Captain Shawn Condit began his fire service career with American River Fire Department on August 4, 1990. In 2000, American River Fire District and Sacramento County Fire Protection District merged to become the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, also known as Metro Fire. Shawn is the Truck Captain at Fire Station 109 where he oversees a truck crew of three firefighters. Station 109 is located in the Carmichael community and is unique in that this is where the Hazardous Materials unit is housed. Captain Condit coordinates the Hazardous Materials program for our department.

Throughout his career, Captain Condit has demonstrated leadership on multiple levels. Aside from being an excellent company officer, he has been a leader in the Hazardous Materials Program. His tenure in the program provides the stability needed while offering training opportunities for his crew. Captain Condit and his crew willingly take on new employees and are often called upon by the training cadre to work with academies and probationary employees. When these new individuals spend time with his crew, they are provided with a positive experience and given information that will hopefully move them down the road through the process. In addition to all his regular responsibilities at the station, Captain Condit must maintain his Hazardous Materials certification, putting added responsibility upon himself.

In addition to his hard work at Metro Fire, Captain Condit serves as a Metro Director with the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 union. This is an elected position by his peers. Shawn has held a position within the Union for over 10 years. He is an acknowledged leader within the union, and over the last 10 years he has moved up the ranks, starting out as a shift representative and eventually moving into the elected position he currently holds. He continues to do an outstanding job of representing the union members of our organization.

As Metro Director, Captain Condit represents the membership in many different ways. During our last contract negotiation, Captain Condit demonstrated calm, consistent leadership during the negotiation and confirmation process, acting as the facilitator for these meetings. He allowed for spirited but respectful debate. During these meetings, he is often involved in matters that are sensitive in nature and does not violate confidence. It is this trustworthiness that makes him an excellent Union officer and, by extension, Company Officer.

As a Union leader he takes a positive role in a needed position. Often times, employees are referred to him by management. His ability to listen fully to their problems and then calmly and positively advise them on a course of action tends to benefit both the department and the member. He acts in the best traditions of Union leadership and through this process, the matter is often resolved at the lowest level.

To be a leader, particularly as a firefighter, your work ethic must be self-evident. Since an outstanding work ethic is common at Metro Fire it is difficult to point out where one employee’s efforts are better than another, however in the case of Captain Condit he stands out each and every day. Many excellent company officers come to work and do their assignments and perform admirably, but taking a leadership position in the Union and Haz Mat program shows that Captain Shawn Condit is willing to give of himself to this department and its members. He is well respected within the Department, the Union and his crew.

Fire Chief Todd Harms was honored to name Captain Shawn Condit as Metro Fire’s 2016 Suppression Employee of the Year.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (Sac RT) has been relentlessly optimizing business practices over the past eight months to bring its financial house in order, and the positive results are very encouraging. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, Sac RT is trending below budget. This has allowed Sac RT to develop a budget for FY 2018 that is expected to be $1.6 million less than the prior year.

 Additionally, by working diligently over the past year with rating agencies, last week Sac RT received great news from Moody’s, a bond credit rating service, that upgraded Sac RT’s bond rating from “negative” watch to “stable” outlook, which will help Sac RT to issue future bonds at a much better interest rate for regional capital projects. The significant transformation that Sac RT has made in the last year, as well as strong political support and strong board governance, is building up RT’s long-term financial stability, which will continue to move Sac RT in a new direction.

Under the direction of Henry Li, General Manager/CEO, Sac RT committed to strengthening its finances while making the system more clean, safe and convenient for riders. Sac RT has identified innovative revenue sources, strengthened its finances and reduced expenses to fund maintenance and capital investments. By aggressively containing costs and pursuing revenue enhancement opportunities, Sac RT has secured more than $3 million in operating funding, which helped enhance customer services.

“At a time when many public agencies are increasing budgets, we have been able to reduce ours. We are figuring out innovative ways to do more with less.” said Henry Li, General Manager/CEO. “Our number one priority is the customer, and the ability to reduce the annual budget without cutting service or increasing fares is a huge victory from where Sac RT was a year ago.”

Based on these positive trends, Sac RT projects to add to its fund balance for the first time in three years, and build up an emergency cash reserve of $6 million (with a 2017 year-end goal of $9 to $10 million). This will go a long way towards reducing Sac RT’s reliance on its line of credit to pay bills, a goal set by the Board of Directors.

By building strong employee and labor relations, Sac RT has been able to identify ways to reduce the annual increases associated with salaries and benefits that continue to offer value to employees, at a sustainable cost. There will only be a small increase in spending in this category for FY 2018, which is expected to be $1.95 million, or 1.8 percent, a modest amount for an organization that provides over 1,000 jobs to the region.

Long-awaited plans for renovating one of the region’s oldest private country clubs is officially underway at North Ridge Country Club, involving a $3.5 million overhaul that promises members and guests at the club alike a trail of new greens and bunkers on par with some of the finest courses in the world.

The club’s membership overwhelmingly approved the renovation plan and began the bid process for contracting roughly a year ago, ultimately selecting Palo Alto-based Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects (RTJ II) for the project, which is credited for development of more than 270 golf courses across 40 countries and six continents.  “We got it down to three finalists for the design of our new course, and then we took it down to one, and RTJ II won out,” said North Ridge General Manager, Rink Sanford.

During an April 6 groundbreaking for the project, Robert T. Bruce Charlton, president and chief design officer for RTJ II, said the course would be going from good to outstanding, likening the ultimate overhaul to a “My Fair Lady” transformation, Sanford said.

“I love the quote Robert gave at our ground-breaking,” said Sanford. “He said ‘I like to compare North Ridge Country Club to a classy older woman who is beautiful and graceful, but just in need of a new dress.’  To me, his description just perfectly crystalizes what North Ridge is all about and how beautiful she really is.”

RTJII founder Robert Trent Jones, who passed away in 1987, is known for cutting trail of legendary successes in the completion of some of the country’s most notable golf courses, beginning with a winning contract to design the Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta in collaboration with golf legend Bobby Jones, followed up by securing a commission to redesign the 11th and 16th holes at Augusta National Golf Club.

Coveted for its high-elevation and rolling terrain, North Ridge Country Club was founded in 1952 by architects William Francis Bell and his son, Billy Jr., renown for crafting elite courses at Rivera Country Club, Bel-Air Country Club and Torrey Pines, among others.

The 18-hole parkland golf course at North Ridge Country Club is spread across approximately 165 rolling green acres on Madison Avenue in Fair Oaks.  Although the club’s event center and adjacent buildings were renovated in 1997, the 63-year old course itself, says Sanford, will be getting its first upgrade, a much needed makeover to keep the facility competitive with other private clubs in the region and beyond.

“This is a fine course and we have good conditions, but what we are really doing now is modernizing and making an investment in our course to stay competitive in the private club market,” Sanford said.

North Ridge was designed incorporating an old push-up mound construction method, explained Sanford, which has, over time, created drainage issues for the course, spurred by deteriorating root structures, all of which have created challenges for players and rendered the course vulnerable to erosion.

“Our forefathers picked a phenomenal place to put in a course,” said Sanford.  “We are at the highest point in the area and we are blessed with a lot of rolling hills and terrain, but the old push-up method that was used to design the course originally needs to be addressed.”

Sampson said that the course’s natural elevation changes will allow RTJII to redesign the club’s greens and bunkers to take advantage of its hilly topography in ways “that were simply not possible many years ago,” adding construction of the new greens and bunkers will be achieved without disrupting mature trees that have called North Ridge home for decades.

“Today, players really want greens with solid drainage, and so what this will do for us is allow us to keep the mature trees and the rolling hills, but in and around the greens and bunkers we’ll be adding better drainage to bring the course in line with some of the most competitive, high-caliber golf courses anywhere in the world,” Sanford said.

Meanwhile, high-quality, temporary bentgrass sod greens are being created to offer members temporary greens to utilize during the construction process.

In addition to the cache of a world-class design firm capturing the bid for the renovations, the renovation project will also have a local touch.  RTJII’s Senior Project Architect, Mike Gorman was raised in Sacramento and is reported to have grown up playing the course.  “This is like home to us,” RTJII’s Charlton said.  “We travel all around the world, and having a project near our offices in Palo Alto, with Mike’s family still living in Sacramento, makes this extra special.”

The new course is expected to officially open in early 2018, Sanford said. While there are no increases on the horizon this year for membership fees, it is anticipated that fees will increase once the new course is fully operational.  The current annual membership fee for North Ridge is $6,500, however, due to the construction, which is expected to run through August, the club is offering a promotion of $4,500, which runs through June.

“The long-term hope is that once the new course is up and fully operational in early 2018, our membership price will go up, and that will be in keeping with what’s going on with other clubs and membership fees at private courses across the country,” Sanford said.

Membership at North Ridge, said Sanford, is currently at 463, near full capacity. To cover the costs of the project, members voted to each pay their share of the $3.5 million, for a total of roughly $8,000 or $60 a month each.

Aegis of Carmichael has brought Laura Wayman, nationally renowned author and dementia expert, to Carmichael. Wayman is the author of, A Loving Approach to Dementia Care, published by John Hopkins University Press. This Monday Wayman did a live broadcast of her radio show The Dementia Whisperer, from Aegis and will also be speaking at the community on Tuesday, April 25.

“I’m going to tell you a story,” said Wayman, in response to the question of how she began her current career. She then revealed a tale of young love and happily married life of a couple whose world and lives were devastated, and even lost as a result of dementia. Her parents.

After witnessing their struggles with the progressive disease, Wayman has devoted her life to education and outreach about dementia and Alzheimer’s. “Laura is a dedicated Gerontologist (A.A. degree in Gerontology, Social Services Designee Certification). She has presented keynote speeches, workshops, in-services, classes, trainings and seminars up and down the west coast on Dementia Care,” said Steffany Jamison, Marketing Director for Aegis Living of Carmichael.

Aegis engaged Wayman to speak to its staff on how to recognize the signs of dementia and utilize techniques to decrease the often stressful situations. Jamison said, “Aegis of Carmichael was fortunate to have Laura speak to our staff for an in-service training, and they were mesmerized and, without doubt, the most attentive ever, during an educational gathering.”

Jamison continued, “Her material will provide the opportunity for audience members to feel a full range of emotion, from tears to laughter, and comfortably relate to sometimes serious and disturbing information, leaving with a new sense of confidence, purpose and direction.”

As part of Aegis’ own outreach, they have asked Wayman to return April 25, from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Her presentation is open to the public. The first 25 people to RSVP will receive a free copy of Wayman’s book, courtesy of Aegis. Light refreshments and complementary valet parking will be provided. To reserve seating, contact Aegis of Carmichael at (916)972-1313.

In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments unanimously voted to pass Senator Jim Nielsen’s measure to fix a security flaw the state’s voter file.

“Our democracy is an honor system based on trust,” said Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama). “We must do everything we can to protect its integrity and keep the trust of the people. This measure will help ensure that trust.”

“I thank my colleagues on the committee for their support,” added Senator Nielsen.

Senate Bill 682, if passed, would prohibit the Department Motor Vehicles (DMV) from giving the Secretary of State electronic information needed to complete the voter registration affidavit for ineligible voters who hold special drivers’ licenses for noncitizens.

California’s current online voter registration system automatically allows the voter registration of anyone with a drivers’ license who self-certifies that they are eligible to vote – including individuals DMV knows to be ineligible because they were issued special noncitizen drivers’ licenses. These noncitizen drivers’ licenses do not establish voter eligibility, yet the online voter registration system only requires a drivers’ license number. As a result, undocumented residents may be unlawfully registered to vote.

There is no protocol for communication between the Secretary of State and the Department of Motor Vehicles to prevent these registrants from being approved under current law.

“Keeping the voter roll clean and up-to-date is a challenging task. This bill helps fill a gap in the security of the voter roll,” said Candace Grubbs, Butte County Elections Clerk-Recorder.

Senator Nielsen represents the Fourth Senate District, which includes the counties of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba. To contact Senator Jim Nielsen, please call him at 916-651-4004, or via email at senator.nielsen@sen.ca.gov.

Whether you want a dark pour over from Sumatra, a Guatemalan latte, or a tidy macchiato made with beans from Africa, the baristas at Insight Coffee Roasters in Milagro Center are ready to brew it to your liking.

Insight Coffee Roasters, which officially opened in January, joins the growing list of eateries and cafes quickly filling up the space at Milagro Center, rounding out its café experience with home-made pastries and house granola, and of course, a java menu fit for the most persnickety of coffee coinsures.

“We’re growing by the week here,” says Alex Muir, Milagro Café Supervisor, who has just trained his fifth employee, Carmichael resident, Jesse Song. “We now have six employees, including me.”

In fact, business is so brisk, in particular on weekends during the before and after dinner rush at nearby restaurants, Insight recently extended its weekend hours and is now open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings. With its large, open-air positioning, and a double-sided brew bar that can accommodate roughly 20 customers at a time, Insight is an ideal spot to sit, sip and enjoy the market atmosphere.

“We love being right here in the center of the action where people are always coming and going around us, and we are looking forward to our new neighbors coming in,” Muir said. “It’s a great spot to enjoy a coffee, meet up with friends and maybe even grab desert.”

Insight keeps the menu simple with three single-origin coffees to choose from on its menu at any given time, typically one from Africa, another from the Indo-Pacific region, and one from the Americas. In addition to a standard house brew at the ready, Insight’s brew bar offers a variety of pours, including one from a Brew Chemix, which looks like something you’d have used in chemistry class, as well as brews using the Aeropress and Bonavita methods. Not sure what those are? No problem. On Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 1 p.m. Insight offers free tastings and brew education “classes,” with demonstrations on origins, roasting and brewing methods.

Oh, and there is tea: green, white, oolong and red tea, hot or cold, as well as chai, matcha latte, hot chocolate, Kombucha and, of course, cold pressed brew, with or without caffeine. Finally, if you’re brewing for 20, Insight offers catering services.

“I think what sets us apart from other coffee chains is our personalized approach to the art of coffee,” said Muir. “We don’t just brew your coffee and call your name out for pick up. We try to interact with our customers, help teach them about the different kinds of brewing systems there are and the coffee itself. It’s a learning experience and a place to really enjoy coffee the way it’s meant to be enjoyed.”

The Carmichael location is Insight’s fifth store and first foray into east Sacramento County. Insight’s flagship store first opened its doors in 2011 at in Sacramento’s South Park neighborhood. Downtown locations are at Pavilions Plaza, the capitol location is at 1014 10^th St. (not inside the capitol building) and Fremont Park.