Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office said that within accordance with Jessica’s Law, registrants are required to live no closer than 200 yards to a school or park, but that there is some question as to exceptions within these restrictions.

“There is a lot of vagueness with Jessica’s Law and who it applies to.” said Dana Simas with the Attorney General’s office. Jessica’s Law requires inmates be screened to determine if they should be categorized as Sexually Violent Predators, provides Global Positioning System monitoring for High Risk Sex Offenders, and reduces parole caseloads through additional hires so agents can more closely monitor offenders.

According to the Megan’s Law website, roughly 25 percent of offenders may not be listed due to the terms of their parole or their conviction date.  Registrants in Rancho Cordova are within the 200 yard limit with the exception of one, who lives closer than 200 yards to a local elementary school according to Google-Maps.  

As explained by the Attorney General’s office, this situation arises when an offender has lived in the area for a certain length of time and can depend upon how long ago they were convicted.

The Attorney General’s Office also confirmed that there are constant efforts to improve the tracking of these offenders and insure that these laws are enforced and public safety is maintained. 

Principal at W.E. Mitchell Middle School, Jay Berns, said that the school has been without incident and has been very impressed with the cooperation from the Rancho Cordova Police Department.

“The reality is that we try to be as proactive as possible,” said Berns.

Berns went on to say that “safety is paramount” and that “constant supervision” is necessary to keep the kids safe whether at school, coming to school, or leaving school.  

W.E. Mitchell has a registered offender only 0.3 miles away, less than a 54 second drive.  

Berns made it clear that the sex offenders that register are better than the ones that do not, and that enforcing the old “stranger-danger” idea to kids was still effective.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to bring unnecessary attention to any one person or group of people. It is intended to show that despite obeying California laws, several sex offenders still live remarkably close to schools and or parks. The purpose is to inform the public and give links to resources, to better protect their children and the children within their neighborhoods.

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The one dollar fee is expected to generate nearly one million dollars annually for the already stressed transit system.  Even with the impending one dollar parking lot fee being valid for the whole day, will patrons of the Regional Transit System still ride?

Alane Masui, with the Regional Transit District, says that the increase is not expected to reduce ridership.

The Regional Transit District conducted focus groups to determine whether or not the fee would have an impact on the volume of users, and determined that the fee was justifiable. Masui went on to say that with the current gas prices and downtown parking costs, riders utilizing the Regional Transit bus or train to get to their destinations are still saving money, regardless of having to pay a one dollar RT parking lot fee.

Monthly passes have been proposed by transit staff, but no word as to what the final program will entail.

The daily parking fee will increase revenue for the Sacramento Regional Transit System, however the program will not provide new jobs in parking enforcement or daily pass sales.

The fee will not be collected until the program has received board approval, which is currently pending.

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Clean Energy Systems, Inc. and D3 LED both received awards from the City Council and the economic development department.  Clean Energy Systems, Inc. received the Neighborhood Pioneer award for its work and innovation with the uses of aerospace technology to create clean and pollutant free energy.  Executive Vice President Steve Doyle of Clean Energy System, Inc. accepted the award on the company’s behalf.

D3 LED, producer of intricate LED digital displays, received the Exceptional Enterprise award for the growth of the business over the last two years, successfully doubling its sales every year.  George Pappas, a managing partner of D3 LED, accepted the award.  The business’ corporate headquarters is located in Rancho Cordova and conducts business as far away as New York city.

Megan McMurty with Rancho Cordova Economic Developmentecon says that eight awards are given to community businesses each year.  McMurty calls Rancho Cordova, “a really good base for industry.”

“Our general goal is just to promote community prosperity…and retain the businesses that we have here..,” said McMurty.

The city of Rancho Cordova will continue honoring its local community businesses for their hard work and dedication.

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Due to their desire to preserve the history of the steam engine era, this group of individuals dubbed The Steamers, have never in their 37 years charged to ride these small wonders. Funded largely by grants and donations, The Steamers have brought an educational experience to both young and old through the use of these small scale ride-able trains.

From March to October on the first and third Sunday of each month, these miniature locomotives are moving full speed ahead doing what they do best; making people smile. Every year The Steamers participate in a number of events hosted at Hagan Community Park. In addition, they also host two separate fundraisers; one around Halloween and another for Christmas.

“Our real purpose of it is to preserve the allure, history and wonder of the steam era,” says Lee Frechette, vice-president of the organization.

At this present time, the track and museum are down for yearly maintenance and repair. However, with the substantial donations of materials from local construction firms and through the volunteers of AmeriCorps, the track will re-open in March as planned. This project has not only received support from Rancho Cordova city council members, but has also received a number of generous donations.

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The school district would need to cut spending by $10.5 million, and that may include jobs within the district.  A notice on the budget section of the FCUSD website suggests that cuts to employment are a definite possibility. However, the cuts will most likely begin in administrative areas and positions before reductions in other positions, according to the budget website.

“We know that we have to prepare for reductions in services for the coming year(s), but the lack of direction from the state compounds the problem,” said Superintendent Patrick Godwin in a written message regarding the budget crisis.

The San Juan Unified School District is also facing problems regarding the budget.

“I think that you’ll find this across all of the districts,” said Trent Allen of the San Juan Unified School District.

A list of important dates is available on the budget portion of the FCUSD  website  sites that March 13, 2009 is the legal deadline for the delivery of layoff notices to certificated employees of Folsom Cordova schools.  The timeline also includes deadlines for notice of classified employees as well as an anticipated approval of the budget preliminary dated June 18, 2009.

For now all that the district can do is wait for funding and a resolution to the state budget stalemate.

No one from the Folsom Cordova Unified School District was available for comment.

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This location is one of 12 Sacramento Works sites in the Sacramento area and is funded by Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA) through the Work Force Investment Act of 1998. During any given month the Rancho Cordova branch alone sees 50 to 60 people per day, and 80 to 100 people per day during well publicized events like job fairs. Sacramento Works provides workforce development to give the upper hand to local job seekers with the use of critical tools like resume writing programs and job placement assessments.  On-site job fairs with local employers are also offered as a part of the Sacramento Works program.  Bilingual staff are available to individuals in need of language assistance.

Through outside support, Sacramento Works provides advice on how to clean up a criminal record and what you can do to expunge or improve that record for employment. With the use of online.onetcenter.org clients are not only able to find jobs in their area, but can also view projections on that particular job path in years to come.

According to the Site Supervisor Mario Montes, many people utilizing their services have been with a single company for years.  However, after a business closure, some of these individuals are finding they have limited skills when it comes to job hunting, resume writing or training in other lines of work. Montes insights that Sacramento Works has been able to help nearly any age, from 14 up, due to their partnerships with organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons and Crossroads.

Montes also says that with help from local businesses Sacramento Works has been able to place people with companies like Little Caesars Pizza.  Interviews for jobs at local businesses are even offered in house at Sacramento Works facilities.

When asked what type of individual acquires a job before the other guy, Montes replies, “The more skills the better.”

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