The past couple years have been brutal on workers: furloughs, salary freezes, layoffs and budget cuts. It’s enough to give the most loyal employee a case of the business blahs and a sense of restlessness as the recession lifts.

I have long believed that the best thinkers outside government have a great deal to offer those inside government. In that spirit, I asked several dozen of our region’s business and thought-leaders to give their ideas on key steps your new administration could take to repair our battered state.

Dave Rintala is giving new meaning to the term powder day. His Tahoe adventure-sport company, Pacific Crest Heli-Guides, in partnership with local chopper operator HeliTahoe, has sprouted a new helicopter skiing and snowboarding operation in the Sierra Nevada starting this winter.

More than 40 years ago, Brice Harris entered education leadership and vowed never to use money — or lack thereof — as an excuse for the performance of the higher-learning institutions he served. However, he now insists the California Community Colleges System cannot adequately serve the student population without more state funding.

The most important political event for the Central Valley in 2011 will be the April release of new California population figures by the U.S. Census Bureau. For the first time in our history, the state is growing no faster than the nation.

California might be facing a long-term nursing shortage of epic proportions, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find a job. Blame it on the Great Recession, but for new nurses it’s harder than ever to get a foot in the employment door.

Cities nationwide have welcomed hoards of elected officials who will have little time to celebrate their appointments before confronting daunting financial challenges. Among Capital Region cities, public safety budgets and all they encompass — cuts, swollen pensions, potential new fees, layoffs and department closures — have become the most contentious load to bear.

Let the economists make all the predictions they like about 2011. It’s the businesses of California that have their budgets on the line.

The economy has rocked a number of local nonprofits, putting a dent in donations just as they were taking on the burden of increased social needs. Many of these charities have turned to foundations for increased support.

Between her 8th and 15th birthdays, Ashlee Rogers moved out of nearly a half-dozen foster homes. She was removed from her mother twice, and she floated all over El Dorado County, from Placerville to Pollock Pines and back.

For most of his life, Sean Patrick Shadduck had heard — and believed — that hard work yields rewards. When he proved that to himself earlier this year, it was a boost to his self-confidence.

McClellan Jet Services is Sacramento’s one-stop shop for all things airplanes.

Last year the nation watched as images of weary firefighters battling a massive inferno in the Angeles National Forest blazed across their TV screens. After starting on Aug. 26, 2009, the Station Fire went on to burn 160,577 acres, injure 22 people and kill two firefighters before it was fully contained nearly two months later.

Pick up a newspaper’s business section today, and chances are you’ll find more bad news than good. Headlines scream of layoffs, cutbacks and commercial developments with high vacancy rates.

Once a U.S. Air Force base populated by concrete buildings and gun-toting soldiers, McClellan is now an eco-friendly business park home to a menagerie of green companies.