
Reality Check
Virtual reality is no longer just for the gaming industry — but how wise an investment the cutting-edge technology is remains up for debate
From police shootings to incidents like the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, gun violence has been dominating news cycles in recent years. Additional virtual training could help civilians know how to respond in a hostile encounter.

Surreal Estate
Virtual Reality Tours Give Real Estate Builders And Buyers Room to Play
If you’re going to live in a 3D environment, you need to see a 3D environment.”
These are the words of Stephen Phillips, co-founder and chief technology officer at Theia Interactive, a design firm based in Chico. His company creates VR tours for people looking to build or buy homes, cars and yachts. It was one of the four startups to come out of the Green Screen Institute’s first accelerator program.

Back and Forward: Jason Fountaine on High-Tech Camera Systems
Jason Fountaine, managing director of Gyro-Stabilized Systems in Nevada City, offers his insight into how new technologies are changing digital cinema. For more from Fountaine, read “Reality Check,” in our March issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

Back and Forward: Erin Stumpf on Residential Real Estate
Erin Stumpf, a broker associate at Dunnigan Realtors, gives her perspective on real estate in Sacramento. For more from Stumpf, check out “The Great Millennial Migration,” in our March issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

Startup of the Month: Foodfully
Davis-based startup reminds you to put your food in your belly, not landfills
By linking with loyalty cards and tracking purchases (by scanning receipts), Foodfully knows what food you buy and gives an estimate about how long it may last, then sends notifications before that estimated date. These alerts help consumers avoid wasting forgotten food

Back and Forward: Debi Hammond on Marketing
Debi Hammond, the founder and CEO of Merlot Marketing in Sacramento, gives her insight into the marketing industry. For more from Hammond, check out “Dialing Up,” in our March issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

The Robotic Stomach
UC Davis professor dives into the depths of human digestion
Gail Bornhorst, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Food Science and Technology at UC Davis, is trying to get to the bottom — or at least the bottom of the stomach — to figure out just what happens to food once it’s reached the belly of the beast.

Leader of the Flock
For years, California has led the way in energy policy — what happens when the federal government shifts course?
It wasn’t taken as a joke or a typo or an anonymous quote from some trolling conspiracy theorist. It was a real-live tweet from a billionaire with mystery hair: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”

Startup of the Month: Sievent
Event app finds niche in helping connect local communities
Sievent is a social experience app that helps event organizers and attendees stay connected with information before, during and after an event. The app is an end-to-end platform that handles all facets of an event such as promotion, ticketing, payment, event analytics and social media management.

The Way to ‘Innovation City’
California Groundbreakers and Comstock’s host panel on innovation in Sacramento
Can Sacramento become a capital of entrepreneurship? Yes, agreed panelists at an event focused on innovation in the city, held Jan. 23 at the E. Claire Raley Studios for the Performing Arts in Midtown and co-hosted by California Groundbreakers and Comstock’s magazine.