September 2006

  SOUND OFF
29 September
                         Supports Measures J and K

At the LVNA meeting on 26 September, while residents and
guests were talking about the City of Rancho Cordova's plans
to resurface Explore and Vanguard Drives, it was noted that the
Sacramento City Unified School District has still failed to back
any of the suggestions made last year for improving the
sidewalks and traffic flow into A.M. Winn Elementary School.
These are important safety issues, effecting children walking to,
or being dropped off and picked up from that site. Yet SCUSD
remains silent on these matters and there is no single person
that we, in Lincoln Village, can turn to for help.

This is a large district with many pressing needs and issues.
The problems of one school site are too easily overlooked
without a strong voice at the school board to speak on the
behalf of the school, its kids, its parents or its staff.
Unfortunately the current "at large" makeup of this school board
fails to give a voice to this part of the district. There is no one
board member local parents can turn to for help on issues like
this.

The good news is that Measures J an K on this November's
ballot gave a chance for voters to fix this mess. If passed, these
measures will change how board members are selected. There
will no longer be seven members elected from across the entire
length and span of the whole district, instead each of the seven
would be elected from a small geographic piece of the district.
In our case Rosemont, Lincoln Village and Countryside would
have a board member we would elect and therefore a single
person to call on when the need arises.

For a district so large and diverse, this change makes good
sense. It will finally give us someone to reach out to. I'm voting
"yes" on Measure J and Measure K, how about you?

                                 - Kevin J.
29 September
                              The Landing
                   former called Bradshaw Landing
                   before that called.....

The developer who has been trying to replace the old drive-in
movies with a new shopping center on the northwest side of
Bradshaw Road and US-50 will be back in Sacramento soon to
present his newest version of this dream to the Board of
Supervisors. This project has gone through several names and
now appears to be simply called "The Landing".  (Last year it
was "Bradshaw Landing".)

A Revised Environment Impact Report is now available for
anyone with the time to look through its 500 or so pages. (Click
here for the LVNA update and link to the EIR.)

Our neighbors across US-50, in the Butterfield and East La
Riviera areas were not happy a few year ago with this project,
given the traffic it would bring. There doesn't seem to be any
big change for them cheer about in the current version, so far
as the traffic goes.

Nor is there a grocery to replace the closed Ralph's down at the
Old Placerville and Bradshaw Roads shopping center.

LVNA is asking a representative from the project to speak to
the neighbors soon. Frankly, this is way overdue. We need and
want places that have upscale dining and some quality stores.
(As our friend Dan has recently noted, there still isn't a place in
Rancho Cordova for us guys to buy a decent men's suit.) The
developer came once a year or so back to show us how great
this project would be, but they should have continued to have a
dialog with us, not go hide for a year or more and then come
back just before going to the county with a final plan.

We are listening. This better be darn good.

                             - Kevin J
26 September
                        The Bee reduces coverage

Sunday's edition (24 Sept.) of the Bee noted that it will stop its
"Folsom - Rancho Cordova" section on Sundays, leaving only the
Thursday edition to carry our local news.

Someone please explain to me, how with all the growth of homes,
businesses, and news stories along the 50-Corridor that cutting
coverage about this area makes any sense.

Maybe our Grapevine publisher, David Herburger, should
consider aggressively expanding the old weekly, if the Bee
doesn't think there is much worthy news east of Sac State.
                                                     - Kevin J
2 September

                      Regarding the now empty Ralph's store .

Has anyone thought to contact Trader Joe's?

I'd love to see a Trader Joe's or even Whole Foods open up
there. I shop at both --- actually more at Whole Foods as they
seem a bit "closer" to Lincoln Village. The Trader Joe's located at
Sunrise actually "looks" smaller than Ralph's so our location could
provide a means for expansion.

The prices at Trader Joe's are usually cheaper than Whole Foods
too.

If not a grocery store, how about a Barns & Noble, Ross, or
Marshall's? Those would/could work there, or a combination of
those stores.

Thanks

                                  - Ann Colbourn



Our neighbors across US-50, in the Butterfield and East La
Riviera areas were not happy a few year ago with this project,
given the traffic it would bring. There doesn't seem to be any
big change for them cheer about in the current version, so far
as the traffic goes.

Nor is there a grocery to replace the closed Ralph's down at the
Old Placerville and Bradshaw Roads shopping center.

LVNA is asking a representative from the project to speak to
the neighbors soon. Frankly, this is way overdue. We need and
want places that have upscale dining and some quality stores.
(As our friend Dan has recently noted, there still isn't a place in
Rancho Cordova for us guys to buy a decent men's suit.) The
developer came once a year or so back to show us how great
this project would be, but they should have continued to have a
dialog with us, not go hide for a year or more and then come
back just before going to the county with a final plan.

We are listening. This better be darn good.

                             - Kevin J

Our neighbors across US-50, in the Butterfield and East La
Riviera areas were not happy a few year ago with this project,
given the traffic it would bring. There doesn't seem to be any
big change for them cheer about in the current version, so far
as the traffic goes.

Nor is there a grocery to replace the closed Ralph's down at the
Old Placerville and Bradshaw Roads shopping center.

LVNA is asking a representative from the project to speak to
the neighbors soon. Frankly, this is way overdue. We need and
want places that have upscale dining and some quality stores.
(As our friend Dan has recently noted, there still isn't a place in
Rancho Cordova for us guys to buy a decent men's suit.) The
developer came once a year or so back to show us how great
this project would be, but they should have continued to have a
dialog with us, not go hide for a year or more and then come
back just before going to the county with a final plan.

We are listening. This better be darn good.

                             - Kevin J