The Downtown Stockton Alliance is providing a new networking opportunity for local businesses and entrepreneurs with “Waterfront Fridays,” which launched May 6. The weekly event gives entrepreneurs an affordable opportunity to test products and their customer base using a pop-up model. 

Once upon a time, Sacramento lived and died by its rivers. As the last outpost of good society on the way to the Gold Rush foothills, Sacramento was nestled conveniently at the confluence of both the American and Sacramento rivers.

American parents are accustomed to being treated like human cash machines during prom season, spending close to $1,000 to guarantee that a high school dance doesn’t become an emotional catastrophe. A hundred bucks for tickets, and hundreds more for fancy clothes — even the corsage costs $20. And before any of that begins, your kid wants $300 for a promposal. Wait, a what?

One of SacMod’s most popular events, the Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour, is back for 2016 and takes place just once every three years.

Sacramento’s music scene is about to get bigger. Ace of Spades — the downtown, live-music venue on R Street — was recently purchased by House of Blues Entertainment, a division of Live Nation Entertainment.

Unbeknownst to most of those attending the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera’s Sergei Rachmaninoff performance in February, a cohort of fans relegated to the back rows were on their phones the entire show. They tweeted jokes about the concert, without shame. Because on this evening they were simply doing as asked.

Last year we reported on the growing comic convention scene in the Capital Region (“Level Up” by Bill Romanelli, May 2015). Check out what the comic world has been up to since then:

Greta Gerwig, a Sacramento native and award-winning filmmaker and actress, won’t share many details about her upcoming project, a full-length independent film called “Lady Bird.” Except for one — where it’s being shot.

Selling Girl Scout cookies on a rainy Saturday in Sacramento is a far cry from the Oscars, where A-list celebrities chipped in $65,243 after a Feb. 28 plug. Local Girl Scout Troop 1114 has to work a little harder for its money.

Placemaking. You might have heard the word — maybe at a redevelopment conference or tossed around at a marketing mixer. You might have seen it in a neighborhood newsletter about new housing downtown, or read about it in an article shared by that cool architect friend who was just inspired with a vision for how to make Sacramento “the place to be.” But no matter what you’ve heard or how you feel about placemaking, the concept likely won’t be disappearing in the near future.