We want your voices

I still remember my first interview with Kevin Johnson. In the mayor’s office at City Hall, he went on, and on, about his vision to make Sacramento a cool place like Los Angeles, even a “world-class city”—so much longer than I expected that I got a parking ticket.

Since that talk in early 2010, the Golden 1 Center has opened, downtown development has picked up and shiny condo buildings have risen all over Midtown. So maybe some of K.J.’s vision is becoming reality. Sacramento is attracting Bay Area transplants, trendy millennials and other newcomers, and it’s growing and changing.

But there are also longtime residents in established neighborhoods, still the city’s backbone in many ways. There are people in poorer, disenfranchised communities that are not sharing in the prosperity. And in all these places, there are different problems, priorities and views of what should happen next.

The challenge—and maybe the secret to Sacramento’s success—is to bridge these differences so all of us move forward, together.

To do that, it’s crucial to make sure all viewpoints get heard. We’ll do our part: In the months ahead, SN&R will become an expanded forum for these voices.

One way is through essays and commentaries from residents and readers on local issues. You won’t get paid, but you will get your name in the paper and get to express your views in public.

Submissions should be about 500 words and cannot have been published; timely, topical and, of course, well-written pieces will get preference. They can be sent directly to me at foonr@newsreview.com. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.