While some companies in the Capital Region anxiously wait for the economy to return to normal, others have set out to create a new normal. They have found new ways to market themselves or have moved into new products and services.

In his first year as Sacramento’s mayor, Kevin Johnson focused public attention on a series of initiatives targeting the arts, education, the economy and public safety, which aim to bring together experts and residents to develop action plans to move Sacramento forward in its development as a well-rounded city.

Construction projects aren’t known for their efficiencies and streamlined processes.

It was the end of 2008 when the economic dominoes began to fall: Lehman Brothers was upside-down, housing crashed, the stock market swooned, banks faltered and the domestic car industry all but went belly up. It wasn’t the best of times to be a high-end American steakhouse.

All that glitters is gold in a down market, and in the wake of economic collapse and the sinking Euro, the metal is looking more precious than ever to buyers and sellers of all shades.

Bold wines are big sellers these days, and to meet consumer demand, winemakers across California are pushing their wines to the max by replacing white varietal vineyards with reds and allowing fruit to stay on the vine a little longer.

As a chief executive of a real estate and brokerage firm, Jason Moulton faced some hard financial decisions in 2009.

Among the cost-saving measures Moulton implemented was to move all operations to the clouds, or virtual, rather than physical hardware and software.

As a chief executive of a real estate and brokerage firm, Jason Moulton faced some hard financial decisions in 2009.

Among the cost-saving measures Moulton implemented was to move all operations to the clouds, or virtual, rather than physical hardware and software.

With demand for cloud computing and virtual data storage on the rise, the job descriptions for technical support positions are dramatically changing.

California will need close to a million new medical assistants, lab techs, respiratory therapists and other skilled health workers in the next 20 years in addition to new doctors and nurses, a recent study estimates. But the state doesn’t have enough educational capacity to train them all.

For decades America has been steadily approaching a major social development — a time when the number of women in the work force would surpass the number of men. That moment has now arrived, brought on by, of all things, a recession.

Promenade Parkway is a lonely stretch of road south of Elk Grove. Behind a chain-link fence, a steel skeleton of what was supposed to be the city’s first mall with a Macy’s department store and a 16-screen theater sits in the shadow of developer General Growth Properties Inc.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy negotiations.

South of Mather Airport is a grassy field popular with nature lovers and school field trips, particularly in the spring when the vernal pools are in bloom.