The Race to Harness the Sun
As drought devastates area farms, do agrivoltaics offer a lifeline?
Combining grazing with large-scale solar is one version of the new field of agrivoltaics, which combines panels with farming and ranching. Advocates say it could help farmers adapt to the state’s driest weather in 1,200 years while making space for the thousands more panels needed to hit California’s ambitious zero-carbon targets.
Ghost Kitchens Spread in Sacramento
Rentable kitchen spaces offer a flexible business model for food entrepreneurs and landlords
A trend that helped many restaurants stay afloat during the pandemic has become a burgeoning new business model.
Startup of the Month: California Cultured
Food tech company makes real chocolate from plant cells
It takes about five years for a cocoa tree to grow and start producing cocoa beans. But Alan Perlstein, who spent the last 20 years in cellular agriculture and pharmaceuticals, had an idea: Why not bypass the tree and just grow the bean?
A Sea of Hope
Can seaweed reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of California’s dairy industry?
In the span of a year, a single cow burps up 220 pounds of methane, a powerful driver of global warming. UC Davis scientists are experimenting with a red seaweed that can dramatically reduce the methane, but the solution has a few caveats.
The New Adventures of Gregg Lukenbill: Catching Up With the Man of a Thousand Projects
From owning a professional basketball team and starting an airline service to resuscitating a neighborhood bar, this Sacramento native refuses to slow down
Gregg Lukenbill has a lifelong, nearly unconditional love
for the city he helped build. Get to know the former Sacramento
Kings owner and his new project to revive a legendary bar.
Olive and Wine Tasting Go Hand-in-Hand at Calivirgin in Lodi
New facility helps longtime olive oil business expand into wine
Lodi-based, family-owned Calivirgin has reshaped its
business. Part of California’s rich olive oil landscape for
almost two decades, its new facility allows the owners to
showcase award-winning products, introduce a new wine
line and host tastings.
Visions of Agave, Plans for the Future
A Jalisco-born roofing contractor gets into agave in Solano County
Carlos Rodriguez found a piece of the California dream by taking inspiration from his childhood in Mexico. He recently planted 2,000 agave crops on his land in Vacaville, which he’ll eventually use to propel the state’s newest movement in craft spirits.
Could Agave Spirits Be a Sustainable Gold Rush for California?
Hardy plants could solve water crisis for farmers and give distilleries a big opportunity
Northern California’s agave pioneers are helping to evolve the crop from a novelty to a force of stability within California’s changing bread basket.
Keeping Calm and Carrying On in Sacramento
Are the Capital Region’s British-themed businesses affected by economic volatility in the UK?
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the resignations of two prime ministers and the rapid plummet of the pound, the British economy is more volatile than it’s been in decades. Has the ripple effect reached British businesses on this side of the pond?
A Sacred Mission in the Vines
A small band of wineries save the Adam root of California wine culture
In 2007, genetic researchers in Madrid used new DNA techniques to identify the origin-point of mission vines. What they found was that the mission grape’s backstory involved more travel, travail and endurance than anyone guessed.