
Take It Easy
U.S. workers are taking less and less vacation — here’s what their employers are losing to the vacation gap
You probably need a vacation. Most of America does. Between 1976 and 2000, the average worker took roughly 20 vacation days annually, according to data from Project: Time Off. But as the economy buckled in 2008, so did our desire to flock to the beach, and in 2015, the number plunged nearly a full week lower, translating to 658 million unused vacation days.

Startup of the Month: ViVita Technologies
Medical device startup pumps innovation into replacement heart valves
A healthy human body is a fortress with guards at the ready to seize intruders. When under attack, these guards (antibodies) secrete chemicals that recruit and grow immune cells. The cells then seek and destroy the intruders (antigens) to protect the fortress.

Home Away From Home
Public relations firm Randle Communications proves that family business employees don’t have to be related to earn the title
The word “family” can encompass a lot of different things. Sometimes it refers to the people you’re related to. Sometimes it means the people you care about. Overarchingly, those whom you count as your “family” tend to be the people you spend a lot of time with.

Our Printer is Going Green(er)
Commerce Printing turns to solar power with plenty of downtown real estate — on their roof
Commerce Printing, located on 12th and C streets in Sacramento, has been printing Comstock’s magazine for roughly 16 years. As a business publication, we take pride in being the city’s only major magazine to be printed locally. But there’s another reason we’re proud of our long-standing relationship with the company: its commitment to environmentally sustainable practices.

No Such Thing as No Strings Attached
Watch out for well meaning family and friends when building a startup
Recently, within the context of being a co-founder and mentor at Roseville’s Glue Factory, an incubator for entrepreneurs willing to give back to the community in exchange for free workspace and guidance, I am often asked about the ins and outs of family and friends investing in a startup company.

On the Run Around Sacramento
Our writer jogs by local landmarks in a new kind of tour
I had signed up for a four-mile Capital City Highlights Tour in Sacramento. I run, but I’m not a runner. Now, on a weekday morning, I’m greeted by my tour guide, a bonafide running beast, who launched a running-tour business in September. Would I be able to reach the finish line?

Art Forms Converge at Sacramento Arena
Bryan Valenzuela and three fellow artists create original pieces for the Golden 1 Center
Bryan Valenzuela’s sculpture, “Multitudes Converge,” will illustrate the convergence of the Sacramento and American rivers, and it is one of four pieces of public art commissioned for the Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento.

Who Will Harvest When I’m Gone?
Small farms struggle to connect with the next generation of agricultural producers
Annie and Jeff Main started farming after college, inspired by the back-to-land movement of the 1970s. They farmed on rented land for 17 years and then bought their own 20 acres in Capay Valley, in Yolo County.

Untying The Traffic Knot
The effort to keep the Sacramento Kings in town showed what a community can do when everyone rallies around a cause. Now that the Golden 1 Center is opening and fans are coming downtown to enjoy the Kings, it’s bringing many people together again — perhaps too closely.

A Friend In Need
The Mercer Clinic for Pets of the Homeless sees that homeless animals get the care they need and deserve, too.
Founded by UC Davis students in 1992, and located at Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento, the Mercer Clinic for the Pets of the Homeless serves not only animals, but the people who love them and the community as a whole.