From the SN&R blogs.

The return of Ray

Why is this man smiling? Because he’s back, baby! Multiple sources say former Sacramento City Manager Ray Kerridge has accepted a job as top executive over in Roseville. An official announcement should be coming any day.

Kerridge announced his resignation in mid-February, amid rumors that several council members wanted to fire him. At the time, he said he was going to work in the private sector.

Guess “private sector” was code for “getting another city manager job.”

Roseville officially started conducting interviews in mid-march. But they fired their city manager, Craig Robinson, back in November, reportedly because communication had “totally broken down” between Robinson and the council. If you don’t follow Roseville politics, don’t worry, it wasn’t Hot Tub Time Machine Craig Robinson. That guy would make an awesome city manager.

It’ll be interesting to see what Kerridge gets paid in his new gig. He was making $215,000 a year in Sacramento. But Roseville was paying its last city manager, Craig Robinson, $273,000. Running a city that’s one-fourth the size of Sacramento, for more money, with no troublesome flood plain to accidentally build houses in? I knew Kerridge was smart, but damn!

Compiled from Snog.

K Street: Sacramento’s mixed-up chameleon

Last week, the city council pushed forward on a scheme to reintroduce cars to K Street. The city’s approach reminds me of the children’s book The Mixed-up Chameleon by Eric Carle.

You remember? The chameleon goes to the zoo and becomes jealous of all the other animals there. He acquires a giraffe’s neck, a turtle’s shell and a human’s bowler hat, among many other mismatched parts.

“The chameleon was very hungry. But the chameleon was very mixed up. It was a little of this and a little of that. And it couldn’t catch the fly.”

The city’s new plan is to make the street a little like a pedestrian plaza, and a little like a regular downtown street. A little bit corporate shopping mall, a little bit edgy dance club and mermaid bar district. But unlike the chameleon, K Street can’t just magically wish to be itself again.

Anyway, videographer and SN&R intern Jacob Schantz went down to K to ask folks there how the street should be put back together. Seems I’m not the only one who’s a little skeptical of bringing back the cars. Check out this special video Streetalk at www.newsreview.com/snog.

Compiled from Snog.