SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Some changes could be coming to Sacramento’s nightlife as the city says there will be a meeting Monday morning to announce a new position.
The Nighttime Economy Manager role is created in an effort to improve nightlife in Sacramento.
Specific detailed will not be released until Monday morning but the city has been trying to revitalize areas like downtown since the pandemic.
While having the Sacramento Kings in the area plays a big part, activists say the city will not thrive until it solves gun violence.
“We will see what this next phase is, what this position looks like, and how much power this position really has to stop some of the things happening right now in downtown and Old Sacrament,” Berry Accius, founder of Voice of the Youth and community activist, said.
Monday’s announcement falls on the six-month mark since the gang related mass shooting also known as the K Street shooting where six people were killed and 12 were injured. And nearly three months since one person was killed, and four others injured outside of the Mix Nightclub. Around a week since, one person was killed near Barwest midtown.
Accius hopes this is a start to combat the ongoing gun violence that has spilled into the city’s nightlife scene.
“You cannot give us a quick fix when the problem is cancer. That’s like putting a band aid on cancer and saying you’re cured,” Accius said. “We have to have long term solutions, so we have to have long termfunding. There is no way we can do this if every other moment, we are thinking are we going to be funded or are we not. The city and county has to make a certain investment when it comes to this type of violence. Prevention needs to be the first topic.”
In November, Sacramento voters will be able to vote on a ballot measure that will require the city to set aside 40% of its cannabis business operations taxes for youth funding.
“It’s going to take a united front to change all the things that have happened,” Accius explained.
Accius hopes the new position will be a step in the right direction.