As 2023 comes to a close, let’s celebrate a year of Sacramento Bee journalism with big impact

Journalism with impact.

That’s the point of passion for Sacramento Bee employees — to publish articles that tackle the region’s thorniest problems head-on. To publish visuals that bring all our rich humanity to life. To shine a light in dark corners and demand accountability from our leaders.

After all, your community is our community. The journalists of The Sacramento Bee are your neighbors. We attend the same churches, work out at the same gyms, send our kids to the same schools. We care deeply about the health of the Sacramento region for your sake and for ours. And we are committed to publishing local journalism that helps improve our communities and the lives of residents here.

We have so many examples of journalism that have done just that in 2023. We asked newsroom editors to share examples of their teams’ journalism that has had a tangible impact — stories that held the powerful to account, taught us more about our neighbors, informed our most important decisions, and helped us make the most of everything the Sacramento region has to offer.

We share examples of that work below. And we invite you to ring in the new year by telling us where that impact is most needed in 2024. Email your tips and story ideas to me at nstockdale@sacbee.com.

One more way you can help us expand our impact: Consider donating to The Sacramento Bee, and invest in our ability to ensure that stories are told, voices are heard and truth prevails. Contributions are tax-deductible, and you can donate online through sacbee.com/donate.

— Nicole Stockdale, senior managing editor

28 DEATHS AT LOCAL SKYDIVING CENTER

▪ The Sacramento Bee spent more than a year examining how it is that 28 people have died at a single Sacramento-area skydiving location since 1985. The investigation is married with a mother’s narrative recounting her 18-year-old son’s death on his first attempt at skydiving. We also compiled details of what went wrong in each of the 28 deaths. The investigation revealed lax oversight of the activity at the federal, state and local level.

Impact: The story raised awareness not only of the danger of skydiving but also of the regulatory failures of various agencies, especially the Federal Aviation Administration, to hold the Parachute Center in Lodi accountable. For example, the FAA has issued more than $900,000 in penalties to aircraft used by the Parachute Center, but the founder says he hasn’t paid them.

— Alvie Lindsay, California investigations editor

PROMINENT NONPROFIT A TOXIC WORKPLACE

▪ WEAVE, Sacramento’s pre-eminent nonprofit for women who have been victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, is known for being a force for good in the community, providing support and sanctuary for abused women. It has also been a toxic and abusive workplace, poisoned by a culture of emotional and verbal abuse, The Sacramento Bee found after speaking to 13 current and former WEAVE staff members.

Impact: The story was published in April. WEAVE launched an external workplace investigation, facilitated by the Sacramento-based Shaw Law Group, in response to our reporting. By August, two of the three WEAVE executives we reported on had resigned at the conclusion of the internal investigation. Another executive, not named in the story, also resigned after the story ran.

— Bill Turque, outgoing political editor

SACRAMENTO COOKBOOK FLIES OFF THE SHELVES

▪ Food writer Benjy Egel spent the better part of 2023 writing a cookbook that celebrates and showcases Sacramento’s dining scene. “Sacramento Eats: Recipes from the Capital Region’s Favorite Restaurants” is a collection of 60 recipes, many of them photographed by The Bee’s visual journalists, that local chefs entrusted Egel to share with readers.

Impact: The cookbook has become a local staple, selling out at bookstores and shops across the region. The response has been so strong that Pediment Publishing is already planning for a rush second printing in January.

— Emilie Stigliani, assistant managing editor for local

FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT AT CAPRADIO

▪ It started with a tip that several staffers were being laid off from Capital Public Radio, the Sacramento State-owned NPR station. What followed were glimpses of widespread financial mismanagement by the broadcaster’s leaders, unbeknownst to the university. The Bee revealed the broadcaster’s “severe” financial crisis amid a state audit showing that board members overextended the radio station with new facilities downtown (which CapRadio may never move into). The work also showed that CapRadio failed to pay bills to NPR and struggled to pay rent back to the university while its leaders took out loans without the knowledge of the stations’ board.

Impact: The station has been chided for failing to follow mandates that it serve the academic needs of Sacramento State students. Sacramento State has assumed operational control of the station. The majority of the board of directors have resigned. Some $2 million in state funding has been put on hold until additional auditing wraps up. And many donors are wondering where their money went. The story continues to unfold.

— Daniel Hunt, local news editor

MIGRANTS FLOWN FROM TEXAS TO SACRAMENTO

▪ The Sacramento Bee, after much negotiation, was among a small number of news outlets given access to migrants who were flown to Sacramento at the direction of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Many of these migrants’ journeys started in Venezuela and involved harrowing passages through multiple countries in the pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families. Reporter Mathew Miranda, who is the son of Salvadoran immigrants, and photographer Hector Amezcua, who emigrated from Mexico in his youth, gained the migrants’ trust to share deeper stories that no one else was telling.

Impact: Miranda’s breaking news coverage made him a go-to reporter on the issues faced by this group of migrants. People reached out to share questions and concerns that shaped Miranda’s coverage of issues affecting migrants more broadly. He took those questions and turned them into stories that offered insight into the complexities of applying for asylum and securing work permits.

— Emilie Stigliani, assistant managing editor for local

ANNUAL BOOK OF DREAMS EFFORT HELPS NEEDY

▪ Since Thanksgiving, we have produced stories about 10 nonprofit organizations seeking help during the holiday season.This is part of our role as a member of the community, to report about the news and issues that affect your lives, and to help connect us and bring us together. We work with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation to process and distribute that money so organizations and others can serve the needy. In response, readers of the Book of Dreams have given generously.

Impact: Now in its 36th year, the project consistently raises more than $100,000 to fund a variety of causes. This year, our readers’ goodwill helped buy bikes for kids, fund literacy and food programs, find dogs homes and enable Loaves & Fishes to purchase new stoves. In our annual round-up story, one reader said he and his colleagues wanted to help Loaves & Fishes, noting: “We have to take care of our neighbors.”

— Scott Lebar, managing editor

YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

▪ Bee Curious, The Bee’s community-driven series in which our service journalism reporters answer your questions about the region, tackled a query from reader Ken Ball, a Lincoln resident who moved to the Sacramento area about five years ago: Does Sacramento have a Chinatown like San Francisco or Oakland? It did. The Bee answered this question and more, speaking with community leaders about ongoing efforts to revitalize the cultural center.

Impact: This story helped invigorate conversations about the history of Chinese Americans in Sacramento and what can be done to preserve traces of this story. It brought together community leaders to talk about how Chinatown can be revitalized. Responses to the story show it also introduced Sacramento residents to a place and history they didn’t know before.

— Savanna Smith, West Region service journalism editor; and reporter Hanh Truong

SEX VIDEO SHARED IN HIGH SCHOOL

▪ In May, a Rocklin High School varsity softball player alleged in a school board meeting that a junior varsity football player at her school recorded a consensual sex act with her, without her knowledge, and shared the video through social media and direct messages. The softball player, some graduates of the Placer County high school and several parents told the board the football team had engaged in bullying and harassment, expressing concern that the school district had not done enough to stop the behavior.

Impact: In response to The Bee’s reporting, the school district said it was reviewing policies and athlete codes of conduct. In addition, the district “will be partnering with outside agencies to identify best practices and have education and training protocols in place so all athletes and students can feel safe and respected across all schools and while attending school events.”

— Jason Anderson, interim sports editor

MIGRANT FARMWORKER HOUSING

▪ The Sacramento Bee spent nearly a year investigating California’s 24 migrant farmworker housing centers, which provide subsidized units for seasonal workers. Reporters visited seven centers and surveyed 150 families about their experiences living in the housing. They zeroed in on what happens when the housing closes for three to six months a year and how the frequent moves affect migrant children’s education.

Impact: Our reporting drew attention to an underserved group of Californians who rarely receive media attention and lack power in the Capitol. We pointed out that although a rule requires migrant center residents to move at least 50 miles away after the work season, there is an exemption designed to help families with school-age kids. But a lack of affordable housing and poor communication meant few people took advantage. At least one lawmaker has expressed interest in authoring new legislation as a result of the reporting.

— Reporters Lindsey Holden and Mathew Miranda

75+ CHANGE MAKERS HONORED

▪ The Sacramento Bee’s Equity Lab, working with the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program, embarked on a project to celebrate pioneers in the Black, Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. These Change Makers transform our region through their thoughts, actions and leadership. In March, we honored all three cohorts at an event at Sacramento State, which also marked the start of our second round of the initiative.

Impact: The Change Maker series has highlighted educators, nonprofit directors and everyday Sacramento residents who embrace their culture, spark innovation, and lead with altruism. The series has brought together thought leaders and empowered them and the communities they represent. By March 2024, we will have honored more than 130 leaders in our local community. The latest cohort of AAPI Change Makers will drop in early January.

— Sabrina Bodon, Equity Lab editor

STABBINGS SEND SHOCKWAVES THROUGH DAVIS

▪ Davis was rocked by a series of stabbings that left two men dead and nearly killed a homeless woman in her tent. The suspect, later tracked down as Carlos Reales Dominguez, was a UC Davis student who drifted to destruction after being kicked out of the university the week prior. The violent and random attacks sent undercurrents of fear across the Yuba County college town.

Impact: As The Bee reported on the crimes as they unfolded, our quick-hitting coverage focused on publishing critical updates to keep residents of Davis safe and informed. We helped a community find closure with profiles of the victims — and come to grips with how the stabbings changed the fabric of the town. And we did extensive reporting to paint a picture of Reales Dominguez’s life, which appeared to have fallen apart through mental illness, and the gripping hearings that came after his arrest and continue today.

— Daniel Hunt, local news editor

SACRAMENTO ON A $25 BUDGET

▪ Reporter Brianna Taylor has spent 2023 listening intently to Bee readers. She took your suggestions and explored Sacramento monthly on a $25 budget, hitting 11 spots and writing about her findings at each.

Impact: As we’ve noted before, each piece in this series comes out of tough economic times — and a desire to love our city through it. Taylor does this by intentionally highlighting local businesses, often off the beaten path, that our readers ask her to visit. She documents her spending in the hopes that it helps you enjoy the city when everyday life gets too expensive.

— Savanna Smith, West Region service journalism editor

LAW ENFORCEMENT DISCIPLINE

▪ Sacramento Bee reporters regularly use the California Public Records Act to file requests for documents that are not routinely made public. One big focus this year was on responses of local law enforcement and emergency response agencies to requests for documents that reveal how the agencies handle internal disciplinary proceedings, documents that state law says should be public. The Bee determined that Sacramento law enforcement agencies have yet to fully comply with the law.

Impact: Law enforcement agencies have released more of the responsive documents. And our coverage has been cited by First Amendment advocates as an example of how to advance free speech and transparency in California.

— Emilie Stigliani, assistant managing editor for local

STORM AFTER STORM AFTER STORM

▪ A series of massive storms blanketed Northern California as the new year rolled in. The extreme weather, which dragged on for weeks, brought much-needed rain and snow to the drought-stricken state but also exposed the Sacramento area to the threat of flooding. The Bee delved into the dangers (and historic shortcomings) for private levees along the Mokelumne River. We also anticipated readers’ questions, provided maps showing flood risk, highlighted financial resources and stayed on top of rain and snow forecasts to help keep you safe.

Impact: Our reporting kept the community informed and safe as first responders plucked drivers from flooded freeways and worked to stop high water from devastating parts of southern Sacramento County. The Bee helped our readers navigate issues such as power outages, flooding and financial loss — and kept the community informed about what was coming next.The famed canopy of Sacramento, which boasts one of the largest urban forests in the world, took a major hit from the rain and wind; we created an interactive map documenting the surge in 311 calls to report fallen trees. The biggest weather story of the year brought together all the resources of The Bee’s newsroom.

— Daniel Hunt, local news editor; and Savanna Smith, West Region service journalism editor

MAKING SEX TRAFFICKING A SERIOUS FELONY

▪ In one-party California, the Democratic leaders of legislative committees are free to block meaningful legislation for ideological reasons, even laws supported by a majority of Californians. This issue reached a crescendo this summer when the Assembly Public Safety Committee blocked a bipartisan bill that would make sex trafficking a serious felony. Opinion writer Tom Philp took progressive Democrats to task for opposing any legislation that lengthens prison sentences, regardless of whether the punishment fits the crime: “That the sex trafficking of a minor is not considered a serious felony in California is a mistake of history.”

Impact: The bill was revived, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in late September. When Democrats later blocked bills that would have levied stiffer sentencing designed to get addicts who are thieves the treatment they need, Philp concluded that the committee needed new leadership, which is precisely what eventually happened.

— Marcos Bretón, California opinion editor

THE KINGS TURN IT AROUND

▪ The Sacramento Kings came out of the All-Star break last season with a five-game winning streak, solidifying themselves as a team that would reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006 — ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history. That stretch included a wild 176-175 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 24 in the second-highest-scoring regular-season game of all time.

Impact: As the only local news organization that routinely travels to cover the team on the road, The Bee was there to chronicle a historic night for the Kings and the NBA. We captured the pivotal point when it became apparent to the Kings, and their fans, that the team had the firepower and fight to end Sacramento’s suffering after 16 consecutive losing seasons.

— Jason Anderson, interim sports editor

LETTING A PEDOPHILE PRIEST SLIP AWAY

▪ In September, The Bee published an investigation into the failed effort by the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office to make good on promises to hold Father Michael Kelly accountable for the sexual assault of a young boy. The story exposed the missteps made by the office in dropping the criminal case and then failing to pursue extradition after Kelly fled to his native Ireland.

Impact: After our story, California Attorney General Rob Bonta publicly announced that his office would investigate the handling of the case by the Calaveras district attorney and consider refiling charges and renewing the extradition effort. That investigation is ongoing.

— Alvie Lindsay, California investigations editor

OAK RIDGE HIGH FOOTBALL HAZING

▪ In August, The Bee learned that Oak Ridge High School, the El Dorado Union High School District and local law enforcement were investigating a hazing incident that occurred during a football team retreat before the season started. The incident cast a shadow over one of the region’s top football programs as the team prepared to play its season opener.

Impact: A number of players were suspended or expelled amid the investigation. Oak Ridge principal Aaron Palm told The Bee: “There is no one player or any team here that is beyond being held accountable. It’s not what we’re about. When these things happen, we’re determined to stamp it out.”

— Jason Anderson, interim sports editor

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO ADDRESS HOMELESS CRISIS

▪ As city, county and state officials announced multiple plans to address Sacramento’s homeless crisis, among the worst in the country by some measures, The Bee chronicled the challenges of creating affordable housing and homeless shelters, an unprecedented self-governing homeless camp, and the implementation of new laws and ordinances — breaking news on some heated politics along the way.

Impact: Our reporting helped find housing for a severely disabled woman who was living on the American River Parkway at the start of the year, brought attention to the shortcomings of housing programs such as Section 8 and Project Roomkey, and inspired the city of Sacramento to open warming centers more frequently to save lives.

— Nathaniel Levine, visuals editor

SOCAL GAS’ INFLUENCE ON CLIMATE POLICY

▪ We investigated the influence the nation’s largest gas provider — Southern California Gas Co. — is having on climate policy in California, especially in regard to efforts to ban gas cooking appliances in all new buildings. The story revealed the myriad ways SoCal Gas is exerting its influence on local ordinances, often with the assistance of the Sacramento-based California Restaurant Association. Critics contend that there’s a pattern of misusing money from customers on lobbying efforts to derail electrification.

Impact: After receiving questions from The Bee about billing customers $732,000 for unspecified legal work, SoCal Gas rescinded the charge. The Bee’s investigation led to the Sacramento mayor and members of the City Council considering revisions to the vetting process for council advisory committee members, after The Bee uncovered conflicts of interest.

— Alvie Lindsay, California investigations editor

MURDER SUSPECT’S MANHUNT

▪ Suspect Eric Abril is accused of taking a married couple hostage, fatally shooting a 72-year-old man and wounding his wife and a California Highway Patrol officer at Roseville’s Mahany Park in April. In June, Abril escaped from Sutter Roseville Medical Center, sparking a manhunt.

Impact: The standoff and shooting at a popular park and 30-hour manhunt wrought fear, especially as the alleged killer was on the loose; Sacramento Bee reporting helped keep the community informed about any areas of danger. The incidents also raised questions about law enforcement accountability: Why did authorities attempt to serve an arrest warrant on Abril at a busy public park, and how was he able to escape from custody? The Bee has continued to press for answers and has covered the court proceedings, which are ongoing.

—Daniel Hunt, local news editor

FINDING LOCAL CLIMATE SOLUTIONS

▪ The Sacramento Bee has engaged with the community to reveal what can be done locally to address climate change. Reporters from all corners of our newsroom wrote stories about bold actions being taken by diverse groups in our region. The stories included a look at efforts to support lawn care workers as they adapt to the state’s upcoming ban on gas blowers and at how Sacramento’s R Street corridor offers a model for what a mass-transit-oriented neighborhood looks like.

Impact: The R Street corridor story inspired a member of a Florida city planning task force to share it with their committee. The lawn care worker story was adapted for radio listeners by the Public News Service, where it reached around 400,000 listeners. And the broader project led The Sacramento Bee to establish a grant to fund local climate solutions projects; we awarded three $5,000 grants to help create a school compost garden, fund a forum on regenerative agriculture, and further a school’s native pollinate plants project.

— Emilie Stigliani, assistant managing editor for local