In the past decade, there have been a handful of instances in which older adults have opted to live on cruise ships instead of paying for traditional senior living communities. That’s how the story grew. Now, when senior living experts gather, they tell dramatic tales of lonely seniors constantly sailing the globe on cruise liners as a way of illustrating the expense of senior housing and how neglectful families can be of their aging loved ones.

In early January, while wrapping up a 3-month umpire stint in the Dominican Winter League, Hal “Tripp” Gibson got a call. The call. The one every umpire in the minor leagues is waiting for.

As California looks for ways to reduce its carbon footprint and help curb climate change, environmental activists are questioning the integrity of the biomass industry, which burns millions of tons of woody plant matter each year to help power the state’s electric grid.   

Well after midnight, Jordan Ferrell returns to his Fresno hotel room and lowers his exhausted body onto the bed. After umpiring nine games in 12 days, he’s spent. To unwind, he flips on the TV, scans the movie selection and retrieves his phone to check texts. Working the plate at tonight’s game was an exercise in patience.

At 34, Assemblymember Matt Dababneh is one of the youngest members of the California Legislature. During his short stint in the Assembly, Dababneh has forged a reputation as a tech-savvy, pro-business lawmaker and earned himself the chairmanship of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee. We sat down with him recently to talk about a few of his key agenda items.

When the economy serves people by allowing them to earn money, they can invest money back into the economy, thereby increasing economic health for everyone. We want an economy where full-time workers are self-sufficient and not dependent on government aid to supplement their wages. We want an economy that works for us. But here is a glimpse of our reality:

Large retail chains like Costco, Trader Joe’s, QuikTrip and Mercadona pay wages and benefits considered high for their industries. They also use four key operational strategies:

Calls for a minimum wage increase are growing louder, and these proposals are neither minor nor manageable for the city of Sacramento. Sacramento’s city-specific hike proposals range from $13.50 to as much as $15 per hour.

“The beauty of this partnership is our customers get to have it all, and I don’t have to do the things I don’t want to do,” says Jennifer Kaye. “Somebody can come in, grab a fresh sandwich or a salad and then pick up a little something for dessert.”

While sourcing my July feature for Comstock’s about the career journey of umpires, I learned just how much they give up and how many hours they put in away from home to reach the pinnacle of their profession.