Congratulations Sacramento. You finally got the economic recovery you’ve been asking for. 

It’s not as big or fast as you had wished for, but give it time. It should get stronger as we move toward 2014.

As we begin a new year, few of us feel ready to break out party hats and celebrate the state of our economy.

Chris Tucker rolls a lemon across an electric branding iron at Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. in downtown Sacramento. Tucker, the restaurant’s beverage director, began using this signature garnish for a number of craft cocktails after watching a video of a bartender in Japan using a similar technique.

Nine years ago, Kimio Bazett and UC Davis classmate Jon Modrow opened The Golden Bear, an American restaurant and bar at 24th and K streets in Sacramento. The location came with a beer and wine license, so the two took what they had and ran with it.

In August of last year, it was reported that local eye-care titan VSP would be excluded from competing for individual members in the state’s health insurance exchange market because the vision plan it provides is a stand-alone program. The move lead to conversations that VSP might relocate its headquarters out of state.

The 2012 election may have spelled the end for a 30-year boomlet of Republican legislative and congressional representation in Sacramento. 

When he’s not jet-setting to Tahiti or hobnobbing with his best friend Tom Cruise*, Sean O’Brien is just a regular guy. He’s 29, single, never pays full price when shopping online and likes to snowboard with friends in Tahoe. 

On the Staten Island waterfront, long-time beloved Italian eatery Puglia by the Sea rises from the waves with floor to ceiling windows offering dramatic ocean views. White tablecloths sit foreground to a grand cherry-and-brass bar, and patrons regale over stately plated mussels, antipasto and filet mignon. Or, they did. Until Hurricane Sandy.

On a drizzly afternoon in downtown Sacramento, Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen is hard to miss. 

Say what you will about the severity of state and federal budget woes, but it’s arguably the small towns that are bearing the real brunt of today’s economy.

A few years ago, Troy Underwood noticed a problem with one of his accountants. The man’s work performance and personal appearance had deteriorated, he talked constantly on the phone with his children and agonized about his domestic life. 

The boss must be crazy. 

It may be the riskiest and most difficult conversation to bring up at work, but what other option does an employee have when a manager becomes abusive, disturbed, withdrawn or otherwise damages the workplace?

Leave? That may be an option, or it may not be. The same goes for visiting the human relations department. If H.R. can’t — or won’t — fix the problem, here are some tips on how to address your boss’ behavior and keep your job. 

In a region that can boast names like Teichert, Friedman and Tsakopoulos, some citizens think the call to give charitably rests outside their circle of responsibility. Not so for Sacramento’s newest philanthropists.

Bill Coibion’s commitment to transforming lives in his Del Paso Heights neighborhood began in the mid-1990s when he launched the nonprofit Shoulder to Shoulder. He had just become a Christian and felt called to encourage men to be “servant-leaders” at home, in church and in their communities. 

The Trade is making a difference in the lives of impoverished and abused women, one haircut at a time.