State of Downtown speaker pushes for strong mayor - Sacramento Business Journal:

John Hickenlooper, who went from a small brew pub owner to mayor of Denver and is now running for Colorado governor, on Tuesday urged the passage of a strong-mayor system for Sacramento.

“You can’t get the collaboration you need with the city manager form of government,” said Hickenlooper, whose city of Denver provides the mayor even more power than most strong-mayor cities. Hickenlooper's remarks came at the Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s “State of Downtown” breakfast.

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong-mayor effort to increase mayoral powers is on hold, as a judge recently ruled the initiative should be removed from the June ballot.

Hickenlooper also urged officials and downtown business owners to collaborate to spur redevelopment downtown. Denver has been largely lauded for its rebuilt and reinvigorated downtown, aided immensely by the presence of three sports and entertainment venues. Hickenlooper didn’t pass judgement on whether Sacramento should follow the same course with its bid for a new sports and entertainment complex.

But he noted that Denver’s revitalization was accomplished largely through collaboration. When he opened his brew pub, he ignored advice to the contrary and advertised competing restaurants within his establishment to help build the reputation of the area.

Johnson, who also spoke at the event, emphasized that no decision has been made about where to put a new arena. He continued to push for Sacramento to become a “world-class city.” (Story Continued...)

State of Downtown speaker pushes for strong mayor - Sacramento Business Journal:

Bob Shallit: Tourists may go underground in Old Sacramento - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

Look out below!

Sacramento is likely to become the third West Coast city to start offering tourist-pleasing excursions through its "underground."

Assuming City Council members today approve a $185,000 loan request, the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation in May will begin guided tours of the storefronts and sidewalks that constituted this city's original downtown before streets were raised 10 feet or more in the 1860s and '70s to cope with flooding.

The idea: highlight Sacramento's "unique identity" as the only California city (and one of three on the West Coast) to raise its streets, says HOSF Executive Director Marcia Eymann, who's been working with a committee for a year to iron out tour details. (Story Continued...)

Bob Shallit: Tourists may go underground in Old Sacramento - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

NBA, Kings back major land swap - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

The National Basketball Association announced Thursday it is backing a dramatic land-swap proposal that would move the State Fair to the Arco Arena site in Natomas and build a new arena and entertainment complex next to the downtown train depot. The intricate proposal – involving three prime pieces of Sacramento real estate – was unveiled Thursday night by a team of local developers, with international financiers and NBA executives at their side.

The concept, offered by Gerry Kamilos, a suburban Sacramento land developer, is the most spectacular of seven arena concepts submitted in response to a request from Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Saying 22-year-old Arco Arena is outdated and warning that the Kings may jump town, Johnson issued a call in November for developer proposals for a new sports and entertainment facility.

Details of the seven submissions were offered at a City Hall forum Thursday night. But the real action happened later a few blocks away at the Citizen Hotel, where Kamilos and NBA officials unveiled details of an ambitious land-swap concept involving Cal Expo, Arco Arena and an eight-acre piece of city-owned land at the downtown railyard. NBA officials said they and the Maloof family, owners of the Kings, support the concept because it has what other proposals don't – private investors willing to put up money.(Story Continued...)

NBA, Kings back major land swap - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Mix Downtown is upscale fun - Sacramento Entertainment - Sacramento Movie Theaters, Music | Sacramento Bee

To describe Mix Downtown as upscale does not do it justice. This bar-nightclub is a slice of class in the middle of Sacramento.

The club, owned by brothers Mason, Curtis and Alan Wong of Mason's, Ma Jong's and The Park, is upstairs in the old Firestone building. Walk through the entrance, a small doorway between two other businesses, and ascend a flight of concrete stairs flanked on either side by mirrors, or take the sleek, modern stainless-steel elevator to find yourself in a dim, spacious bar furnished with dozens of couches, comfortable wing-back chairs and wooden tables large and small.

There are several private seating areas around the perimeter available by reservation, ideal for small gatherings. Here you can order a bottle service, which ranges from $80 to $550, depending on your desired beverage and budget, and have an intimate conversation as candlelight flickers off the mirrored walls. (Story Continued...)

Mix Downtown is upscale fun - Sacramento Entertainment - Sacramento Movie Theaters, Music | Sacramento Bee

Open house set for airport light-rail line - Sacramento Business Journal:

Sacramento Regional Transit District is holding two open house events to provide information about a future light-rail line to the airport.

The public events are planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 29 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 30 at the North Natomas Library, 4600 Via Ingoglia Road, Sacramento.

Referred to as the Downtown-Natomas-Airport light-rail extension, or Green Line, the project would extend light rail 13 miles north from downtown Sacramento to the River District, through Natomas and on to Sacramento International Airport.

Phase 1, to the River District at Seventh Street and Richards Boulevard, is under construction and set to open in January 2011. (Story Continued...)

Open house set for airport light-rail line - Sacramento Business Journal:

Sacramento's Sterling Hotel to stay open, but Chanterelle closes - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

With rumors swirling and stunned employees at its restaurant scrambling to find work, the stately Sterling Hotel will remain open during a change in management.

But Chanterelle, the adjoining upscale restaurant at 15th and H streets in Sacramento, has closed as the owners put that part of the building through a major renovation and look for a new concept.

Amid competition from scores of new and stylish downtown eateries, Chanterelle was decidedly old-fashioned – quiet and cozy with a touch of elegance, housed in a 115-year-old Victorian.

Bay Miry of D&S Development, which owns the property, said the 17-room boutique hotel will stay open during the transition. The company is in talks with local catering companies to handle upcoming weddings and other events, he added.

The restaurant, which recently received a three-star review (out of four stars) in The Bee, will be reimagined and expanded, Miry said.

Sacramento's Sterling Hotel to stay open, but Chanterelle closes - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

A memory of grandness - Sacramento Living | Sacramento Bee

Alkali Flat is Sacramento's oldest residential neighborhood, but it's not the easiest place for an outsider to love. It is at once eclectic and a bit timeworn.

However, two men who set out to tell its story eventually did fall in love with "the Alkali," as residents call it.

Alkali Flat was born in 1852 as the exclusive enclave of Sacramento's earliest movers and shakers. There, just north of downtown, they built grand mansions and surrounded them with exquisite gardens. Many homes have survived and have been beautifully restored, a testament to the fortitude of a neighborhood that has changed – yet in many ways has stayed the same – over 158 years. (Story Continued...)

A memory of grandness - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee

Dine Downtown event scheduled for January - Dining - sacbee.com

Dine Downtown event scheduled for January - Dining - sacbee.com

The fifth annual Dine Downtown Restaurant Week will run from Jan. 8-17.

The popular Downtown Sacramento Partnership event was extended for a second weekend to give diners more chances to visit the 36 participating restaurants.

The restaurants will offer three-course, prix-fixe dinners at $30 per person.

Restaurants include venerable spots such as the Broiler, contemporary favorites such as Esquire Grill and hotel locations such as Morgan's at the Sheraton.

For more information, go to www.downtownsac.org/dinedowntown.