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When Play Works
Why working harder sometimes means playing more
In the business world, we win some, and we lose some — it’s the nature of the game. Learning how to have fun within the process can result in a better outcome and keep managers and employees sane and engaged.
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Buzzwords: Best Practice
A method that establishes a standard way of doing things as a means of driving higher performance, success, ideal behavior or ethics.
Professionals use the term as a guiding principle or methodology for consistency and to drive the greatest results.
![A PG&E utility truck is parked near the shoulder of Highway 128 in Winters as the Wragg Fire burns in the distance on July 23, 2015. (Photo by Matthew Keys via Flickr Creative Commons)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0120_dept_publetter_matthewkeys.jpg?1577874530)
PG&E’s Shut-Offs Add to the Challenges of Rural Living
There are many benefits to living in rural areas. But doing so comes with its own challenges. PG&E’s answer to the challenges of wildfires: Shut off power — a move that has hit rural areas the hardest.
![Louis Stewart, City of Sacramento’s chief innovation officer, serves on an 11-member working group for Aggie Square, a project that will transform 25 acres near UC Davis Medical Center into a hub of state-of-the-art research facilities, incubator space, academic programs, housing and retail.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1219_feat_technology_fredgreaves.jpg?1577874530)
The City Is the Lab
Urban Technology Lab is trying to put Sacramento on the innovation map
The Urban Technology Lab aimed to offer businesses and academic institutions a space to develop their ideas, products and services with the goal of making Sacramento more tech savvy. Is the program making good on that promise?
Part of this month’s Innovation issue
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Shouldering the Burden
Progressive-minded farmers in the Capital Region undertake steps to battle and adapt to climate change
A growing movement of farmers is focused on agricultural practices that can mitigate or adapt to an uncertain future brought by climate change.
Part of this month’s Innovation issue
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The Transportation Revolution
How we get around is rapidly evolving, and more change is coming
Several public and private sector partnerships are helping to position the Capital Region as a leader in the new mobility revolution.
Part of this month’s Innovation issue
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Dilemma of the Month: Are Perks and Benefits Negotiable With Salary?
There’s always someone in the office counting the number of vacation days each person takes, which makes extra paid vacation days a tricky thing to offer.
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Buzzwords: Big Data
Huge amounts of data about consumer preferences that is collected and analyzed to help companies predict future behavior
The term “big data” is practically synonymous these days with the Big Bad Wolf. (Cambridge Analytica ring a bell?) But is big data really that big of a deal?
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Startup of the Month: Advanced Farm Technologies
Robotic harvester lends hand to fruit-picking process
In California, where 90 percent of American strawberries are grown, the time is ripe for a faster, better way to pick them. That’s the idea behind Advanced Farm Technologies, a Davis-based startup that uses customized tools to lend farmers a helping robotic hand.
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In the Making: Fancy Fabrications
Merle Axelrad says she fell into the medium of fabric collage 27 years ago when she was nine months pregnant, on maternity leave from her job as an architect, and made a baby quilt. Now, most of her works are public art, corporate and private commissions.