By: Vanessa Labi

We’ve all seen them — aging, downtrodden downtown neighborhoods and dwindling shopping areas that have all but lost their former luster. But planning is underway and groundwork laid to not just restore but entirely redesign the Capital Region’s commercial corridors to fit our current needs and standard of living. 

In this month’s issue, award-winning writer Sena Christian explores how cities and developers are reevaluating these forgotten parts of town and making them more desirable places. 

“Just as struggling malls have been forced to pivot in recent years and as small mom-and-pop stores have adapted during the pandemic,” writes Christian, “so too have city governments found themselves reimagining commercial corridors in new ways, so that they offer both economic and social benefits.” Read her feature to learn which cities are making big moves toward modernization.

The Comstock’s team wishes you a happy Thanksgiving! We will be closed tomorrow and Friday, and back on Monday with fresh content. ​​Until then, feel free to feast on leftovers in the form of any web content you may have missed recently. Might we suggest this month’s profile on Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, or one of our more eclectic stories, like our roundup of British-themed businesses in the region or our spotlight on small, niche radio stations.

Here’s the rest of the Capital Region Rundown: 

Sacramento Historical Society celebrates the late author Joan Didion with a night dedicated to her legacy; we explore how the national service program AmeriCorps NCCC impacts its members as much as the city of Sacramento, which they serve through urban development projects; professional boxing is thriving at Cache Creek Casino Resort’s new multi-purpose South Tower events center; and we profile hands-on developer Gregg Lukenbill and his history of taking on huge projects with passion and pride.

Recommendations from our editors:

In this section we editors share what we’re reading, listening to, watching or even eating. Here’s what we’re consuming this week:

Judy: I attended the annual Folsom Women’s Conference last week at the Palladio. Nice event with more than 500 women in attendance, listening to speakers and breakout panels on work/life balance, social media tips, leadership etc. There was also a spontaneous dance party and a sparkling wine toast to the women! Speaking of career women, there’s only one week left to nominate someone for our Women in Leadership issue!

Jennifer: Every year, the American Farm Bureau Federation analyzes the price of the average Thanksgiving meal, and this year they reported that prices are up 40 percent compared to 2020. But intrepid reporters at NPR looked for substitutions that haven’t risen in price and came up with an inflation-proof, if bizarre, Thanksgiving menu. (It involves bacon and something called “secret sauce.”) Read or listen here.

Vanessa: Last week I went to so many events (not to brag!) that this week, I’m a little sick. Naturally I’ve been eating a lot of soup and thought I’d recommend one of my favorites — Alison Roman’s Spicy White Bean Stew. The cookbook author also has some fun YouTube videos, especially this one for Thanksgiving sides (which are, in my opinion, the star of the show).

Odds and ends:

You have one more week to nominate someone for Comstock’s Women in Leadership issue! Don’t forget to subscribe to the magazine to stay up to date on the region’s business trends, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for daily stories and extras.