This endeavor, while not officially dead, appears to be.
Had it been dealt with honesty from the beginning, approaching it as it is, a special tax requiring a two-thirds vote, it would have had a much better chance as people do want the Kings to stay and the downtown railyards developed, but don’t like being deceived, even with the best intentions.
An excerpt.
Editorial: Q and R: No and No
No deal, so no dice on arena measures
- Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, October 17, 2006
This pains us, so let's get it over with quickly.
As much as we'd like to see a sparkling new arena for Sacramento; as much as we like having an NBA team in town; as much as we see the need for a venue for rock concerts, major trade shows, Disney on Ice, truck pulls; as much as we want to see the downtown railyard developed into a vital new center of urban life -- as much as we want all these things, we can't recommend that Sacramento County voters approve Measures Q and R.
The reason is simple: Anyone who votes for these measures is voting purely on faith.
Just to refresh your memory: Measure R would increase the sales tax in Sacramento County by a quarter-cent for 15 years, without specifying what the money raised should be used for.
Measure Q advises the county supervisors that up to half of that money (about $600 million of a total of $1.2 billion) should be used for a "sports and entertainment facility" -- which is to say, an arena for the Kings.
