Comstock’s monthly look at business news in the Capital Region. Want to know what happened in September? Then read on, my friends.

Artery Recordings Sold to Major Label

Sacramento-based independent record label Artery Recordings was acquired by Warner Bros. for an undisclosed sum of money in late August. I saw the news on former Artery President Shan Dan Horan’s Instagram page, as he announced his departure from the company, which had its headquarters in Old Sacramento under the umbrella of the Artery Foundation, a full-service artist management company. Artery Founder Eric Rushing launched the music label in 2010, brought Horan on in 2014 and saw impressive success. “Building an underground label into something a major wants to acquire is a huge accomplishment,” Horan wrote in his Instagram post. “In a short time we sold a million records worldwide, had a presence in every continent in the world, and half a billion streams/plays worldwide. We never gave up on our core values, always championing/educating the little guys (unsigned bands), or raising money for injured musicians/fans to animal rescues.” ~ SC

Sac Republic Wants Help in Bringing it Home

Do you dabble in architecture and design? If so, then the Sacramento Republic FC’s Citizen Architect competition should be on your radar. On Sept. 19, the soccer team launched the contest as part of its #BringItHome initiative to encourage fans to participate in planning the new Major League Soccer stadium at The Railyards in downtown Sacramento. The “It” in question refers to — taking a wild guess here — the Republic’s quest to be selected as an MLS expansion team. Sacramento is one of 12 cities vying for four slots, and MLS may announce a couple of these cities by the end of this year. “We want our MLS stadium to reflect Republic FC’s greatest competitive advantage: our fans,” said Republic Chairman and CEO Kevin Nagle, in a press release. “The Citizen Architect competition reflects that spirit by providing our fans and community a new and creative opportunity to shape the overall design of their new home and the matchday experience.” Submissions will be accepted through Oct. 27, and you can find details here. ~ SC

Downtown Roseville’s Revamp Continues

Construction of the new Fire Station No. 1 in downtown Roseville is getting closer to completion by the day. Because that’s how construction works, if you didn’t know. The station is on track to be completed by early April 2018, and at that point the current fire crew will move down the street into their new digs, which then opens up the old 42,000-square-foot fire station property (built in 1974) for its future use — as a graduate school for Warwick University. City officials have expressed excitement about the England-based Warwick moving into downtown as it aligns with the City’s Downtown Specific Plan, approved in 2009 to direct redevelopment efforts and which identified more than two-dozen projects. Warwick expects to open its graduate school in 2018. And what with the recent opening of a Sierra College extension also in downtown, I can just picture students milling around the Vernon Street Town Square, breathing new life into the historic area. ~ SC

Science Center to Make the Grade at Sac State

I can’t claim to be particularly familiar with the Sacramento State campus, as I went to a different university for undergrad, but I know one thing: They must have enough space for a 96,631-square-foot science complex, because that is precisely what they’re building. It will be located south of Guy West Bridge and adjacent to the Hornet Bookstore. The state-of-the-art complex comes with a $91 million price tag and includes: “30 cutting-edge biology and chemistry labs outfitted with the latest instruments; a 2,500-square-foot planetarium with 120 seats for full-dome, high-definition ‘sky shows;’ and a roll-back rooftop observatory housing Sac State’s two telescopes for viewing the night sky,” according to a press release, issued when the project ceremonially broke ground on Sept. 18. The science complex will be the first new classroom building erected since 2000 and is expected to open in June 2019. ~ SC

Four Local Family Businesses Go the Distance

Six family businesses — including four in the Capital Region — were recently honored by the Family Business Association of California for celebrating milestone anniversaries this year. Only about 30 percent of family businesses survive into the second generation, 12 percent to the third and 3 percent to the fourth generation and beyond, according to FBA’s press release. The honored companies include: Teichert in Sacramento, founded in 1887; C.F. Koehnen & Sons in Glenn, founded in 1907; Nor-Cal Beverage Co. in West Sacramento, founded in 1937; Rogers Jewelry in Modesto, founded in 1937; The Fruit Bowl in Stockton, founded in 1947; and Kenco Engineering in Roseville, founded in 1957. “Family businesses are the bedrock of our communities and the economy,” said FBA Executive Director Robert Rivinius in the release. “In fact, our state’s 1.4 million family businesses employ seven million people and tend to pay their employees better, train them better and provide more generous benefits than non-family companies.” To read more about family businesses in the Sacramento area, check out the October issue of Comstock’s. ~ SC