Photo: Steve Martarano

A&A Grocery Closing After 37 Years

Standing at the base of the Capitol Towers apartment complex, I couldn’t help but notice a sign posted on an outside window last week that simply said, “Goodbye.” I’m sad to note that A&A Grocery, a 37-year presence in downtown Sacramento, will soon be closing its doors.

Mar 14, 2016 Steve Martarano
Walnut shells are turned into biochar at
Dixon Ridge Farms.

Soil Matters

Local farmers find a switch to carbon farming good for business — and the environment

Russ Lester’s property looks, at first glance, like that of many of his neighbors. He grows about 900 acres of walnut trees a few miles east of Winters. But at Dixon Ridge Farms, Lester never tills his land, and he keeps cover crops growing most of the time. He also laces the earth around his trees with biochar, charcoal-like leftovers from biomass energy production.

Apr 26, 2016 Alastair Bland