Isleton dates back to 1874 when Josiah Pool established the town in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and constructed a wharf for steamboats that stopped twice daily on routes between San Francisco, Sacramento and Marysville. Meanwhile, Chinese laborers built the levee system that transformed the Delta’s peat soil into fertile farmland.

Isleton has had its share of ups and downs over the years from municipal mismanagement to natural disasters. Now a new city manager and cohort of businessowners hope to see Main Street — and the town itself — thrive again. 

Throughout Sacramento’s central city, houses, apartments and businesses have often sat next to vacant lots. It’s been a sign of economic imperfection and, perhaps, of Midtown’s funkiness, with the land sometimes turned into unofficial parks, urban gardens or vehicle parking.

This is starting to change.

With about $350 billion in assets, CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the nation. Comstock’s spoke with CEO Marcie Frost about some of the challenges the system faces — including the decision to lower its expected rate of return, thereby driving up the mandatory financial contribution from state and local governments.

Delayed college graduation is costly to students, schools and local economies. Both Sac State and Los Rios implemented measures to help students graduate faster. Can they move grads through without diminishing the quality of education? Results look promising. 

To many consumers, the idea of edibles — cannabis-infused chocolate bars, brownies and other treats — sounds enticing. Especially considering health concerns about cigarettes have made people uncomfortable with smoke, including from marijuana.

Jennifer Randlett Madden, partner at Delfino Madden O’Malley Coyle & Koewler, offers her insight into independent contractor classification. For more from Madden, check out “Classification Complications” in our August issue, and now online.

Employee classification is already murky territory for many business owners, and recent changes have further tightened requirements. Yet, with huge penalties attached to mistakes, the laws are critical to understand.

The Sacramento area economy continues to grow, thriving in the wake of the Great Recession 10 years ago with new and existing business expansion. With that growth comes new opportunities, as well as some challenges for our community.

The success of the film Lady Bird brought Sacramento into the national limelight and local leaders want to incorporate the creative community into its branding efforts. But artists and business leaders can be strange bedfellows.