Sebastian Bariani is in heaven, standing in his family’s olive grove in the Dunnigan Hills. The winter day is mild, a blue sky caps the rolling green terrain. He reaches down and gently bends the branch of a Manzanillo olive tree to demonstrate how the trees will soon be pruned, explaining that the blossoms for the next crop can come only from new growth.

Architects who have lived and worked in Sacramento have a lot to say about the aesthetics of the new city on the horizon. The Kings’ arena is a bold start, they agree, but they say that a strong vision must continue in projects on the drawing boards if the city is going to realize its full potential.

As Sacramento’s skyline is re-shaped by new construction, fresh architecture and design will begin to change perceptions of the city for longtime residents, new arrivals and visitors.

The Sacramento River Cats, for 15 years regarded as one of baseball’s most successful  minor league organizations, announced in September it would be making a big switch. Beginning this season, the team will no longer be the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics but will instead become the top-dog minor league team for the San Francisco Giants.

Ryan Montoya’s task is clear, straightforward and possibly, well, impossible: Turn the  Sacramento Kings into the most technologically adept sports franchise in the world.

The technology website GeekWire calls the Sacramento Kings the “NBA’s most geeky franchise.” They mean it as a compliment. Here are some of the ways the Kings are maintaining their edge.

What images does Silicon Valley conjure? Google, Apple, Facebook, and on and on? Mainstays of the world’s hub of technology and innovation? Did a glimpse of Stockton appear in that mix? If the San Joaquin Partnership’s campaign to rebrand the area as Greater Silicon Valley works out, it soon will.

Here’s a look at key developments in the northern San Joaquin Valley, which has dubbed itself “Greater Silicon Valley.”

From the unmarred concrete sidewalk along Riverine Way, above Richards Boulevard in the city’s River District, you can take a slow 360-turn and view the past, present and future of housing development in Sacramento. You’ll likely be standing alone, since the street is only one bone of an incomplete skeleton that will eventually support the mixed-use urban infill taking shape around it.

West Sacramento’s transportation infrastructure will be a key part of the rapidly growing city. Here’s a look at what’s happening, with a few projects already underway or recently announced.

At 88 years old, the Sacramento Valley Station at 4th and I streets is bound for new glory, as  the second phase of the $34-million rejuvenation project gets underway at the city’s downtown transportation hub.

The Sacramento Republic FC has bolstered its quest to become a Major League Soccer franchise. On Monday the team announced an impressive addition of more than a dozen new business leaders who will invest in the group, including Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter and local business owner Urijah Faber.

The demolition now underway at the east end of Downtown Plaza, the site of the new Kings Arena, is a sidewalk superintendent’s dream.