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Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen loves mass surveillance almost as much as social media selfies. Here's a money-making idea for City Hall: charge surveillance fees for traffic tickets.

During a city council meeting this week, an Elk Grove resident asked a fair question that Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her four city councilmen ignored.

In this sarcastic Elk Grove News Minute commentary, we travel from America's frontier hangings to the Roman Empire and ask: Why stop at a firing squad? Why not crucifixion? A pointed look at capital punishment, political spectacle, and the meaning of civilization. More commentary at ElkGroveNews.net.

With just over three weeks until voting ends, the race for California’s 7th Congressional District is heating up.  The race features two Democratic Party candidates; Sacramento City Council member Mai Vang, who is challenging 10-term incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui. In this edition of Elk Grove News Podcasts, we talk with the upstart challenger Vang and learn more about her beyond the campaign rhetoric. Representative Matsui was invited for an interview on September 23, but as of October 8th, has not responded.  The invitation remains open.

The race between Doris Matsui and Mai Vang is nasty, but through all the mudslinging, one issue has gone unaddressed. That issue is Social Security's impending implosion.

This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed significant legislation sponsored by State Senator Angelique Ashby. Senate Bill 802 requires Sacramento County and its municipalities to form a joint powers authority to address homelessness as a regional issue. This landmark legislation carries risks and rewards, especially for Senator Ashby.

Something smells in the Sacramento suburb of Lincoln Grove. And no, it’s not coming from somebody’s garbage can. Well … not exactly. A woman named Helga has been sniffing around town, and she’s picked up the unmistakable aroma of something rotten.

If there is one thing every elected official wants, it is a favorable legacy. As we have often seen, however, that legacy is not what they hoped for.

Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer—and the beginning of election season. Midterm elections often cost the president’s party seats in Congress. But this election has an extraordinary dimension

Years ago, an Elk Grove elected official threw some shade our way by noting that Elk Grove News had a whopping audience of about 12 readers. We’ve worn that as a badge of honor ever since. After all, getting dissed by a politician is practically a journalism merit badge. And those 12 readers are very loyal.

This year, the most meaningful locally based elections in Elk Grove will be for the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Trustees. In two Elk Grove geographic districts, two conservative candidates will challenge liberal incumbents.

Regardless of your thoughts about the Iran War, Americans agree service members deserve the best our country can provide. The USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed for more than 260 days, and reportedly there are food shortages, plumbing problems, and poor sanitary conditions. The Pentagon disputes these reports.

The names Stasi and SAVAK may not be familiar to many Americans, but they were the feared secret police agencies used by the communist East German government and the Shah of Iran, respectively, to crush political dissent and punish those who opposed the regime.

As we enter August, even though kids are returning to school, at least in California, we are in the dog days of summer. August is remarkable in that it is the only month with no official or unofficial holiday in the United States. We have a solution perfectly suited to resolve this matter.

Were there other intentions behind the Elk Grove, Calif. City Council denial of the Oak Rose supportive housing project that costs taxpayers a $10 million settlement from two lawsuits? Or is this the makings of a novel about political corruption?