The Egg-onomics of Bird Flu: Capital Region Businesses and Consumers Scramble to Deal with Shortage

How the bird flu is affecting businesses that produce and sell eggs in Sacramento and beyond

As the ongoing bird flu crisis continues to decimate millions of infected chicken flocks across the country, and eggs become pricier and harder to find, Capital Region businesses weigh in on the impact of the shortage and what’s helping them through another major economic challenge so close on the heels of the pandemic.

Mar 5, 2025 Robin Douglas

This Small Town by the Sea Brings ‘Authentic Energy’

Benicia’s First Street offers an eclectic array of historic sites, shops and restaurants

The Solano County city of fewer than 30,000 residents is also an easy day trip for visitors from Sacramento and the Bay Area, with a 10-block stroll along Benicia’s First Street providing a unique opportunity to visit 300 eclectic businesses amidst 19th-century Victorian buildings — all while basking in bay views a couple of blocks away.

Mar 4, 2025 Steve Martarano

Scientists Attest to Value of UC Davis Smelt Lab

Federal funding has been imperiled for facility near Byron

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Feb. 6 that the federal government was looking to not renew funding for the UC Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory after its current round expires on Friday. While sources close to UC Davis are confident of a new contract being signed with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, that hadn’t happened as of press time, and some are worried about what comes next.

Mar 4, 2025 Graham Womack

Recycling Unused Food: On the Frontlines With the Agencies and Food Banks Making SB 1383 Work to Feed the Hungry

The food recovery process for SB 1383 is divided into separate tiers. Tier 1, which involves large grocery chains and food distribution centers, went into effect in 2022. The following year, Rancho Cordova’s locker alone recovered 800,000 pounds of food. In that same period, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services oversaw the redistribution of 14.6 million pounds of edible food that came directly from Capital Area grocery stores. 

Mar 4, 2025 Scott Thomas Anderson

Chasing Shadows in Tombstone, Arizona

Stepping through the Oriental Saloon in Tombstone, Arizona, there’s a sense of history colliding with the American imagination that is as heavy as its oak bar columns. It’s possible to drink here and wonder if the whole story of Western settlement can be crystallized by 17 violent months that happened in the still-dusty streets outside the door. 

Mar 3, 2025 Scott Thomas Anderson

From Baker’s Stats to Stanzas: Jim Franks’ ‘Existential Bread’ Launches in Davis

Picking apart the stuff (seeds, stories, hoaxes) that go into what we think we know about bread

Baker and poet Jim Franks launched his experimental cookbook “Existential Bread” in Davis this week in collaboration with Student Collaborative Organic Plant Breeding Education, an interdisciplinary approach that offers a new way to consider our relationship with food and the complex processes and economics behind it.

Feb 28, 2025 Anna Dobrowolski

California’s Fund to Build Student Housing Runs Dry — Leaving Community Colleges in the Lurch

CalMatters: College presidents across the state say the new housing projects are a long-term solution to wildfire recovery and to the state’s enduring affordability crisis, which has hit community college students hard. In study after study, researchers have found that around 20% of California community college students experience homelessness at some point over the course of a year, and many more struggle to pay rent. 

Feb 27, 2025 Adam Echelman, CalMatters