Latest news with #IsaacGonzalez
CBS News
06-08-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Sacramento's new quick-build crosswalk in Tahoe Park aims to slow down drivers
The City of Sacramento is changing some intersections to slow down drivers, but now some people are saying it's time the city hit the brakes on these types of traffic safety measures. The city installed a crosswalk and flexible plastic posts in the Tahoe Park neighborhood on 59th Street, a stretch of roadway that's seen serious crashes in the past. "This is 100% residential community from tip to tip," said Isaac Gonzalez, founder of Slow Down Sacramento. "It's all houses and people still drive really fast down here." Gonzalez said that he supports these types of quick-build traffic safety features. "It doesn't actually make the road any narrower than it actually is, but it does create a bit of visual tension as cars approach," Gonzalez said. "The natural inclination at that point is for cars to slow down." But some people are now complaining about the new crosswalk barriers. "I could see where you would notice the pylons driving up, but you'd probably be distracted by the pylons and hit the pedestrian," driver Ray Lang said. Some drivers are cutting between the plastic posts to make quicker right-hand turns. "You don't want to do that," Gonzalez said. "You want to go on the outside. The inside is not for cars." Gonzalez is concerned that the city may remove the crosswalk if too many people complain, and he's encouraging people who support these types of traffic calming measures to speak up. "It's a small price to pay for safety," he said. The city said these quick-build projects will be installed across Sacramento to try and eliminate all fatal crashes, but they are easy to remove if they do not meet safety goals. In Sacramento County, 96 people have died this year due to motor vehicle crashes.
CBS News
04-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Sacramento stalls on enforcing daylighting law aimed at improving pedestrians safety
SACRAMENTO — A California law aimed at pedestrian safety now bans cars from parking 20 feet from intersections. The law allows cities to issue fines to violators, but the City of Sacramento has not issued those fines even in the face of what some have called a pedestrian safety crisis. Slow Down Sacramento founder Isaac Gonzalez is calling on the city to speed up its conversion of city streets to follow state law. "We really shouldn't wait until people get hurt before we actually act and follow state law," Gonzalez said. "I think, unfortunately, in the city, we get decision paralysis. Where do we start? The problem is so huge." The so-called daylighting law requires all California cities to create 20 feet of space on the approaching side of intersections to prevent collisions. A City of Sacramento spokesperson confirmed that the city has not removed all meters, has not started red striping all the intersections, and is still working to identify how many spots need to be removed. Asad Mohammadi lives in Natomas, down the street from a new "quick-build" temporary traffic safety installation the city created after two pedestrians were killed in separate collisions. The installation went up after the second deadly collision. Asad Mohammadi /lives near deadly crash "It was a very sad day," Mohammadi said. "After that incident happened, then they put the sign up, they should have put it at the beginning." Sacramento's police department reports that so far this year, there have been 13 deadly collisions on city streets. Last year, there were 34. The year before, there were 55. Sacramento's own law and legislation committee declared an emergency in 2024 over the number of pedestrians killed in roadway collisions. "Let's talk about the cost-benefit ratio here," Gonzalez said. "What does it cost to paint a curb red, versus what does it cost for someone to die and for us to pay out a big lawsuit? I would rather be on the side of painting the curb red." The city council voted to approve a $25 fine starting July 1 for violators of the law. It will need to ID and remove spaces to begin that enforcement. What the rollout of that enforcement will look like is still unclear.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
Southbridge man convicted of alleged fentanyl and cocaine trafficking
SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. (WWLP) – A federal jury convicted a man from Southbridge for allegedly distributing cocaine and fentanyl throughout North Shore and Central Massachusetts. Ismael Maysonet, 40, was charged alongside 21 other co-conspirators in September 2022 for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Maysonet was convicted of these charges on Tuesday. Three Springfield residents arrested after drug complaint on Heyward Street Investigators identified Maysonet as a member of a Southbridge-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) during the time of August 2021 through August 2022. Charging documents stated that the DTO regularly used the U.S. mail to distribute drugs to and from Puerto Rico, Florida, and elsewhere. These activities were allegedly performed at the request of the organization leaders, Johnathan Pizarro Gonzalez and Isaac Gonzalez. Investigators intercepted calls from Maysonet to hear him discussing drug trafficking, payments, pickups, and packaging fentanyl to send to Florida. During the investigation, law enforcement was able to seize about 9 kilograms of cocaine and 800 grams of fentanyl in packages from the DTO. Johnathan Pizzaro Gonzalez and Isaac Gonzalez both pleaded guilty in January 2025 and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 29 and May 12, respectively. Maysonet now awaits sentencing imposed by a federal district court judge. The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine and/or fentanyl provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
