Former Sacramento City Council member Sean Loloee, center, leaves the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse in Sacramento on Thursday, April 23, 2026, after he pleaded guilty to fraud and underreported taxes at his Viva Supermarket stores. A trial for Karla Montoya, his co-defendant, started Sept. 30, 2026.
HECTOR AMEZCUA
hamezcua@sacbee.com
Three Sacramento-area stories on Sept. 30, 2026, span the California’s governor’s race, a federal corruption trial and a local retail expansion. Here’s a quick guide to what happened and why it matters.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra’s campaign has paid his adult daughter, immigration attorney Clarisa Reyes-Becerra, more than $17,000 since July 1 to serve as deputy policy director on the campaign. Spokesperson Jonathan Underland said Reyes-Becerra meets with stakeholders on issues from healthcare to wildfires, helps develop campaign messaging and briefs her father, calling her immigration law background an asset given rival Steve Hilton’s stance on ICE enforcement. Paying relatives with campaign funds is legal when the work is real and compensation is reasonable, and University of Pacific law professor Mary-Beth Moylan said the ethics hinge on whether she is qualified and doing the job.Federal prosecutors alleged former Sacramento City Council member Shahriar “Sean” Loloee was in a romantic relationship with employee and co-defendant Karla Montoya while committing the financial crimes he pleaded guilty to in April. Montoya is going to trial rather than pleading guilty, facing charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and possession of false immigration documents, while Loloee is set to be sentenced Nov. 19 and ordered to pay nearly $2.4 million in restitution.Fat Elephant Records, Books & Music will open a second location at the Folsom Outlet Stores on Oct. 16, stocking pre-owned vinyl priced between $3 and $10 plus leftover inventory from The Beat, a beloved record store that closed in 2013. Owner Charles Lago said business “exploded” in 2025 at his Folsom Historic District shop, and the new outlet store will host four live music performances in November.
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