Recommended For You
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/img_0895_final_1.jpg?1577874530)
Day on the Green
The political fate of climate-change legislation
For years, the debate over climate change centered almost exclusively on science: Is global warming occurring, and if so, are humans causing it? But with the economy still struggling, the argument has shifted to one of dollars and cents.
A Challenge to National Leaders
The private sector has a role to play
Critiquing the federal government is something I usually consider outside my bailiwick. After all, what can I do sitting here in my Sacramento office to influence the actions of our president and Congress?
![California Olive Ranch's Oroville location during harvest season.
(courtesy of California Olive Ranch) California Olive Ranch's Oroville location during harvest season.
(courtesy of California Olive Ranch)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/two-harvesters-in-the-field_crop_0.jpg?1577874531)
Domestic Oil
Labor costs and foreign imports
Americans import 99 percent of the roughly 200,000 tons of olive oil consumed each year. It’s not that the foreign stuff is so much better — in fact a recent study suggests that it often isn’t.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_8898.jpg?1577874530)
Working Lunch with Jeff Starsky
As mayor of Folsom, Jeff Starsky says it’s his job to keep people thinking positive and keep consumer confidence high. As far as his city is concerned, he seems to be doing a good job.
![(istockphoto.com) (istockphoto.com)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/hires.jpg?1577874530)
Getting Warmer
Does California need its own climate change policy
In 2006 the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger enacted the California Global Warming Solutions Act. The objective of the act was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020 and further reduce emissions by 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050. The California Air Resources Board is charged with implementing the regulations.
![John Cassidy, president and CEO, Sierra Central Credit Union John Cassidy, president and CEO, Sierra Central Credit Union](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/salm_sierra-lending_6360.jpg?1577874531)
Where Credit’s Due
Lifing the lending cap on credit unions
If lawmakers follow through on pending legislation in Washington, it could mean a boost for business for Capital Region credit unions.
![Segiun Moreau Napa Cooperage Segiun Moreau Napa Cooperage](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_8192.jpg?1577874530)
Aging Gracefully
An oak by any other name is not just another barrell
Just as winemakers won’t put just any old juice in a barrel, they won’t use any old barrel either. For one wine, it’s French oak. For another, American. For yet another, Hungarian. In some cases the wine goes into a steel tank and never touches oak of any kind.
![Lee Ann Trumbull, president, Gallagher Benefit Insurance Services Lee Ann Trumbull, president, Gallagher Benefit Insurance Services](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/img_3750.jpg?1577874531)
Service and Protect
Will health care reform make insurance brokers obsolete?
It’s too soon to tell whether health insurance brokers are an endangered species on the cusp of going the way of the Dodo or, more recently, the travel agent.
![The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta near Miner Slough The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta near Miner Slough](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_9120.jpg?1577874530)
Troubled Waters
Will the state build or falter on the legislature's historic compromise?
It has been almost a year since California lawmakers reached an agreement on the most comprehensive overhaul of the state’s water management system in more than four decades.
![Th new addition to the Crocker Art Museum is a contemporary architectural collage set to open next month. Th new addition to the Crocker Art Museum is a contemporary architectural collage set to open next month.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/salm_crocker-museum_6443.jpg?1577874531)
It’s Relative
Growing gains at the Crocker Art Museum
Next month the Crocker Art Museum will open the doors to its new galleries, and some experts say the region could see a museum as notable as those in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
![Speed skaters at Squaw Valley during the 1960 Olympics Speed skaters at Squaw Valley during the 1960 Olympics](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/speedska.jpg?1577874531)
Bringing Home the Torch
The Sierra sets its sights on 2022 Olympics
Fifty years after the VIII Olympic Winter Games in 1960 brought the world to the slopes of Squaw Valley USA, and after years of toil and dashed hopes, a two-state effort aimed at bringing the games back to the Reno-Tahoe region in 2022 is gathering steam.
![Peter Brundage, executive officer, Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission Peter Brundage, executive officer, Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/img_3651.jpg?1577874531)
Civil Union
Rancho Cordova welcomes annexed land
Rancho Cordova recently celebrated the annexation of a finger of land — Folsom Boulevard east of Sunrise Boulevard and south of Highway 50 — with the rest of the incorporated city.
![Jessie Lum, 96, has dementia and currently lives in an assisted-living facility at a cost of $3,500 a month. Lum's daughter Marian Bayham purchased Lum's long-term care insurance 15 years ago. It now covers 85 percent of her living costs. Jessie Lum, 96, has dementia and currently lives in an assisted-living facility at a cost of $3,500 a month. Lum's daughter Marian Bayham purchased Lum's long-term care insurance 15 years ago. It now covers 85 percent of her living costs.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/eng_5432---2010-08-10-at-14-05-03.jpg?1577874530)
Personal Guarantee
Long-term insurance today, long-term assurance tomorrow
When 52-year-old Rosey Ramsey had a stroke in August 2002 she was one of the lucky ones.
![Pauline Smith, has Alzheimer's disease and lives with her son, Steve Smith, and his family in Forest Hill. A care companion assists the family for about $2,200 a month, a needed resource for Steve and his wife, who work full time. Pauline Smith, has Alzheimer's disease and lives with her son, Steve Smith, and his family in Forest Hill. A care companion assists the family for about $2,200 a month, a needed resource for Steve and his wife, who work full time.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/eng_6297.jpg?1577874530)
Take Care
Proper planning makes all the difference for caregivers
When his mother fell for the second time, Steve Smith was ready to put the plan in motion.
![Heather Phillips has been in the hospital for nearly five years. She is visited regularly by Sherm and Sandy Waldman and their West Highland white terrier as a part of a palliative care program at Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Heather Phillips has been in the hospital for nearly five years. She is visited regularly by Sherm and Sandy Waldman and their West Highland white terrier as a part of a palliative care program at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/eng_5283---2010-08-10-at-10-27-17.jpg?1577874530)
Balancing the Burdens
Helping patients and hospitals make difficult choices
A growing senior population is changing the way society approaches life and death. “People are dying differently now,” says Judy Citko, executive director of the Coalition for Compassionate Care. In the past, patients had to choose between giving up on treatment or forging ahead with sometimes drastic measures. In contrast to the traditional focus on treatment of individual episodes at any physical and financial cost, medical experts, patients and their families are demanding a new way of approaching their final months and years.
![Nearly one in five Americans over the age of 65 have been financially victimized. Such financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 million annually.
(istockphoto) Nearly one in five Americans over the age of 65 have been financially victimized. Such financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 million annually.
(istockphoto)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/istock_000007765196medium.jpg?1577874531)
Not Fooling Anyone
Physicians could be the missing link in detecting and reporting financial abuse
About 35 percent of the 25 million people in the United States aged 71 or older have mild cognitive impairment or dementia, according to a 2008 Duke University study.