Be Thankful and share your thanks

It's that time of year when no matter how rich or poor, we all begin to think about what we have and what we are thankful for. Each of us has something to give and to share. I'm taking this opportunity to repost an article I wrote for Joe Sacramento to remind everyone that there is something you can do today to make our community a little richer!

In this very moment, you can go to Joesacramento.com and chip in for holiday dinners for needy families. If you won't be having Thanksgiving this year because your family has hit hard times, email Joe and you may qualify for our help.

Loaves and Fishes-It doesn't take much to make the life of a homeless person a little brighter this season. Loaves and Fishes has a handy holiday wish list or you can donate online. It doesn't get much easier than that to help out and you don't have to leave your home.

Boys and Girls Club of Sacramento- Serving 6500 youth from ages 6 to 19 from all over Sacramento. They know what they’re doing and they do it well. You can volunteer with kids, teach classes, help with fundraising and auction materials and more.

Stanford Settlement- Right in our own backyard! Stanford Settlement is dangerously close to missing their budget required to stay open. Save a few lattes and help out the kids. They work hard to promote positive relationships for teens, give them a safe place to “hang out” and also provide emergency assistance, senior support and more.

Sacramento Children’s Home- Looking to meet a special child one on one and change the world one life at a time? This is it! Kids at the children’s home are lacking serious adult role models who can show them a way out of the horrid things they’ve seen. If that’s too personal, look at the wish list and buy something or volunteer for a special event.

Project Birthday- A one-time or repeat feel good warm fuzzy here! Throw a birthday party for a homeless child or a whole group! For $400 you can sponsor an entire party for 30 kids or you can donate supplies left from your kid’s last party.

Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services- Not just a food bank, SFBS provides family support, mother-baby classes, parenting classes, computer classes, clothing and supplies and much more. With over 800 volunteers, you know they’ll put you to work and value your committment. Can’t do it?

Hands On Sacramento- So it’s Friday and you have a few hours free tomorrow with no plans. What should you do? Visit this website and see who needs you right now for a few hours! Projects are short or long term and easily searchable by neighborhood, time and skills. If they don’t have something that fits your schedule, try Volunteer Match.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)- What happens when kids are caught in the middle? CASA steps in to find out what’s best for the child. You can be the first adult a child has ever experienced a positive relationship with. CASA provides the training, the materials and the support and you provide the loving heart to help.

Big Brothers Big Sisters- If you have a driver’s license, insured transportation and a big heart, you can be a big brother or big sister! Be the adult to hold an at-risk child accountable and you’ll see the rewards multiply.

Important questions left unanswered in the mayoral race

The Bee took the least effective route to endorsement in the mayoral race this weekend, an absurd attempt to get the election to extend until November. Really people, what happens if we accidentally elect Muriel Strand? It's possible, with the Bee's plan, that whomever the candidate listed at the top of the ballot would be elected. We've seen voter mistakes before so why would our editorial board want to encourage it?

Perhaps it is time the Bee took a serious approach to journalism and started asking some hard hitting questions. I've been thoroughly impressed with the research and detail that Joe Sacramento has put into these questions and I strongly encourage you to email Mayor Fargo (hfargo@cityofsacramento.org) and ask her these questions yourself. A few of Joe's best and my favorites:

In the 2008 State of the City address you disagreed with the Corps of Engineers’ AE flood zone designation, and stated you felt the levees were “strong as ever” —-yet in the KCRA debate with Johnson you agreed with him that we are in fact in severe danger of catastrophic flooding, and you were working hard with agencies to bring the levees up to 100, then 200 year flood protection levels. Can you please discuss the conflict between your two statements?

When members of the Metro Chamber recently complained that you were not responsive to their emails and inquiries, your response was that your job was complicated, and that your limited staff “triaged” requests daily–a word that paints a picture of a frantic hospital emergency room. If your office is so inundated with inbound help requests and questions from folks in our city who need your help, how do you justify missing 125 days of work since Oct 2005?

The NNFF (North Natomas Financial Plan) is said to be in flux now, and residents have heard that a $36 MILLION rebate to developers is even being proposed. Residents in N Natomas are paying EXTRA for amenities and public safety measures that were promised to them in the master plan for the area. What can North Natomas residents expect in terms of your commitment in seeing these broken commitments repaired? And, is it true that a $36 MIL rebate to developers is on the table?