Sound Off             November 2006
	26 Nov                               No-Parking  I am thinking that it might generate some revenue for the city of Rancho Cordova if we impose a no-parking “law” like that in San Francisco on Street Cleaning days.  I am thinking that this may be a two-fold solution to the situation unfolding here (in Lincoln Village). If the law is imposed, people will HAVE TO move their cars or have them towed and those who have cars parked that are not running are likely to get rid of them unless they don’t mind pushing them into driveways on street cleaning days.                               - Lisa V			15 Nov                      The Real Election Winners  Congratulations to all the winners of last week's election races. The real winners, however, were "We the people". Once more we had a chance to make our thoughts, our views, our wishes heard. So the biggest "congratulations" goes to all of you who took the time to wade through the issues and candidates and then voted. But don't stop now that the phones are silent. Stay active in your community and don't be afraid to let your voice be heard on issues that matter to you.                     - Admin
	27 Nov                            A book store would do  The idea of a Book store (located in the old Ralph's site) is absolutely wonderful and I can pretty much guarantee you that my son and I would be there every week.  Especially if it was right down the street.  What better way to spend a Saturday morning than with a good cup of Starbucks and a newly acquired best seller of some sort to fill your weekend and mind with adventure, etc.  There is nothing like seeing your child’ s imagination hard at work in the middle of a great children’s book.                            - Lisa
				3 Nov                        Dark parks, new leaders  Regarding “When darkness falls, it crashes” (The Grapevine Independent, Oct. 27, 2006): I am disappointed that the elected leadership of the Cordova Recreation and Park Distrcit has failed to institute an effective light replacement program. This lack of planning is disturbing and sends a strong message that the current makeup of the parks board is not in touch with even our most basic expectations. Dark parks, like the one at Lincoln Village, breed fear among our residents. They see the lack of maintenance and poor lighting as precise indicators of the importance with which the parks board holds our facility. At the recent election forum at the Rancho Cordova Senior Center, I witnessed the problem firsthand. While incumbents inside were making excuses about the lack of funds, our park stood partially-lit and empty of activity. Such an observation made me wonder if any elected board member has visited our parks at night. Sadly, such excuses, a lack of leadership, and poor decision-making by the board are more the norm than the exception. While we continue to wait for a master plan to improve lighting and facilities within our parks, we must endure security issues which place residents and even park employees at risk. Months after the brutal attack of Ricky Dickerson, the board still has not created a comprehensive safety plan - or even begun efforts to create one. Our approval in June of a $19.80 assessment was headed for early trouble, because the board failed to identify how the money would be spent. In fact, they based that amount more on what they envisioned people would be willing to pay, rather than what was needed to improve the facilities. Lighting is just one of many problems that CRPD leadership has failed to address. In the end, one must look to their lack of leadership on a host of issues to both understand our current situation and the choice we must make on Election Day. Our residents deserve well-lit, quality parks that attract regional interest and highlight the diversity of our community. It is my hope that the upcoming election will encourage residents to make those points very clear to the incumbents, who appear unsympathetic and unwilling to explain their inaction. CRPD is in need of new direction, and I encourage everyone to cast their votes for new leadership next week.                       - Matt Cummings (First published in Grapevine Independent on 3 Nov 06)
	26 Nov        Butterfield Station and Lincoln Village                So Close, but oh So Far!  Lincoln Village residents --- and those folks who work here --- know that to use the light rail we can drive and park at Butterfield Station, which is just across US-50. It's a nice short hop and makes light rail use very convenient for trips downtown. But if we don't want to drive --- or for our teens who are without cars or our senior citizens who no longer can drive --- RT requires we take a #72 bus to either to the Watt/Manlove Station or go to Mills Station. Either of these options will add at least another 20 minutes to the trip. A recent experience has also shown me that at the wrong time of day --- when #72 is packed with school kids --- even that connection maybe iffy. I was passed by not one, but two #72 buses one morning and finally I walked to Butterfield. Can RT explain why there is no bus service directly from Butterfield to Lincoln Village or to the County Branch facilities were hundreds work, or to the National Guard HQ on Goethe? I've asked RT and so far I only have a form letter   -- "thank you for contacting RT" --- reply to show. What has your experience with RT's service to Lincoln Village been? Please let me know at Admin@LincolnVillage.org
	18 Nov          Hoped the Entire Place Burned Down [About the fire at the Old Bradshaw Inn, I] haven’t had a chance to drive by there this morning.  I know this is probably a terrible thing to say, but I hope the entire place burned down.  That may alleviate one problem that I have saw grow over the past year around here.                                   ~Lisa
	18 Nov     Fire at the old motel on Bradshaw Road  On Friday, 17 November, a two-alarm fire broke out at the empty motel on Bradshaw Road near US-50. First reports are that this blaze was likely started by some homeless folks using candles in a room where they were illegally camping. In fact, Metro Fire had been expecting that this --- otherwise empty --- building would have such a fire break out, sooner or later, due to the recent history of vagrants at this site. (Click here to read or watch CBS13 coverage of this fire.) This turn of events has also been expected by the Lincoln Village Neighborhood Association and its membership. On several occasions within the last year this property has had to be visited by police, fire fighters, and/or other government officials because of vagrants and code violations. During one raid, electric cords where found illegally being run into building. One LVNA member photographed a person coming and going from the site and provided those pictures to the city for their use in talking to the building's owner. LVNA this summer requested that Sacramento County's BERC agency contact the building's Bay-area owner to offer BERC's assistance in fixing up his mess. At the same time, LVNA attempted to reach the owner and express our concerns about the property and offer our support if he would make an effort to improve the property. At one point late in the summer, LVNA was advised that officials from the city of Rancho Cordova were attempting to meet with the owner. In my opinion, this owner is now just as guilty for the fire on Friday as the homeless people with the candle were. He has repeatedly been told there were problems, but he failed to adequately address the issues. The city of Rancho Cordova now needs to forcefully step in and take the lead in fixing not just this problem property, but in sending a very clear message to other owners that they are going to have to be responsible for addressing issues associated with their business properties. This is a classic case for the city's redevelopment program to kick in, remove a negligent owner from the picture and replace him with new partners who have vision and a willingness to meet the needs of this community.                               - Kevin Jenkins