposed for the Docks to the south, The Rail-yards to the north, K Street mall to the east and West Sacramento’s waterfront development across the river.

The merchants and landowners of the historic district want to make sure Old Sacramento is a part of the changes taking place around it.

“We need to make sure that we are at the table and having some input for all the things that are happening around us,” said Terry Harvego, chairman of the Old Sacramento Business Association, as well as a director of Harvego Enterprises LLC.

The management of the Old Sacramento Business Association was taken over this year by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. The partnership hired a business district manager for Old Sacramento five weeks ago, Katie Lovvorn, and last week held a retreat to focus on the immediate goals of the district.

The group determined advocacy would be it’s primary push, said Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

“We need to get out in front of the changes that are happening around the district,” he said.

The first priority is to make sure Old Sacramento is considered in all the projects going on around it, said Lovvorn, the new manager for the Old Sacramento Business Association.

Other issues high on the agenda include making sure the district is still accessible, creating a stronger mix of retailers and increasing marketing.

“From a tourism standpoint, it is one of our major attractions,” said Mike Testa, spokesman for the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau. The district is the area’s largest single tourism draw, with more than 5 million visitors annually. (Disneyland gets 7 million visitors, by comparison.) Tourism accounts for $2.4 billion annually in the local economy.

“We always push for product development, and our product is the city. Any time they can improve that product, it is good for the city, and it is good for selling the city,” Testa said.

The historic district’s property owners have been part of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership since it started in 1996, but Old Sacramento operated under management by the city and a merchants group that eventually became the Old Sacramento Business Association.

Five years ago, owners and merchants in the district created two nonprofit groups, one to manage events and marketing, and another to oversee historic educational programming. The two groups were headed by the same person, but the dual goals were too much work for a single person to manage. The business association joined with the downtown partnership this year to use the partnership’s management, marketing and support, and to begin advocating for the district.

Most of the merchants are too busy with their own businesses to attend meetings and planning sessions, and advocate for the district, Harvego said. There are also myriad viewpoints represented in the Old Sacramento Business Association, so whoever is speaking for the group really has to understand the wishes of the majority, Ault said.

Lovvorn faces plenty of challenges managing the business district in Old Sacramento. It has many private owners, as well as public owners such as California State Parks, the city of Sacramento and other state agencies. There is also a diverse mix of uses on the sliver of land between Interstate 5 and the Sacramento River.

The district has residences, office space, a state park, museums, restaurants, specialty shops, excursion companies, theaters, nightclubs, hotels and souvenir stores. That variety can cause friction. Events to draw locals sometimes bring more people to the stores and restaurants, and sometimes they don’t. Some of the food festivals don’t help the restaurants much because the food is served from stands on the streets. Some of the events close the streets, which limits the number of people who might visit stores or museums.

A manager has to listen to every one’s concerns and override some of them.

This story is from the Sacramento biz journal at http://sacramento.bizjournals.com

manderson@bizjournals.com | 916-558-7874