The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • H3

OUTPUT: 122705 19:09 USER: DHART NEIGHBROAD MASTER 03-04-01 Thursday, December 29, 2005 The Sacramento Bee AntelopeNorth Sacramento Natomas H3 LOOKING BACK AT 2005 Year: Natomas may get a new hospital FROM PAGE HI McClellan Aviation Museum The McClellan Aviation Museum began as a small base facility to preserve the history of the former Air Force base and the role it played in the defense of the United States. Now privately operated at McClellan Park, the museum took its biggest step ever this year when officials hired a full-time director with strong museum credentials, changed the name of the museum to the Aerospace Museum of California and announced plans to build a $7 million, modern facility. Ground is scheduled to be broken in April for the new museum, which will have a strong education component and will be designed to attract tourists and students from throughout the region and the state. Rio Linda-Elverta cityhood Civic leaders in Rio Linda and Elverta took the first steps in 2005 toward a possible drive to incorporate the area into a 31 -square-mile city. The Committee to Incorporate Rio Linda and Elverta is working to fund a financial feasibility study to determine if enough tax money can be raised in the area to support basic city services.

Board members of the Rio Linda-Elverta Recreation and Park District decided recently to help fund the $33,478 financial feasibility study. If the study shows there would be enough tax revenue to support basic city services, the park district board would file an application with the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission to begin the incorporation process. If the study shows revenue would be insufficient, the incorporation idea will be dropped. A new city, which would start with about 25,000 residents, would be within the boundaries of what is now the Rio Linda-Elverta Recreation and Park District. Sacramento Bee file, 2005Florence Low NEW FIRE STATIONS: Fire Station 30 in North Natomas formally opened to great fanfare in June.

It serves residents of North Natomas and nearby areas and offers relief for other city units that have been stretched thin as growth has skyrocketed. Station 20 opened in North Sacramento, replacing an old facility. Sacramento Bee file, 2005Andy Alfaro CENTER HIGH SCHOOI: Football coach Digol J'Beily addresses the crowd at a rally to protest his firing. Possible Grant strike The possibility of the first Sacramento-area teachers strike since 1989 lingered as Grant Joint Union High teachers and students went home for the holidays. The teachers union threatened to walk unless the district offered a 10 percent raise over three years.

Grant teachers have been without a contract since June 2004. As negotiations stalled, teachers throughout the year escalated their protests. Nearly 130 teachers called in sick the day before Thanksgiving break. In the week before winter break, the two sides had an all-night negotiation session in which, according to union President John Ennis, a "lukewarm" offer was made. But he said the offer was good enough to be taken to the union membership for a January vote.

Plan for new arena Developing land in North Natomas to generate money to build a new arena for the Sacramento Kings was an idea that kept resurfacing in 2005, as it did in 2004. The latest proposal came in November from developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, who had proposed earlier in the year that 20 percent of the profits lion makeover similar to beautifi-cation programs that have taken place along Broadway and other Sacramento commercial corridors. That funding comes in the form of a loan from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. In addition to new medians and planned street light improvements, angled parking will be implemented along the boulevard to replace the current parallel parking system.

New buildings are being constructed in the Del Paso Boulevard area, and other structures are being refurbished. The Bee's Dirk Werkman can be reached at (916) 773-681 7 or dwerkmansacbee.com. From North Sacramento and Natomas to Antelope, the area north of the American River and Interstate 80 has no hospital and very few medical clinics. Sutter Health opened a clinic in North Natomas this year, and Mercy San Juan Medical Center has announced plans to open a clinic in North Highlands. New fire stations With increasing population and aging fire protection facilities in the north county, the city of Sacramento and the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District took steps this year to address both issues.

The city opened Station 30 to serve a growing population in North Natomas and Station 20 in North Sacramento to replace an old facility. Those two stations and a replacement station on Broadway near downtown Sacramento represent the first time the city has opened three stations in a single year. Metro Fire officials announced plans to build new fire stations in Rio Linda and North Highlands to replace existing facilities. Del Paso Boulevard Del Paso Boulevard, the main street in North Sacramento and the target of numerous revitaliza-tion efforts, is getting a $4.2 mil from building on thousands of acres in North Natomas be used for an arena. Details of the latest plan haven't been publicly disclosed, but several proposals outlined during the past two years have called for building the arena either in North Natomas or in downtown Sacramento.

Building a new arena has been proposed as one way to help keep the Kings from moving to another city. Hospital for Natomas? Officials of Kaiser Permanente told the Natomas Community Association in November they are looking for a 50-acre site in North Natomas on which they could build a medical building and possibly build a hospital in the future. Earn Extra INCOME j'i I luL'k iill: i ij ill hi: i il rk. Become a Sacramento Bee earner todav. Thv's in minium Call (916) 321-5233 Life.

Captured daily. Sft-i 31 sacbeexom Scholarship money, now that's something to cheer about Since 1 978, The Sacramento Bee has helped students accomplish their dreams by awarding over half-a-million dollars in scholarships. Scholarships in the categories of Journalism, Minority Journalism, Scholar-Athlete and the William Glackin Scholarship for the Arts are awarded. To print out a scholarship application, please log on to www.sacbee.comscholarships or call the Public Affairs Department at 916-321-1880. Application deadline is Jan.

31, 2006. I Oiptnrmi The Sacramento Bee sacbee.com bm'I'Ji" i -i-k SACBEE NEN0RTH 3 122905 BLACK MAGENTA PAGE: 3.