CMND SHFT has become more than just an annual conference. It is also a tremendous amount of work that no one gets paid for. That said, we’ve found the benefits far outweigh the effort, and we’re well on our way to planning next year.

In the first few days after a baby is born, the mother produces colostrum — a yellowish, thick and sticky substance packed with fat, micronutrients and antibodies. In breastfeeding circles, this special milk is called “liquid gold,” which is essentially a supercharged immunity boost to equip newborns for their new world.

Less than three years after its first resident moved in, the highly-touted energy-efficient development in Sacramento called 2500 R Street is now mired in a legal dispute over the alleged false advertising of its homes as net-zero energy and LEED-certified.

When a woman drove a Lexus SUV through Fruitridge and Power Inn Road earlier this year, there were no obvious signs that it was hot and teaming with drugs. Within moments a police observation device returned a hit on the stolen vehicle, and Sacramento Police Department Officer Patrick Mulligan had her pulled over.

Have you heard the riddle of a father and son who get in a horrible car crash that kills the dad? The son is rushed to the hospital and the surgeon exclaims, “I can’t operate, that boy is my son!” The listener’s expectation is challenged when the riddle’s answer is given: The surgeon might be the boy’s mother.

If someone had told Tyler Robinson and Preston Tillotson, of Sudz by Studz, five years ago that they would be making soap and other skincare products for a living, both would have likely laughed at the idea. Yet, the economic downturn paired with a perfectly-timed soap making adventure led the couple to do just that.

Next Move serves more than 10,000 people in the Sacramento area every year. They provide a safety net of services that range from arranging for bus passes to maintaining permanent housing for the disabled or mentally ill.

Family upheaval cast Jairus into foster care at age 5. Now almost 19, he’s taking his first steps into adulthood. Even after a life in the foster care system, he’s thriving, thanks to his resourcefulness and optimism and support from his Court Appointed Special Advocate — his CASA — Dennis Beasley.

In 2005, GR launched Crete Crush, a sister company to its trucking operation that includes two concrete and asphalt crushing and recycling centers, one at the company’s Rancho Cordova headquarters, and another at its 15-acre facility off Bradshaw Road in Sacramento. When the company first started, it was paying someone else to crush the concrete and asphalt that was accumulating from demolition site hauls.

The Sacramento Region Community Foundation operates a little differently from your typical private foundation. According to SRCF Chief Giving Officer Priscilla Enriquez, community foundations enable would-be philanthropists in the Sacramento region to give back to their own community.