October 2015

Back Publication

Recommended For You

Brewed by Design

The brewery tasting room is a new kind of social space, where ambience matters as much as ale

Wine tasting is often an experience shared only by the taster and pourer. A brewery tasting room, however, needs to facilitate the gregariously social aspects of craft beer, making space for interaction and mingling. Room to brew, room to chat and room to sample flights of beer make for highly dynamic spaces that bring to life the distinct personalities of brewers and their art.

Oct 20, 2015 Andy Galloway
(Shutterstock)

Is it Time for a Technological Shift?

Letter from the publisher

It remains to be seen if GSAC, the Metro Chamber or the market itself will fill the void that SARTA’s shut-down has opened. While GSAC and its enigmatic new leader Barry Broome may bring more established firms (and more jobs) to the region, Sacramento isn’t big enough or rich enough to ignore the potential of smart, hungry tech innovators.

Oct 1, 2015 Winnie Comstock-Carlson
(Shutterstock)

Biomass Energy Produces Clean Energy and Improves Forest Health

There is growing momentum to build a strong, sustainable biomass energy infrastructure in California — great news for our environment and our forests. But in the meantime, many facilities are struggling to survive, and changes are needed to guarantee a stable future for this important green energy industry.

Oct 26, 2015 David Bischel
Shelves at Oto’s Market off Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento brim with Japanese imports and local produce

Global Flavors Next Door

The rising popularity of ethnic grocers is impacting everyday dining

Where in your local supermarket do you find the curry leaves? How about dumplings filled with red bean paste, or maybe smoked duck. Does your local grocer have fresh menudo, warm tortillas right out of the oven, or miso broth prepared that morning on-site? Independent grocery stores focused on specific ethnic cuisines are thriving in Sacramento, enjoying a boom in customers from beyond their base cultural markets.

Oct 12, 2015 Andy Galloway

Legal English as a Second Language

Why can’t lawyers communicate like other humans?

Richard Wydick has spent much of his professional life trying to change how lawyers write. In 1978, he led an article for the California Law Review with this broadside: “We lawyers cannot write plain English.” That piece created such a positive response that he turned it into a foundational book on legal writing that’s now in its fifth edition.

Oct 6, 2015 Steven Yoder
(Shutterstock)

Clear Your Mind and the Cash Will Flow

Businesses are betting on meditation for employee health and corporate profits

You live a crowded life. We all do. You probably looked at your smartphone before you rolled out of bed. You immediately checked your email, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Maybe you glanced at your phone on your morning commute. Your job demands multitasking, so at work your computer has 25 open tabs — Outlook, Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and on and on and on.  As you read this article, the odds are good that you’re also kind of doing something else.

Oct 27, 2015 Jeff Wilser

Industrial Titan

Titan Gilroy is on a mission to eliminate offshore outsourcing and boost manufacturing back home

When Zinola Manufacturing owner Kevin Zinola took a chance and offered convicted felon Titan Gilroy an entry-level job in his small Sunnyvale machine shop, he had no idea where the relationship would go. In the years to follow, Gilroy reformed his life, worked his way up through several companies and finally, established Titan America Manufacturing.

Oct 13, 2015 Laurie Lauletta-Boshart
Phil Kattenhorn was born with butchering in his blood. The owner and operator of Longhorn Meat Co., located off Interstate 80 in Auburn, grew up in a meat market alongside his father, who spent more than 50 years working as a butcher. Kattenhorn started off earning 10 cents for every shishkabob he helped make, then worked his way up from bagging groceries to running the meat department for an Alaskan grocer before taking over the family business.

A Cut Above

Longhorn Meat Company

“Old fashioned butchering really is becoming a lost art,” owner and operator of Longhorn Meat Co. Phil Kattenhorn says, “In a world now filled with internet purchases and self-service counters, I think people are beginning to miss that connection. It seems we are headed back towards a more simple way of doing things.”

Aug 21, 2015 Kelly Higdon