Oblivion Comics & Coffee was selected from five finalists to win a grand prize package of business services valued at roughly $110,000. As the winners, Estaris and Benson will be given $10,000 in matching start-up capital to help open the doors of Oblivion.

You may not know them by name, but their successes have defined Sacramento’s culinary scene: Thanks to brothers and native Sacramentans Mason, Alan and Curtis Wong, the energy on a two-block spread of L Street comes to a rapid boil on game nights, weekends and holidays — that is to say, most nights of the year.

Ryan Duey, owner-operator of Capitol Floats in Sacramento, describes the experience of floating as “turning the outside off, and turning you up to the nth degree. You’re the driver of the ship. Your float is whatever your float wants to be.”

Tim Keller started in the basement. His startup, VinPerfect, won the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition in 2008. But he had nowhere to work, so his employer, Sierra Energy, let him use a room below their offices in Davis.

More than four decades after his father began selling antique plumbing fixtures out of a garage in Sacramento, Bryan “Mac” McIntire plans to close the Mac the Antique Plumber retail store to focus on an internet-based business model.

The best economic news in Sacramento lately is that jobs are back. A recent survey by the state’s Employment Development Department shows that the six-county Sacramento metro region has rebounded, gaining back jobs it lost during the recession — 25,000 in just the last year. But, while this is fantastic news, it’s not enough.

Local small business SearchPros Solutions is already having quite the year — they are one of seven regional finalists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Northern California Award and a recipient of the Sacramento Business Journal Small Business of the Year Award, among other notable achievements.

Thoughtful leaders build teams and environments where people get stuff done effectively. Celebrating the successful efforts of employees is a great way to encourage future successes. What else do celebrations reinforce?

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. 

You can’t deny it: The cloud is everywhere. Thanks to tech titans like Google, Amazon and Apple, the idea of data storage has shifted from bulky, blinking units in an enclosed place to the more abstract concept of data stored in open, virtual space.