Yesterday's front page of the Sacramento Bee featured a potential future view of the Tower Bridge, with a streetcar going right down the middle.

Sacramento and West Sacramento is currently considering the possibility of a new trolley line stretching from West Sacramento's town hall to the Sacramento Convention Center. Trolleys were ripped out of Sacramento streets years ago as ridership declined and cars became the preferred and/or only mode of transportation for Californians. Their potential return is obviously not because cars failed. Cars have been too successful, and have changed cities immensely. Now, the result in densely urbanized areas such as downtown Sacramento are traffic filled streets and limited parking.

The trolley plans would include stops at landmarks near or at the State Capital, Old Sacramento, Raley Field (and its proposed concert amphitheater), Downtown Plaza Mall, and the Convention Center/Memorial Auditorium. The West Sacramento section has an area known as the triangle which is being planned as a urban development, and Sacramento has off and on plans for development along capital mall and other parts of downtown, so it is possible the line would work.

One problem is, of course, money. At an estimated cost of $50-70 million, the Trolley may just stay in the barn of our dreams. With critics saying the Trolley must be self-supporting or economically viable, the chances decrease dramatically. Regional Transit recently discontinued a trolley-styled bus that ran through many of the same areas the new line would cover. The demise of that route was the low ridership statistics. With the recent poor performance of this bus, is it too much to ask of a new trolley to have phenomenal ridership? To make it economically viable, especially if considered a stand-alone venture, how much would need to be charged of passengers?

ValleyVue understands the critics that don't want to spend millions of dollars on a trolley just because some think it historically quaint or urban chic. However, these same critics must consider the idea that a trolley must not be considered as a venture unconnected to other development. The trolley can positively affect Sacramento in myriad ways. First, as always considered by proponents for public transportation, is the potential to reduce traffic. Workers and a growing population of residents could use the trolley and abandon short drives around the central city. West Sacramentans, who already are seeing traffic problems in rush hour getting from Yolo County to downtown across the few bridges available, may choose to ride a trolley that will quickly link them to light rail that goes throughout Sacramento County. Development can increase along trolley lines, as residents and businesses see it as a somewhat permanent commitment to their fledgling neighborhood. Disabled residents will have another opportunity to get from place to place. Environmentally, it makes sense to do things like increasing public transit ridership to Rivercats games.

Not to be forgotten is one use for public transportation that is often avoided by planners. The population of economically disadvantaged people use public transportation at disproportionately high rates. This is actually good for a city, (or two in this case), as it creates an opportunity for mobility for people that would otherwise not have it. Yes it possible to walk from the greyhound station to the Convention Center. However, motorized transport adds speed and climate control to that journey. Consider that walk in a 100 degree July day or a cold and rainy day in January.

If a trolley becomes a reality in Sacramento, it seems easy to see other opportunities for more in the area. With cooperation from business leaders who would need to welcome trolleys closer to stores than at the end of vast parking lots, a trolley could one day wind from the corner of Howe and Arden, up to Arden Faire mall, over to Cal Expo, right past a new Kings arena, under the freeway to the light rail stop. A streetcar may someday shuttle students from the University/65th light rail station through a college town business district before stopping a few times through the Sac State campus. Developers of the Railyard have already expressed an interest in including a trolley in the plans for that new area of downtown.

It all hinges on the success, or failure, of the first trolley project. Many years ago, people questioned whether or not Sacramento needed a light rail line. Now it branches into Folsom, down to Meadowview, and Sacramentans yearn for it to one day reach the airport. A trolley, once used and forgotten in the Capital City, could become another important public transportation success.

Realizing that this is a journal focused exclusively on the Central Valley of California, it would be remiss of ValleyVue to completely ignore the unprecedented disaster now facing the state. No, the Valley itself is not afflicted by fire. Even the smoke seems to be headed out to sea. However, as often as Californians have talked about dividing the state between north and south, there is unity in understanding this crisis. Besides, northerners can identify, having just had a similar, yet smaller-scale, destructive forest fire near Lake Tahoe. Californians know these fires will affect the whole state in many ways for a long time. The Valley, separated more by name of river (Sacramento vs. San Joaquin), more than any physical boundary, stretches and belongs to both southern and northern California.

Tragically, the fires now occurring near San Diego and Los Angeles have resulted in a huge number of displaced Californians. CNN was reporting that close to a million people have been evacuated. The first of the major fires shocked the state by burning through Malibu and causing evacuations at Pepperdine University. The next day, it seemed, fires had sprung up in the community around Lake Arrowhead and down toward the Mexican border. Thousands of structures have been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, and the fires are not yet under control.

A million people displaced, thousands of those with no homes to return to, will cause some movement of the population. Will people return to rebuild as soon as possible? What kind of infrastructure has been destroyed that must be replaced even for homes that haven't burned? Is there anything we can do to avoid these disasters in the future? Unfortunately, at this point, these questions must go unanswered. First and foremost, containment must be reached and the evacuees must be cared for. This disaster is not over yet.

Mallards Restaurant, a popular restaurant in Stockton, has closed its doors. The Sang family, owners of Mallards, were apparently operating the eatery at a loss. When the debt became too much, Mallards was closed, and employees and customers with deposits are hoping they will receive payment.

Mallards has been open in Stockton since 1991, and had a reputation for fine dining in town. Reviews often described the restaurant in glowing terms. It was voted best business lunch in the Stockton Record from 2000-2002. However, quality seemingly slipped a notch in the recent past, and the Record reported that patronship was dropping.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find success in the restaurant business. Even in a well established restaurant like Mallards, once quality falls, customers will stop coming. The Sangs did not own the building, and it is being reported that the owner is seeking a national chain restaurant to fill the vacancy.

Stocktonites are already openly speculating about the possibilities. The location, at Brookside and March Lane, seemingly is a strong selling point for any franchise. Hopefully a new quality restaurant will fill the void left by the closing of Mallards.

Sacramento icon Kevin Johnson has been recently reported on by the Sacramento Bee. Johnson, a former professional basketball player and Sacramento native, reportedly has let several of his properties in the Oak Park neighborhood become blighted. Johnson is well-known in Oak Park for his work in developing sections of that neighborhood, as well as heading a group that took over Sacramento High School.

It is possible that Johnson has overextended his reach. It is easy to see how this could have happened to Johnson, and very hard to criticize him for the work he has done. It seems clear his intentions are very good. The alternative--a greedy slum lord trying to make a buck by providing substandard facilities to the neighborhood--just doesn't feel right.

Johnson could have taken his money and his good name anywhere. He could have built his mansion in a gated community along Folsom Lake, or he could have stayed in Phoenix, a hero to a city that saw his Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals. Instead, Johnson tried and is trying to fix his home, a neighborhood that many have overlooked and allowed to fall into disrepair. Although Johnson does have support personnel, it can be hard to imagine his projects moving forward without his celebrity and charisma.

The problem is that Oak Park (or Del Paso Heights, Downtown, Meadowview, Broderick, etc.) cannot be fixed by one person. It can't be fixed by one group. Oak Park is the heart of Sacramento, central to the entire city. It's demise as a healthy community is a blow to the region, and the region must be involved in cleaning up the problem.

Oak Park is repeatedly listed as Sacramento's first suburb. Now it is the inner city. How does a place lose its luster? Lack of investment, inability to change, political focus on other areas. Oak Park, thanks to Johnson and new partners that join him that will hopefully bring resources and know-how to rebuild the community, will turn the corner. The Heights seems to be turning around as well. So where are Sacramento's "problem" neighborhoods? Hard to tell. Florin Road has lost dozens of businesses to relocation to Elk Grove, but development is beginning to turn back north. Rancho Cordova and Rio Linda still are struggling from the loss of their military bases. The saddest thing of all is Oak Park or any of these neighborhoods can fall again if those development funds and efforts fall to the wayside. Here's to hoping that Johnson receives the help he needs for truly creating his worthy visions for the neighborhood.

Hmm...are there any other multimillionaires (or billionaires) in town with connections to basketball that could use a public relations boost? Just sayin'...