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Evil HR Lady on Comstock’s Talks: Why Startups Need HR Help Before They Launch
PODCAST: Do small businesses with just a few employees need an HR professional, or are there other options?
![Brothers Franco (left) and Geno Cassella opened Brick House Restaurant & Lounge in Elk Grove in 2007 and opened a second location in Lodi. The coronavirus pandemic forced them to move seating outdoors. (Photo by Tom Couzens)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1020_dept_mainstreet_tomcouzens.jpg?1602094301)
Main Street: Brick House Brothers
Geno and Franco Cassella have adjusted to keep their restaurants in business
“Half of what you’re coming in for is the experience, not just the food,” says Brick House Restaurant & Lounge co-owner Franco Cassella.
![(Shutterstock illustration)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1020_dept_evilhr_shutterstock_lead.png?1602013986)
Dilemma of the Month: Why Attendance Policies Are So Important
It’s within an employer’s rights to set an absentee policy
that makes sense for the business. Here’s what that
could look like.
![Brett Bayda is founder and CEO of Drinjk Wines. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1020_blog_sotm_terenceduffy_lead.jpg?1601493823)
Startup of the Month: Drinjk Wines
Wine business delivers single-serve bottles
There’s nothing worse than pouring wine down the drain, says Brett Bayda, so he created Drinjk Wines for consumers who want more portion control.
![Craig and DeeDee Lyman are CEO and vice-president of Douglas Feed & Pet Supply in Granite Bay. (Photo by Tom Couzens)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_dept_mainstreet_tomcouzens_lead.jpg?1600976692)
Main Street: No Horsing Around
A growing equine community has helped boost business for a Granite Bay feed and pet-supply store
DeeDee and Craig Lyman own a feed store in a community of equestrians and animal lovers.
![Sacramento City Unified School District’s 50,000-square-foot Central Kitchen, expected to be completed in November, will open when campuses are allowed to reopen. Diana Flores, director of Nutrition Services, says having the kitchen will help her staff provide more fresh and nutritious food. (Photos by Fred Greaves)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_feat_food_fredgreaves_lead.jpg?1600448752)
A New Deal for School Meals
Providing food to children is big business, and Sacramento City Unified School District aims to do it better
People love to hate school lunch, but the Nutrition Services team at Sacramento City Unified School District is out to change that.
![Daniel Wolcott, president of Adventist Health Lodi Memorial hospital and president and CEO of Dameron Hospital, oversees the latter’s transition to possibly being taken over by Roseville-based Adventist Health. (Photos by Wes Davis)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_feat_healthcare_wesdavis_embed.jpg?1599843819)
Hospitals on Life Support
As the Capital Region moves into the seventh month of the coronavirus crisis, it’s not just sick patients at risk
Smaller, independent hospitals are at risk of closing due to financial strain exacerbated by the pandemic.
![Liam Graf, a Whitney High School graduate, has decided to stay home in Rocklin and attend Sierra College this year after UC Riverside announced classes would be mostly online and being notified in August that a program in Germany was being delayed. (Photo illustration by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_feat_education_terenceduffy_lead.jpg?1599068758)
Virtual Variations
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing most college classes online, recent high school graduates are finding their choices have changed
Students are weighing all the options, including attending community college, learning online or postponing college altogether.
![(Shutterstock illustration)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_feat_workplace_shutterstock_lead_1.png?1599598574)
Remote Controls
There are plenty of good — and possibly bad — aspects about so many people working away from their offices
This coronavirus pandemic could mark the biggest shift to the workplace since the adoption of computers.
![(Shutterstock illustration)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_dept_evilhr_shutterstock.png?1599072731)
Dilemma of the Month: How to Approach and Improve Diversity Hiring
How can employers improve the diversity of their hires without
violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?