
Recycling: Turning Trash Into Energy
FastOx gasification could be the solution to our recycling crisis
Every year, the United States generates around 260 million tons of trash. And no one knows what to do with it. No one, that is, except serial entrepreneur Mike Hart, the CEO of Davis-based Sierra Energy.
Part of this month’s Innovation issue

California Tries to Boost Its Dwindling Doctor Supply
Students are being lured by full-ride scholarships to medical schools, and full-fledged doctors are being offered loan repayment programs to serve low-income residents or work in underserved areas.

Tricky Eating
Local experts and retailers work to prevent food fraud
With as much as 10 percent of all food products sold around the world mislabeled, experts at UC Davis and elsewhere are working hard to ensure what’s on the label accurately represents what’s in the food.

Testing the Future of Space Exploration
Work at McClellan Nuclear Research Center supports the national aeronautical industry
Built by the U.S. Air Force in 1986 for $20 million, the McClellan Nuclear Research Center is now owned and operated by UC Davis. Inside, scientists conduct high-tech experiments that affect the future of space exploration.

Status Check: Playing the Long Game
Veteran games developer and former KlickNation owner Mark Otero resurfaces with hedge fund Alice Capital
Mark Otero left Electronic Arts and Capital Games, the subsidiary he helped found, with a strict noncompete agreement.

California Health Care Companies Partner with Amazon to Bring Virtual Diagnoses via Alexa
Now that it’s upending the way you play music, cook, shop, hear the news and check the weather, the friendly voice emanating from your Amazon Alexa-enabled smart speaker is poised to wriggle its way into all things health care.

Status Check: Sacramento iHub
Local business and tech leaders continue to develop the local innovation hub
Brandon Weber stood in front of a group of Sacramento entrepreneurs and local leaders, including Mayor Darrell Steinberg, and confronted a truth: Efforts to support the regional chapter of the California Innovation Hub have slowed in recent years.

Slow Progress for Fast Speeds
Two years after partnering with Verizon, few Sacramento neighborhoods have 5G availability
Sacramento boasted of being one of the first four test cities for Verizon’s 5G network, with officials calling it a major step toward the future. But nearly a year after launch, none of the city’s eight council districts have full 5G coverage — and it isn’t clear when any of them will.

Status Check: Community Choice Aggregation
Exit fees remain an unresolved issue for CCAs looking to compete in the energy market
In September 2018, a Davis-based Community Choice Aggregation option known as Valley Clean Energy offered to extend its service to Winters and West Sacramento, months after launching in Woodland, Davis and unincorporated Yolo County.

From Bot to Burger
What does restaurant automation mean in the Farm-to-Fork Capital?
Nationally, large restaurant chains are automating aspects of their service as a cost-saving mechanism. How is this trend playing out in the Capital Region?