At a street corner across from West Sacramento City Hall, there’s a sound that the Sacramento region isn’t hearing much these days.  Construction projects under way here include a library, a community college campus, a transit center and a community center.  And it’s here that local officials and community leaders gathered today to lobby for the federal stimulus bill. 
 
Mahood: “We want an effective and efficient federal stimulus package, and we want to put people back to work.” 
 
Matt Mahood with the Metro Chamber of Commerce says the six-county Sacramento region has projects worth billions of dollars that are ready to go.  And West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon says those projects are already part of a long-term regional strategy. 
 
Cabaldon: “We didn’t invent them just in the last 30 days to try to take advantage of a federal political process. We’ve been working on these projects in our region for years.” 
 
The officials are also calling on Congress to send the infrastructure funds directly to local agencies – rather than through a state government frozen by the lack of a budget.