Many wish their favorite places in California were deeply-held secrets. But there’s the hope that, given a little perspective, our current secrets can develop in a way that maintains the original character we fell in love with, without succumbing to the broad appeal forced by faceless investment. Right now, in Amador County, the Shenandoah Valley is at that postcard moment.

The best economic news in Sacramento lately is that jobs are back. A recent survey by the state’s Employment Development Department shows that the six-county Sacramento metro region has rebounded, gaining back jobs it lost during the recession — 25,000 in just the last year. But, while this is fantastic news, it’s not enough.

If you walked your company right into a discrimination lawsuit that you didn’t see coming, I can’t really blame you for being shocked when you get served with papers. Just kidding, I can totally blame you.

In 2015, we reported on the exciting new changes J-E Paino hoped to bring to Dixon with his Ruhstaller beer label (“Legacy Crop” by Allison Joy, April 2015). The 8.5-acre hop yard and farm and outdoor tasting room in Dixon, however, had their power turned off in April following a long-running disagreement with Solano County. We talked with Paino and county officials about Ruhstaller’s future.

I recently developed a sensitivity to fragrances. I get headaches, suffer from vertigo and generally feel awful. My boss allowed me to post signs that say “Fragrance-Free Zone,” but some people persist in wearing fragrances. I’m non-exempt and can’t work from home: Part of my job is to take notes in meetings, and the biggest fragrance offenders are in these meetings. What can I do?

Engaged employees are pivotal to an organization’s financial success, company culture, brand experience and ability to retain top talent. But according to Gallup’s most recent polls, only 31.5 percent of U.S. employees are actively engaged at work, and disengaged employees currently outnumber actively engaged employees 2 to 1.

Meetings are the organizational fulcrum where individuals work together cooperatively as a team. At their best, good meetings get people’s brains fired up. At their worst, meetings provoke a fight-or-flight instinct in the poor souls gathered at the table — they shut people’s brains down.

For decades, the UC Davis College of Engineering has consistently ranked in the top 35 engineering programs in the nation. That’s definitely good, but not remotely good enough for new engineering dean, Jennifer Sinclair Curtis, who took over the post last October. We recently sat down with the highly accomplished chemical engineer to discuss her vision for making the program even better.

You may not know them by name, but their successes have defined Sacramento’s culinary scene: Thanks to brothers and native Sacramentans Mason, Alan and Curtis Wong, the energy on a two-block spread of L Street comes to a rapid boil on game nights, weekends and holidays — that is to say, most nights of the year.

For the past 48 years, Mike Doran has watched El Dorado County evolve— slowly. He recalls the days when the county was a peaceful, low-density community — long before the Home Depot came to Placerville, before the Dollar General  got the greenlight for Georgetown, back when Highway 50 was nothing but a two-lane road.

Some homes seem to ask for a coat of paint, maybe a patch or two. Others cry out — shriek, actually — to be made over entirely. “Clear away the clutter,” these houses would say, if they could talk. “Get some light in here! No more wallpaper.

All water, conventional scientific wisdom goes, is recycled. The Earth’s water has been here since the planet formed some 4.6 billion years ago, and any given molecule may have passed through the bodies of dinosaurs, fish throughout the oceans, the living tissue of giant trees and numerous human beings.

Firms are becoming increasingly attracted to the city’s creative vibe and energy, seeing advantageous opportunities to setting a base in the heart of the Capital Region. They join already established firms that, together, are bringing a renewed energy and a design presence to the city’s core.

The Capital Region’s wine industry remains strong with Amador county as one of the most approachable wine scenes in the state. As you’ll read in one of our June features, “A Slow-Growth Splash,” staying authentic has been key in Amador county’s growth, but what will the future of California’s wine industry have in store?

Monk’s Cellar in downtown Roseville smells vaguely of an oatmeal breakfast. It’s actually a new batch of beer brewing, called Friar Funk, a Flemish red ale with wine-like characteristics.