California

School closures contemplated, severe weather, fugitive inmate: April 21 news roundup

By By The Sacramento Bee staff, summary produced using AI assistance
The Growlersburg Conservation Firefighting Camp is shown near Georgetown in El Dorado County. David Veramancini, 49, walked off camp on Feb. 23 and remains at large, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The Growlersburg Conservation Firefighting Camp is shown near Georgetown in El Dorado County. David Veramancini, 49, walked off camp on Feb. 23 and remains at large, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Maxar Technologies/Airbus via Google

More than half of Sacramento City Unified School District’s schools are operating at under 70% of their maximum-enrollment capacity. It amounts to a financial liability, according to the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency that helps districts stay financially solvent.

That story, plus severe weather, the latest on a fugitive inmate, and more top your evening news roundup for April 21, 2026:

• School closures on the table: Sacramento City Unified’s board will hold a special meeting Thursday to begin discussing a facilities “optimization and consolidation plan.” The district’s enrollment has dropped from more than 41,000 to around 36,000 students since 2016.

• Ex-cop’s certification revoked: Former Oroville police officer Robert Sasek had his California law enforcement certification formally revoked for leaving a woman near a Butte County dump at midnight in 2022. The woman, Dana Marie James, was struck by a car and hospitalized for 35 days; the city settled her lawsuit for $3 million.

• Severe weather across California: Did you see the hail in East Sacramento around 6 p.m.? Thunderstorms and a marginal tornado risk hit parts of the Central Valley on Tuesday, with a winter storm warning in the Sierra Nevada through 5 p.m. Wednesday. Sacramento rain showers were expected to clear by midweek.

• Escaped inmate still at large: Thursday marks two months since inmate Juan David Veramancini, 49, walked away from the Growlersburg Conservation Firefighting Camp near Georgetown. So what is the status of the state corrections department’s search?

• Delta cuts Sacramento-Detroit route: Delta Air Lines is suspending a direct flight between Sacramento and Detroit from June 1 until March 2027, as airlines adjust routes amid rising jet fuel costs following the start of the war in Iran.

• Bee hoops writer’s ballot: Sacramento Bee NBA writer Jason Anderson placed Kings second-round pick Maxime Raynaud on his All-Rookie First Team ballot, citing his scoring, rebounding and efficiency.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.

This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 6:26 PM with the headline "School closures contemplated, severe weather, fugitive inmate: April 21 news roundup."

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