
Friday Nights at The Barn Bring Riverside Fun
Off the Grid launched weekly food truck, music event in August
Sometimes to go out, you need to go off.
Off the Grid, the San Francisco-based company behind Friday Nights at The Barn, got started in June 2010 in the Bay Area. However, the public events company soon found that it wasn’t only local residents attending their events: People from the Sacramento area were making the trek, as well.

Real-World Application of the Internet of Things
Local Cisco employees help grand old European cities become smart cities, too
Imagine picking up your marriage license at the mall, or registering your baby’s birth at a kiosk near the escalators. Seems hard to imagine, right? It’s almost too convenient. But these are realities for one neighborhood in Nice, France, where locally-made Cisco technology is changing the way residents interact.

Sacramento Enamelist Fred Ball Continues to Inspire Others
Crocker Art Museum showcasing 122 pieces of enamel art by 90 artists, including Ball
At the young age of 11, Fred Uhl Ball had his artwork exhibited as a one-person show at the Sacramento Central Library in downtown, and by 13 years old he offered demonstrations as part of the Art in Action exhibit at the California State Fair where his artistic talents flourished for all to see.

The Strong, Silent Type
What secret powers your introverted employees may have — and how to unleash them.
No job is only a job. You are paid to be competent and to get your work done, sure. But there are countless social interactions that shade the way you’re evaluated: chit-chat on the elevator, poise in a meeting, even the stories you tell (or don’t tell) over happy hour. Connections are the key to raises, promotions and job offers.

M.A.Y. Building Shows What’s Old is New Again
Historic downtown building now home to mixed-use retail, residential units
About one year ago, Mayor Kevin Johnson introduced a new downtown housing initiative called “In Downtown” to develop 10,000 places to live in downtown by 2025. The privately-funded M.A.Y. Building, which includes 21 residential units, is the first project to open in downtown since the initiative’s launch.

Startup of the Month: ExtraPlate
Like Uber for foodies, app delivers home-cooked meals on demand
ExtraPlate puts homecooked meals on the map as an on-demand food marketplace that works like Uber or Lyft for hungry consumers.

Startup of the Month: Renter Inc
Like Carfax for landlords, this Land Park-based startup collects reviews on tenants
For many residential landlords, choosing a tenant is a gamble — like shopping for a used car without a full history report. Vitaliy Merkulov learned this the hard way.

#EmpireStrikesSac
5 reasons why the Lucas Museum would be good for Sacramento, and vice versa
George Lucas is reportedly considering his home state of California as the location for his proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Let’s ponder for a moment why Sacramento might be the perfect place.

The Golden Promise
Most sports economists dismiss the idea that new stadiums boost local economies, but there are reasons to think the Golden 1 Center could be different
When Oleg Kaganovich was growing up in Michigan in the 1980s and early ’90s, his city of Grand Rapids was suffering the doughnut effect then typical of downtowns everywhere: Shoppers and residents were fleeing for the suburbs. By 1990, fewer than one in 10 residents shopped regularly downtown, a drop from about one in three in the early 1960s, according to a local newspaper.

5 Ways To Be More Productive At Work, Right Now
Try these tricks to increase workflow and brain activity, and beat that midday slump
Standing up improves productivity by increasing blood flow and brain activity. Purging your desk clears your mind. Faking a smile can actually make you feel better. Want more tips? We have them …