![The California State Railroad Museum gave Anna Judah her due in a recent exhibition. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_9775.png?1714068771)
Anna Judah: Far More Than Theodore Judah’s Victorian Housewife
Through her artistry, she brought the transcontinental railroad to life — before it was built
You wouldn’t know that a tragic love story led to the railroad that connected the East and West coasts for the first time.
![The proposed but never built Auburn Dam was supposed to be 700 feet high and able to store 2 million acre-feet of water. (Photos by Fred Greaves)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/dji_20231114105527_0013_d_fg.png?1702354172)
Whatever Became of the Auburn Dam?
One of the largest flood control projects in the country was never built
The Auburn Dam could well be the most talked about water storage and flood control facility in the country that simply doesn’t exist — no matter how much it’s been argued about, advocated for and against, legislatively proposed and architecturally rendered.
![Lowrider enthusiasts pose with their cars at a Sacramento intersection. A new exhibit at the Sacramento History Museum showcases the subculture and its long presence in the city. (Photos by Gabriel Teague)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/gtp_8739_f.png?1700066835)
With ‘Boulevard Dreams,’ the Sacramento History Museum Focuses on Lowriders — as Cars and as a Cultural Touchstone
A ‘paradigm shift’ for a treasured local institution
More than two dozen 1950s and ‘60s vintage cars were parked in a semi-circle in front of the Sacramento History Museum’s entrance, heralding attendees to enter a world they had likely encountered over the past several decades but may have feared or simply misunderstood.
![Legendary comic strip writer Stan Lee, the mastermind behind Marvel comics, visited Al's Comics in Stockton in 1986. He's pictured here on the right with Mike Greco, son of the store's owner, left. (Photos Courtesy of Visit Stockton)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/stan_lee_at_als_comics_lead.png?1689963317)
Is Stockton Poised to Become a Branch Office of the Marvel Universe?
City officials are trying to lure the superheroes
Maybe Stockton should rebrand itself Upper Tinseltown. This port city, less than an hour’s drive from the capital — and the setting for a number of Hollywood films over the years — is on a mission to make itself a presence in the next “Fantastic Four” movie, due to be released in 2025
![The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento on and off from 1903-1976. They got their name from Solon, an ancient Greek lawmaker, in a tribute to the team's location in the state capital. (Photos courtesy of the City of Sacramento)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/lead_1983-001-06279_1.png?1683566675)
The Back Story: That Other Time We Had a Local Baseball Team
The Sacramento Solons still evoke fond (and funny) memories
As a team, the Solons had more stops and starts in the area than light rail at rush hour. There were iterations of the club in 1903 and 1905, from 1909 to 1914, from 1918 to 1960, and finally, from 1974 to 1976.
![1962 aerial view of Polaris casting construction in Sacramento, California.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1962_aerial_view_of_polaris_casting_construction_in_sacramento_california..jpg?1681748156)
The Back Story: The Rocket Company that Roared
Aerojet was once a major player in the region — until it wasn’t
If you’re ever on Jeopardy and you’re asked to name an American company that not only helped the country and its allies win a war (the Big One) and, a bit more than two decades later, helped send it to the moon — before getting mired in a sludge of litigation — remember one of this region’s more complicated and often controversial sagas: Aerojet.
![Michael Hunter Schwartz, dean of University of Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, outside the Oak Park campus.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/backstory1.png?1675924515)
The Back Story: McGeorge School of Law
The truth and folklore behind Sacramento’s biggest law school
Prof. Michael Hunter Schwartz recounts stories about some big names that passed through McGeorge School of Law.
![Warren Anapolsky has an instant warmth with people who come into his shop on a battered block of J Street between Ninth and 10th, where the shop has been situated for decades.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/fg_california_loan_2022_08_26-fg1452.png?1666221814)
113 Years Later, They Still Bring the Bling to California Loan & Jewelry
From Louis Vuitton purses to rare books, you can find it all at the pawn shop
Pawn shop owner owner Warren Anapolsky has an extensive
network of authenticators, including experts in art,
first-edition books and bling. He’s also an expert
himself.
![Thom Tanner is the CEO of PresenterTek, maker of the TeleStepper, a robotic teleprompter used by President Joe Biden.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/hires.png?1660587198)
The Newest Iteration of the 70-Year-Old Teleprompter Connects Nevada City to the White House
A device designed to make everyone on camera seem spontaneous
The TeleStepper was created in Nevada City just six years ago.
Since then, the innovative teleprompter has been used by
Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more.
![The California State Library holds an expansive collection of 4 million books, old newspapers, historic maps and artwork.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/lead_9.png?1649867715)
At the California State Library, the Pleasures and Treasures Are Yours
Six million items are available for viewing
There is much magic to discover at the California State
Library, whether you visit for research or pleasure.
The institution’s keepers take us on a tour of some of
its treasures.