Citrus Heights News Briefs: parrots, Sunrise Mall, police calls, obituary

Latest news briefs include a portion of the Sunrise Mall property being sold, a Citrus Heights parrot shop being featured on Good Day Sacramento, the passing of an 86-year-old former Weinstocks employee, and Police Chief Ron Lawrence voicing opposition to a proposed pilot program.

Citrus Heights parrot shop featured on Good Day Sacramento
Camera crews were broadcasting live last week inside Parrotopia, a local parrot shop on Auburn Boulevard. Sights and sounds of the birds were shown inside the shop, during a four-minute Good Day Sacramento feature. (See video)

Citrus Heights police chief voices opposition to county pilot program
Police Chief Ron Lawrence called in to a meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday to voice concerns with a $1.6 million pilot program being considered by the county that would divert some 911 calls to be handled by social workers rather than law enforcement. “To be clear, the police chiefs are open to exploring alternative non-police responses to non-criminal, non-violent calls dealing with specific mental health issues and homelessness, but we have too many unanswered questions at this point to support this pilot program,” Lawrence said, according to a report by California Public Radio. (See CapRadio story)

Obituary: Joanne Barbara Wagner (1935-2021)
Citrus Heights resident Joanne Wagner passed away on Feb. 14 at the age of 86, according to an obituary published Sunday in the Sacramento Bee. Wagner grew up in Watsonville and after marriage moved to the Sacramento area where she worked in the domestics department at Weinstocks. Following retirement, she volunteered at St. Mel Catholic Church. She is survived by her four children, along with grandchildren and a great-grandchild. (See full obituary)

Portion of Sunrise Mall property sold to new owner
A corner chunk of the nearly 100-acre Sunrise Mall property has been sold to an East Bay real estate company, according to a Feb. 24 report in the Sacramento Business Journal. The sale includes the 8,000-square-foot US Bank building and surrounding parking lot. A representative for the buyer said the purchase was made as an investment, with a long-term lease in place for the bank to continue operating. (See full article)

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