One of the latest high-dollar projects downtown for the City of Sacramento is a surreal sight on a sunny September morning.

When Lucky Rodrigues drove by the storefront at 703 19th St. in Sacramento, he knew he had his work cut out for him. The two-story Victorian, constructed in 1900, according to Sacramento County assessor records, boasts something noticeable to anyone who’s been around the central city grid: space in front for a small convenience market.

An ambitious push to make California the first state to stem the flow of plastic trash by phasing out single-use packaging and foodware failed early Saturday amid dogged industry opposition, as state lawmakers adjourned without acting on two far-reaching recycling bills. 

Half of the rice grown in California goes to the U.S. and Canada; the other half is exported to Japan and 30 other countries, including South Korea, Taiwan and Jordan. Now China, the largest consumer of rice in the world, joins that group.

With tens of thousands of undergrads applying each year for limited spots, California’s college systems have approved admission criteria for assessing incoming freshmen. While the strength of a student’s academic record is one of its top considerations, the University of California system has established 14 factors — both academic and nonacademic — for undergraduate admissions.

Comstock’s spoke with Laurel Brent-Bumb, CEO of the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, about efforts to make this largely rural region a desirable place to do business.

The price of college has become a hot-button issue at both the state and national level, but data has been scarce about how much, beyond tuition, California students actually spend on the housing, food, textbooks and other non-tuition items that they also need to earn a degree.

Millions of California renters are about to receive some of the nation’s strongest protections against rent hikes and evictions. And the primary advocacy group for California landlords is okay with that.

Doctors, real estate agents and hairdressers can keep their independent contractor status — but not truckers, commercial janitors, nail salon workers, physical therapists and “gig economy” workers.

Over Labor Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared his support for reclassifying an estimated 2 million California workers as employees instead of independent contractors. But while Democratic presidential candidates have seized upon labor standards of gig workers as a campaign issue, many questions remain about AB 5’s implications.