A Sacramento Superior Court judge Wednesday "dismissed"
a citizens' complaint seeking to block the City Council's
$70M loan to help keep the Kings in town, according to Gary
Delsohn in the SACRAMENTO BEE. Judge Joe Gray said that the
plaintiffs "failed to show there was an emergency" or that
they would be "irreparedly harmed" if the deal went through.
The plaintiffs said they will file another motion in
Superior Court that seeks to force a public vote on the deal
(SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/20).
THE KING AND HIS CASTLE: BEE Columnist Mark Kreidler
writes on Kings Owner Jim Thomas, and the Sacramento
community: "If the events of the past month have
demonstrated anything in bold relief, it is the fact that
Thomas, now in his fifth year of owning the NBA franchise in
Sacramento, knows almost nothing about the area." Kreidler
adds, "He doesn't know the people; he doesn't know the
process. He certainly doesn't know what moves us"
(SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/20). An editorial in the BEE notes that
while the city's loan has been approved, "It doesn't
permanently settle the longer-term problem of the Kings'
financial situation as a small-market team." But to
"protect" fans and the long-term future of the Kings in
Sacramento, "Thomas, with any help he can get from local
leaders, must turn to convincing the NBA to attend to the
problems of small-market franchises. ... Sacramento has
delivered for the NBA. It's time for the league to repay
that customer loyalty and public effort by changing its
revenue distribution" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/20).
