Bill Romanelli

Back Writer

Bill Romanelli is a public affairs consultant with APCO Worldwide and an avid outdoorsman. On Twitter @bromanel

By this person

(Shutterstock)

Level Up

The Capital Region is cashing in on the big business of comic conventions

Comic-themed conventions, or cons, have been around since the 1970s. Even the Capital Region has had its own Sac-Con since 1989. In those days, the events were small affairs attended by a hard-core smattering of lonely youth and middle-aged men speaking their own jargon-filled language. But in the past five years, something changed. Cons became cool.

May 19, 2015 Bill Romanelli
(Shutterstock)

Comic Crash

How offing Superman almost killed the comic industry

The day Superman died, I was one of millions of people in line throughout the country. It turned out that I could not have picked a worse time than the early 1990s to start collecting comics. I knew nothing about speculation, and larger economic forces of which I was completely ignorant were at work.  Shortly after Superman died, he nearly took the entire comic industry with him.

May 13, 2015 Bill Romanelli
Jade Heather, game design student at the Art Institute of California, Sacramento, works on her TalentEarth profile.

First Look

A fresh approach to job hunting in the digital age

What started with the advent of online job boards like Monster and Yahoo! HotJobs in the mid-1990s has at last evolved into what some are now calling the Facebook of job searches. In the age of Resume 2.0, where the standard, static and flat resume just won’t cut it, a new company has emerged to help employers and potential hires cut right to the chase.

Aug 1, 2013 Bill Romanelli
Inside the unfinished shooting lanes at the new Capital Gun Club in Roseville, which opens this month.

Shoot to Thrill

Roseville’s new high-end gun club hits the mark

The first time Kimberly Foss went to a shooting range she froze her butt off.

“It was outside, it was cold and it was not a very fun experience,” says Foss, who took herself shooting for the first time to celebrate her 50th birthday. “I was brand new to shooting — it was something I’d been interested in for a long time — so I had no idea you could go to indoor ranges, much less really nice ones that cater to women as well as men.”

Jun 1, 2013 Bill Romanelli

Million-Dollar Babies

Starting a family needn’t push retirement out of reach

Michael and Susan Pope had witnessed enough of parenthood to give them second thoughts about having children of their own. After seeing friends vanish into an abyss of diaper bags, sleepless nights, stress, arguments and the apparent loss of every conceivable freedom, they had plenty of reasons to reconsider.

Mar 1, 2013 Bill Romanelli
(istockphoto.com)

Accounting for Green

New research may change how commercial real estate loans are designed

Among the many risks involved in commercial real estate lending today, energy risk is so poorly understood that lenders simply do not have the tools they need to measure it. This ignorance of energy risk — the likelihood that higher energy costs compromise a building owner’s ability to make their mortgage payments — leads to inflated loans. This is because both efficient and inefficient buildings are judged the same in the eyes of the lender. But UC Berkeley researchers have developed a tool they claim would measure the net benefit of energy savings investments.

Feb 13, 2013 Bill Romanelli

Star Treatment

Is Sacramento Red Guide worthy?

As restaurant review guides go, it has no equal. It is so prestigious that whole cities vie for even a single mention, and Sacramento is no exception. Breaking in, however, is easier said than done.

Nov 1, 2012 Bill Romanelli

Off the Reservation

A new bet on an old law

With fewer discretionary dollars in their pocketbooks and more sensitivity at the gas pump, recession-era gamblers want to spend their quarters closer to home.

Sep 1, 2012 Bill Romanelli

The Buy-In

It was sometime in 2004 when Larry Booth and his brother Martin swallowed the truth that they wouldn’t live forever.

Aug 1, 2012 Bill Romanelli

C-Level Change

MBA offerings evolve with students and the economy

It’s been said a down economy is a boon for Masters of Business Administration programs. The fact that the region has kept the healthy crop of MBA schools it had in 2007, before the economy turned, and even added one would suggest the maxim holds true. But it’s no free ride.

Aug 1, 2011 Bill Romanelli
(photo courtesy of Pacific Housing Inc.)

Off the Grid

Proposed infill units to save energy in Midtown

Although the concept of sustainable building isn’t new, affordable sustainable building has been slow to market. Historically, products, materials and expertise were in short supply and building green was cost prohibitive, particularly in residential development. That’s beginning to change.

May 1, 2011 Bill Romanelli

Halls of Justice

Crumbling courthouses create construction opportunities

Since the founding of our state, courthouses have been the focal point of many communities. They are at once tangible symbols of the rule of law, monuments to our democratic ideals and the primary point of contact between the citizens and the judicial system. And, they are all but falling apart.

Apr 1, 2011 Bill Romanelli
Cathie Walker, Casa El Dorado

Home Again?

Local nonprofit gives a voice to foster youth

Between her 8th and 15th birthdays, Ashlee Rogers moved out of nearly a half-dozen foster homes. She was removed from her mother twice, and she floated all over El Dorado County, from Placerville to Pollock Pines and back.

Jan 1, 2011 Bill Romanelli
Mimi Nguyen, economic development director, Downtown Stockton Alliance

Taking a Chance

Stockton businesses invest in the long term

By the mid-1990s, it was fair to question whether downtown Stockton was on the path to decay. Crime and blight were major concerns that kept visitors and businesses away, and there was little to suggest a turnaround was in sight.

Oct 1, 2010 Bill Romanelli
California Olive Ranch's Oroville location during harvest season.

(courtesy of California Olive Ranch)

Domestic Oil

Labor costs and foreign imports

Americans import 99 percent of the roughly 200,000 tons of olive oil consumed each year. It’s not that the foreign stuff is so much better — in fact a recent study suggests that it often isn’t.

Sep 1, 2010 Bill Romanelli

Power Forward

A Brighton spot for Power Inn’s future

In the late 1800s the township of Brighton, along what is now Folsom Boulevard and Power Inn Road, was bustling with a racetrack, pony express stop and the distinguished (if unrecognized) title of Sacramento’s first suburb.

Aug 1, 2010 Bill Romanelli
Karen Skelton, executive producer of "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything," and managing partner with Dewey Square Group

Balancing Act

Is the battle of the sexes over in the workplace?

For decades America has been steadily approaching a major social development — a time when the number of women in the work force would surpass the number of men. That moment has now arrived, brought on by, of all things, a recession.

Jul 1, 2010 Bill Romanelli

Brain Attack

The financial aftermath for stroke victims

Nearly 800,000 Americans have a new or recurrent stroke each year, making it the leading cause of disability in the U.S. What’s more, health problems are a principle driver for mortgage foreclosures and personal bankruptcies, leading to billions in financial impact.

May 3, 2010 Bill Romanelli
(istockphoto.com)

Flat: The New Up

The long walk to a new economic horizon

There’s an old joke that no two economists can agree on the economy, but as the nation, California and the Capital Region continue to weather the worst downturn since the Great Depression, economists are showing remarkable solidarity: They think we’re in a mess.

Jan 1, 2010 Bill Romanelli