Sacramento County Community Service & Support Digest

State law requires community colleges to spend at least half their general fund on instructors. But administrators say they want more flexibility to pay for the growing need for student services.

Dr. Ernest Uwazie, director of the university’s Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution, facilitates life-changing conversations between victims and offenders.

The Cherry Tea Collective—a club of artists, writers, photographers and other creatives—publishes a zine related to a specific charity organization. This year’s choice is Sacramento Loaves and Fishes.

Tiny homes are increasingly California cities’ shelter option of choice — but how far they go in solving homelessness is a contentious question.

After years of planning a broadband system to bridge California’s digital divide, officials deprioritized some low-income areas due to unexpected costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s committed to funding the entire network, but advocates are skeptical.

Despite an influx of money to counter learning loss during the pandemic, English language arts and math test scores remain low.

Toni McNeil recalls growing up on the south side of Stockton, where a sign outside the housing project where she lived read, “Stockton, Someplace Special.” She says, “Right under the sign folks were selling dope, smoking dope and banging.”

With the growing use of AI, campus officials are trying to set clear guidelines for college application essays.

Local nonprofit UniverSOUL Cafe has opened a culinary youth kitchen to address food insecurity in North Sacramento after receiving a $100,000 city grant.

The facts of climate change can lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair. Some California activists are creating communities for people to talk about those feelings.

The first of its kind in the California Capital Region, United Way started its guaranteed income program in 2021 with a $10 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

A Citrus Heights youth organization is frequently listed in police call logs, with its group homes drawing complaints from residents.

The CPUC is considering a rule that would gut the payments that solar panels on apartment buildings receive, and many housing groups are blazing mad about it.

After a historic decline in community college enrollment during the pandemic, students are returning to school again, according to the state’s most recent data. But students between the ages of 20 and 30 are lagging behind.

The Citrus Heights City Council voted to approve limited one-time funding to five local nonprofits, but declined to approve an application for funding from Sunrise Christian Food Ministry.

Several anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers are advertising abortion pill reversal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta calls the claims false advertising that mislead vulnerable patients.

The city of Sacramento is encouraging residents to celebrate 916 Day by volunteering at park events.

A last-minute legislative deal would raise pay for California health care workers while giving medical providers a guarantee that they won’t have to battle local measures on employee compensation.

Tiana Day was 17 when she organized and led her first protest march after the murder of George Floyd. Not long afterward, she founded her own nonprofit and raised $10,000 in college scholarships. A USC undergrad, Day is CEO of her own diversity consulting firm.

Now community workers with the Neighborhood Wellness Foundation are testing out new approaches to lower drug-related deaths in the area.

Many of the Latin American migrants who arrived in Sacramento via Florida-chartered planes could soon be responsible for paying rent while they still cannot legally work. Sacramento ACT, a faith-based community organization, can only guarantee housing until Sept. 30.

4-H members spoke to the Galt Herald as they weeded a raised bed at Barbara Payne Community Garden. Instead of livestock, Galt 4-H offers a range of other projects: art, crafts, baking, gardening and sewing. It is also adding photography and science.

CapRadio’s Mike Hagerty spoke with Brian Ferguson, deputy director with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, to learn more about the state’s response.

Camp Be’chol Lashon, in the rolling hills of Marin County, creates a safe space for candid conversations on race and identity.

Nearly 70 Black artists—poets, photographers, musicians, actors, writers, painters and others who work in different mediums— gathered in downtown Sacramento on July 29 to celebrate their existence.

Construction is under way at On Broadway, a new community in North Land Park that promises to add to Sacramento’s affordable housing stock and provide homes for people afflicted with serious mental illness.

A new law allows community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, an option for students unable to attend a four-year institution. But California State University officials are objecting to many of those proposed programs.

Last year California began providing free school lunches to all TK-12 students, regardless of family income. Now, with an influx of state and federal money, school districts are revamping kitchens and training staff so they can provide freshly made, healthy meals.

Sacramento’s African American Historic Context Statement is part of the city’s African American Experience History Project, an initiative to codify local Black history from 1839-1980 and recognize historic properties.

Since the arrival of 36 new Sacramento residents, a coalition of congregations has come together to help them settle in. It has meant shouldering unplanned costs of time, energy and money—all the result of the country’s polarization over immigration.

Frustration runs deep among medical cannabis patients and advocates who say the commercial market created by Proposition 64 in 2016 isn’t meeting their needs.

A Citrus Heights-based meal preparation company is working with a local nonprofit to provide culinary training to students and youths with disabilities.