
Women in Leadership 2025: Laura Knauss
Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region
In the four decades that Laura Knauss has been practicing architecture, a lot has changed. In the late 1980s when Knauss began her career, women were woefully underrepresented in the field. Now women make up nearly one third of all architects and almost half of all candidates pursuing a license.

Women in Leadership 2025: Cassandra Jennings
Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region
At St. HOPE, Jennings oversees a collection of nonprofit entities — including a charter high school, a development company and an endowment — aimed at revitalizing the Oak Park neighborhood. She is, and has always been, a community builder.
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TIM LEWIS
DEMAND FOR EXECUTIVE-STYLE LUXURY HOMES SOARS AT MAGNOLIA
The much-anticipated model homes at Magnolia in Granite Bay are open by appointment for viewing. Tim Lewis Communities has raised the bar at this exclusive new neighborhood. Magnolia has already generated significant excitement, with 21 sales recorded before the model homes were completed.
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LIONAKIS
INSPIRING AND SUPPORTING WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Lionakis has been a leader in hiring, supporting and promoting women for many years. “Diversity of all kinds is important to our industry,” says Laura Knauss, president and chief practice officer. “We find that when our team reflects the demographics of our clients, we can best align, relate and respond to their needs.”

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.

Stockton Is Behind in Flood Control
While Sacramento, another high-risk city, has invested billions into flood protection, Stockton has not
Stockton’s levees haven’t received a major overhaul since the 1990s, while Sacramento’s have received widespread upgrades in the last 20 years. “We think they’re in danger,” says Jane Dolan, chair of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. “They’re behind on flood protection.”

Is Sacramento Ready for the Big One?
Levees and dams are being repaired and expanded to prepare for a future flood
Climate change is increasing the strength of Sacramento’s winter storms. Higher temperatures allow atmospheric rivers to carry more water, research shows. Climate change is also jacking up other flood risks, such as sea rise and snowmelt. All this is raising the chances of catastrophic flooding in Sacramento.
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Ramco Enterprises, Inc.
CHEERS TO ALMOST 40 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP WITH WEST SACRAMENTO!
Ramco Enterprises, Inc., a diversified commercial real estate and land development company based in West Sacramento, marks nearly six decades of shaping the region’s real estate landscape. Founded in 1965 in West Sacramento, the company has become a key player in commercial and residential development projects throughout the Sacramento area.

Architects Respond to the Growing Population of Minority, Immigrant and Refugee Students With Culturally Sensitive Design
The influx of immigrants and refugees from a multitude of different countries has created an opportunity and a challenge for Capital Region architects to design educational spaces with greater cultural sensitivity that provide a sense of belonging for new students and families.

Still Foxy: Historic Fox Theaters in the Capital Region Find New Life
Remnants of the ‘movie palace’ era can be found around the region
There were once dozens of theaters across the United States affiliated with Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios), in an era when moviemakers set up their own chains of theaters and sometimes commissioned grand film palaces. Some have long since been demolished, but others have shown what can happen after a successful push for preservation.