As a teenager growing up in Iraq in the 1990s, Khaleel Yasir wanted to become a U.S. citizen. But his path to citizenship — like that of so many others — turned into a decades-long journey.

After years of waiting, Khaleel Yasir and his wife, Zuhal Al Ameen, became naturalized U.S. citizens on Feb. 22 at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. During the monthly naturalization ceremony, 1,060 residents from 81 countries took the oath of citizenship. Yasir resettled his family to Sacramento in 2012 after nine years of service as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Iraq. 

Donna DeMartino, CEO of the San Joaquin Regional Transit, offers her insight into the regional transit industry.

The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on a high-profile case that could slash the power of public-employee unions. But California labor leaders are already planning to push for new state laws to blunt the impact of an unfavorable ruling.

Permitting can be a logistical mess for developers, while the future of economic development depends on this process. Efforts to improve the process find that enhanced communication trumps speed in terms of efficiency.

In 2014, the City of Sacramento’s construction valuation (which tracks the dollar amount of issued permits) was $390 million, but by June 2018, that valuation will be about $1.5 billion (adjusted for inflation), according to Ryan DeVore, Sacramento’s community development director.

Effective water conservation throughout the City of Folsom made way for the largest expansion of the city in decades. While not all residents agree with Folsom’s strategy, it is being implemented in growing cities around the state as an effective tool to meet housing demand. 

Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California offers her insight into California water management.

Laticia Middleton perches in front of a computer at the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s job center, scanning employment ads. At 30, with two children, a high school diploma and a job at a call center, Middleton is the kind of student Gov. Jerry Brown has in mind as he pushes for a new online community college.

In 2014, Rancho Cordova voters approved Measure H, a half-cent sales tax to fund the Community Enhancement Fund program, which funnels grant money from its general fund to improvement projects submitted by residents, local businesses and other organizations that support the city’s key priority areas: public safety; education; economic development; public works; arts, culture, history, entertain