These days, Lake Tahoe’s south shore has enough breweries for a full tasting tour, giving explorers more reason to drive into the mountains.

Some people call the western Nevada County area a mini-Silicon Valley. While the area has a technical and collaborative spirit, some are skeptical about the long term potential for the new guard.

Modern planning now focuses on elements beyond brick-and-mortar retail and commercial. Community events, alternative transportation with safe travel for pedestrians and bicyclists, and redesigned streetscapes with drought-tolerant landscaping have become central considerations.

Wellness is not just a state of being; it’s a perpetual pursuit, a form of prevention and an entire economy. Many businesses in the Capital Region are providing ways for people to foster their own relationship to wellness through progressive services, treatments and practices.

New legislation may change how businesses, big and small, draft job postings and how they report pay data to the state — and their employees. 

Pawn shop owner owner Warren Anapolsky has an extensive network of authenticators, including experts in art, first-edition books and bling. He’s also an expert himself. 

In 1968, a lone vintner set out to prove the region’s surviving mission grapes were still marketable. He was in a race against time: Most of the landmark roots were being torn out during that epoch, their soil swapped for better commercial farming options. The late Charles Myers set off a chain of events that would ultimately launch Amador County onto the global wine market. 

Across the political spectrum, this is perhaps the only thing that everyone can agree on: The nation lacks inspiring leaders. While leadership appears to be lacking on the national stage, quietly — away from the spotlight — local leaders can inspire. 

Sports organizations like the Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Republic FC are linking with nonprofits to launch community sports programs that empower youth with life skills and STEM education.

A few cities around the region have affordable housing projects underway that showcase how they’re getting it done, and their success may hold lessons for other jurisdictions.

The TeleStepper was created in Nevada City just six years ago. Since then, the innovative teleprompter has been used by Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more.

Mentors can help mentees look for a job, strengthen their portfolios, navigate the rocky waters of freelancing and more.

No one owns water in California, making collaboration and negotiation between water management players crucial. 

Companies and researchers are finding ways to use mycelium, the vegetative body of fungi, to solve problems including plastic waste, greenhouse gas emissions, antibiotic residue in water supplies and more.  

As national and international tourism decreased during the pandemic, regional visitation saw a boost. We profile three small picturesque towns that got a big increase in visitors.

There is much magic to discover at the California State Library, whether you visit for research or pleasure. The institution’s keepers take us on a tour of some of its treasures.

As many women faced changes in their jobs during the past two years of the pandemic, they were able to shift the priorities and persist with the support of their families, colleagues and communities.

While the housing boom has led to issues like limited affordable housing, some see the sizzling market as a sign of the region’s dynamism. We evaluate how we got here and what’s on the horizon. 

Award-winning Gold Country Media keeps pressing on in a digital-dominated world.

In the new world, how supervisors work with their remote teams will be essential to business success, management experts and employers say.

As energy use advances, utilities ecosystems are looking to build the appropriate infrastructure to respond in real time.

A UC Davis chemist is developing drugs with all the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs — without the hallucinogenic trip.

Though it’s not been without growing pains, the past year and a half has brought together parents, teachers and legislators to expand educational options.

Opening a cherished safe thought to contain untold historic riches about the origins of University of the Pacific, President Christopher Callahan wondered what he’d find.

From its beginnings in a church basement in Auburn to its current status as the Capital Region’s leading employer of people with disabilities and other hurdles to employment, PRIDE Industries has always promoted an inclusive workforce.

Small, iconoclastic wineries, vineyards and bars may be set to impact the California wine scene in the same way the microbrewery boom challenged “Big Beer.”

Movies, sitcoms, commercials and more are still filming in the Capital Region, thanks to the work of local film commissioners. 

Frasinetti Winery is the oldest family-owned wine producer in the Sacramento Valley, withstanding the Prohibition and both World Wars. 

Capital Region business owners say they’ve learned how to keep their personal and business finances on track during an economic crisis.

Here are four entrepreneurs who are transforming ideas of manufacturing for the well-being of the world.

Andrew and Krista Abrahams want to rethink the assumptions of traditional dairy production.

From its official opening in 1885, the Crocker Art Museum (then known as the E.B. Crocker Gallery) has had a split personality.

The recent spate of mergers and acquisitions in the Capital Region tells a story beyond the pandemic, speaking to growing interest in the area and a red-hot financial craze that catapults private companies into public markets.

Tatyana Bak was 29 years old, an émigré from the city of Odessa in what was then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, when in 1989 she helped open a medical clinic that eventually evolved into Elica Health Centers.

Women founders in the Capital Region are developing groundbreaking technology in biotech and ag-tech, emerging industries where territory is still uncharted.

Statistics and personal stories suggest that, overall, women may find more growth opportunities at nonprofits, and as a result, many more are opting for this route. 

Leaders in business and development say the trend could alter the trajectory of the region’s economy for years to come.

UC Davis is participating in a global clinical trial being run by Pfizer — one of the most promising vaccine trials to date.

People love to hate school lunch, but the Nutrition Services team at Sacramento City Unified School District is out to change that.

Louis Stewart has been the face of technological innovation efforts in Sacramento city government since 2017, leading initiatives such as the Sacramento Urban Technology Lab.

Not only have Black Americans suffered more from COVID-19 infections and deaths, but Black-owned businesses were hit the hardest due to the shutdown.

A group of 13 restaurants have joined together to participate in Downtown Woodland Fair Days, a special event to bring iconic foods to customers missing fairs canceled due to the pandemic.

The inmate fire crews used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have been depleted due to the pandemic, so the agency is training new firefighters.

Yolo Delivers Hope, started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Woodland’s Dinner on Main organizers, contracts with Woodland restaurants to create meals for homebound seniors, low-income families and migrant farm workers.

State regulations present an opportunity to shift the way we think about what an eco-friendly landscape can do when we move beyond compliance toward practices that conserve all natural resources and maximize water efficiency.

As of 2017, Sacramento County had enough licensed child care slots to accommodate little more than a quarter of children with working parents. State and local officials are spearheading efforts to change that.

As soon as a B Street Theatre show closes at The Sofia in Sacramento, the old set is torn down and installation of the next set begins later that same day. Here are shots of the work that went into the set of “Byhalia, Mississippi” before it closed over coronavirus concerns.

Across the Capital Region, construction continues as usual on housing, infrastructure and other projects, even as workers in other sectors shelter at home.

The Urban Technology Lab aimed to offer businesses and academic institutions a space to develop their ideas, products and services with the goal of making Sacramento more tech savvy. Is the program making good on that promise?

Part of this month’s Innovation issue

Welcome to the world of office yoga, a curious merger of yoga and commerce that is proving itself to be lucrative.